Moments ago, you either sang or heard others sing, “Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard you calling in the night. I will go, Lord, if you lead me. I will hold your people in my heart.”
Did you resonate with the message of this song? Did you imagine that God is calling you? And if you did, would you reply in the same way that Samuel did? “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.”
Don’t dismiss the notion that God is calling you. God calls every person ever created but many don’t listen. Are you willing to listen to what God has to say to you? By your presence here, I assume that like Samuel, you have responded, “Here I am, Lord. I come to do your will.” After all, we make that pledge every time we say the Lord’s Prayer and say, “they kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” That is not just a plea; it’s a promise as well.
The sad truth is that for many Christians, these are empty promises. If they were carried out by every follower of Christ, then Paul would have had no need to speak as he did to the Christian community at Corinth. As we heard, he told them that the body isn’t for immorality but for the Lord, which makes sense for we were created in the image of God.
As he often does, Paul is addressing a timeless issue. Pornography today is big business from the Internet to adult only stores. Many people view this as mature entertainment, but in fact, this manner of entertainment is an addiction that destroys our human dignity. The same is true for fornication and adultery, which many engage in, convinced that there is nothing morally wrong with consensual sex, only to discover later it’s damaging painful consequences.
Our culture tolerates many addictions that are destructive to our well being. As some of us know from past experience, the consequences of such addictions are enormous when we fail to take care of ourselves but too often we opt not to really accept Jesus’ invitation to “come and you will see” the wisdom of God’s ways. Imagine how different our lives would be if every Christian always listened to God.
We witness in today’s gospel, the start of a life changing faith journey for Andrew and Peter. They endeavored to see what Jesus had to offer. They listened and they responded in the same way that Samuel did by doing the Lord’s will.
Now, you might be saying to yourself, “So do I.” But do you? Are you allowing the Lord’s words to affect you and the choices you make each day? Alas, many Catholics are ill informed or misinformed about their faith, so like someone going through a cafeteria line, they are selective about what to accept and what not to when it comes to the teachings of our Church, often without fully understanding their purpose.
The more time we spend in conversation with God, the more deeply we know God. Are you in the habit of reading scripture daily and giving yourself a chance to listen to Jesus? Have you attempted to better understand the faith you profess as a Catholic by studying its teachings? Many Catholics limit their learning to what they hear in brief homilies, so their understanding is bound to be limited.
Think back to Paul’s warning regarding immorality. Those who apparently see nothing wrong with this behavior are quick to dismiss what the Church has to say, instead of listening to God and heeding his wisdom to treat our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit and having a greater respect for all human life from the unborn fetus to the terminally ill.
We are the presence of Christ in the world today so we must live in a way that makes the presence of Christ known to those who are not listening to God. Do not be afraid or turn away from the challenge of sharing your faith or thinking you can’t do it. You are already doing it in numerous ways if in fact you are living according to the will of God. Our actions, our choices, our values and our priorities speak volumes to those around us. When we come to see the wisdom of what God is asking of us and make his will the blueprint for living our lives, then some who are un-churched will be awakened to what Christ has been offering us all along.
As one who is baptized, you are a disciple. Discipleship means reaching out and teaching others. Disciples realize that being a follower of Christ means belonging to a faith community that supports one another. True disciples hear God’s call and do something about it. They witness just as Andrew did. Pope Francis says that professing the faith without giving witness makes the gospel “words and nothing more than words. Faith is an encounter with Jesus Christ, with God.” And this, in his opinion, leads to witnessing.
Deep down, we know God wants us to witness to our faith and for our faith to bear fruit. God wants us to reach out to others even in the smallest way, but also in generous and big ways too. Doing so will bring others to Christ. Think of yourself as the 12th fan on God’s team!
What we accomplish by our witness may never be as impressive as what was done by Samuel or the apostles. What matters, however, is that we recognize God’s call in the ordinary events of life and generously respond, “Here am I, Lord. I come to do your will.”