First Reading
1 Samuel 3:3b-10, 19
Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was. The Lord called to Samuel, who answered, “Here I am.” Samuel ran to Eli and said, “Here I am. You called me.” “I did not call you,” Eli said. “Go back to sleep.” So he went back to sleep. Again the Lord called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli. “Here I am,” he said. “You called me.” But Eli answered, “I did not call you, my son. Go back to sleep.” At that time Samuel was not familiar with the Lord, because the Lord had not revealed anything to him as yet. The Lord called Samuel again, for the third time. Getting up and going to Eli, he said, “Here I am. You called me.” Then Eli understood that the Lord was calling the youth. So he said to Samuel, “Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” When Samuel went to sleep in his place, the Lord came and revealed his presence, calling out as before, “Samuel, Samuel!” Samuel answered, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” Samuel grew up, and the Lord was with him, not permitting any word of his to be without effect.
Second Reading
1 Corinthians 6:13c-15a, 17-20
Brothers and sisters: The body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body; God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? But whoever is joined to the Lord becomes one Spirit with him. Avoid immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the immoral person sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.
Gospel Cycle Cycle B
John 1:35-42
John was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” – which translated means Teacher -, “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they went and saw where Jesus was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon. Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus. He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” – which is translated Christ -. Then he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas” – which is translated Peter.
So clearly today the Lord tells us: I call you! I am calling you! I have called you! The first reading is from the First Book of Samuel and speaks of the call of Samuel. Samuel at first things that it is Eli calling him. Eli finally understands that there is Someone greater than he who is calling Samuel. Then Eli gives good advice.
What a wonderful teaching. So often we stand in the way of the call of others because we don’t understand that God is calling them. We too stand in the way of God speaking to others. We need to have the wisdom of Eli and recognize that God is calling all others and we can be the servants of that call for others or we can stand in the way. It is wisdom that we need.
The First Letter to the Corinthians speaks to us today about the body as a temple of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps for some of us, our body has become less than a temple of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps for some of us, our body has become a source of immorality. This immorality could be sexual but it could also be a misuse of our body with drugs, with alcohol, with tobacco, with a bad diet, etc. We don’t have to be fixated on sexuality. Sexuality is not the only immorality!
The Gospel brings us to the call of the first followers of Jesus. Who is with Andrew when those first two are called? We don’t know from this account, but it was not Peter. Andrew is the brother of Simon Peter and he, Andrew, went to find his brother and tell him about this Jesus who had called them. Clearly Andrew does not want to stand in the way of a call to his brother. Rather he wants his brother to meet the person who has called him. Andrew wants to share.
Sharing is another aspect of the call of God in our lives. Do we really want to share the call we have received? How do we share it? Aren’t we embarrassed to tell others that we follow Jesus? Are we embarrassed to tell others that this following of Jesus demands certain behaviors from us?
We are challenged this Sunday first to recognize that He, the Lord Jesus, is calling us personally. Then we are challenged to share that call with others. This is what evangelization is about: telling others the story of our own calling and bring them to know the Lord Jesus Christ.