Homily – II Sunday in Ord Time(B) ’11 Father Joseph
->The theme of our readings this week is crystal clear: God calls us. If we use the “ears of our hearts,” of faith…we would hear God calling us day or night. He calls adults, children, sick people, people at work, and people on holidays, saints and even sinners in need of his grace…like you…like me. God never stops calling.
->We don’t always realize that it is God; Samuel thought it was Eli calling him. When mom or dad asks for help with the dishes or other chores, children can be tempted to think that it’s only mom or dad calling; and mom or dad can think: it’s only the boss telling me to show up to work on time. Youth might think: Oh, it’s only the Church that wants us to behave in this way and all the time it’s God calling.
God calls us individually and by name - Samuel! Samuel! Mary! Mary! John! John!
->The Lord calls us the same way he loves us – as individuals. We are not called en masse and we are not saved en masse. Yes, salvation has been offered to all but… we are saved one by one. The Lord desires from me the one thing I alone can give him – a personal relationship. And, on that point, our Evangelical brothers/sisters have it right! No one else can give him my yes! He wants to hear it from my lips alone. So also with you; only you can give him your yes.( I find it darkly amusing when people say they have a sister, a nun, a brother or a priest in the family or as a close friend, and yet they themselves don’t practice the Faith. We will be saved on the basis of our relationship with the Lord, not by our association with someone else or a movement. Even if we are the Pope’s brother or sister, we will never sneak into heaven in someone else’s shadow.)
God calls repeatedly - Samuel! Samuel! Samuel!(add othr names…)
->And…oh how patient God is! He calls until we say yes on a deeper and more personal level; on and on he goes, calling us deeper and deeper into a life of love and service: “Are you ready today to say yes to me, to give up that sin, to respond to your neighbor’s need, to make that long overdue confession, to begin being faithful to the Sunday Mass, to change your ways, to give yourself to me?” Over and over he calls, stubbornly refusing to listen to our excuses because he never stops believing in us.
->So many Catholics are doing the same thing as Samuel did. We are asleep in the “sanctuary of our faith”, dozing away and letting opportunities to grow in holiness pass by. This is not an assault or condemnation…it is a statement of truth. The Lord is calling the Universal Church to get up on its feet yes, but…he is doing it person by person. Right now, he is calling each one of us. What is he calling us to today here in this parish community? I believe he is calling each one of us to rediscover our identity as evangelizers; he is calling us to get up and call others. We do that w the strength and grace we receive in our common prayer and worship, our union with Jesus in the gift of the Holy Eucharist. The fullness of our Catholic Faith is found in our faithful, conscious gathering at the Sunday Liturgy…not in a book, not in a private devotion, not in a TV show, not hidden away…
->In our Gospel, we see that the Lord called Andrew and that it was Andrew who went and called his brother Simon to come and meet Jesus. That’s evangelization; when we bring our brothers and sisters to Jesus…in the fold of his Holy Church!
->By and large we have “fallen asleep at the wheel” in this regard, we are “missing in action,” and not only the Church but our whole world is suffering the consequences. Evangelization is an immense and exciting task. God is waiting for a heartfelt yes from me, he is waiting for a heartfelt yes from you.
Samuel answered, Speak, Lord, your servant is listening, and went on to become a mighty instrument of God’s. It is not beyond us to do the same.
