Oblates of St. Francis de Sales

New DeSales World Newsletter - Summer Edition

The Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (January 19, 2003)

Suggested Emphasis

We all need help to respond to the Lord, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening."

Salesian Perspective

Last week we heard in the Gospel reading as God affirmed Jesus’ call: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am pleased.” This week we hear the call given to more ordinary believers—Samuel, a young boy in 9th century BC Israel, and two disciples of John the Baptist.

There are so many wonderful phrases in the reading from First Samuel, and they are easy to relate to Salesian themes. Samuel seems to be an ordinary young boy, doing a form of service to an older person: ordinary, daily tasks. But at the moment the story begins, he’s not even involved in service; he’s sleeping. And it’s Samuel who receives the call from God, not the older, established prophet.

Samuel and Eli are sleeping in the temple where the ark, the presence of God, is. They don’t need to “pray” to remember God’s presence; it is in the place where they dwell. The Lord calls to Samuel, and his immediate response is “Here I am.” But Samuel doesn’t know who is calling. Misunderstood communication is something not unknown in our daily life. Samuel wasn’t familiar with the Lord, because the Lord hadn’t revealed anything to him yet. But Eli was, and on the third time the light goes on for Eli; he gives the boy good advice, or “spiritual direction,” and tells him to express the openness of his ears and heart.

In this week’s Gospel passage, two of the disciples of John the Baptist get curious about Jesus and follow him. It’s the Baptist’s words (“Behold the Lamb of God”) and his action of baptizing Jesus that sends those disciples off; John testifies as God calls him to, not to enhance his publicity ratings.

In a Salesian context, we reflect on these calls and on the helps we have to hear and respond. Both Samuel and Eli, John the Baptist and his disciples, and Jane and Francis were special people at the times of their calls, and their mutual assistance brought the knowledge of the Lord to people Israel and in post-Reformation Europe. But any person who can listen to the Lord can help another listen and respond. The great joy of the Salesian tradition is that we claim that mutual assistance and encouragement as our special gift.

Michael de la Bedoyere, in his biography of Francis de Sales, describes the assistance that Francis and Jane gave each other: “[Jane de Chantal] would teach [Francis de Sales] truly to know himself, as he would teach her how best to apply her spiritual vocation and genius. Between them, they would map out the way of spiritual perfection in its application to men and women of every kind according to the nature of their spiritual call.”

This week includes some other events or calls of the Lord worthy of note. The Week of Prayer for Church Unity has begun, and our mutual listening for the Lord’s call and responding to it can be brought to bear on this scandal of Christianity. We acknowledge Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday with a holiday on Monday, another prophet in our midst who listened and proclaimed a call to set people free.

John, in letting the disciples go, and Samuel, in responding “Here I am,” are both responding to the Lord; the results are opposite, but each is called in his way. That we are called is a given; how we are called is for us to discern, with the help of our mentors and friends and our tradition. How we are to answer is illustrated in today’s readings: “Here I am, Lord. Speak, for your servant is listening.”

Spending some time reflecting on the stories of calls to other biblical persons (especially calls to women), to other saints, and to the people we live and work with can enliven our understanding of our own call and encourage us in our generous response.

Mary Grace McCormack, VHM, is a member of the Visitation Community/Academy in St. Louis, Missouri.