DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(1 Sam 3,3-10.19; 1Cor 6,13-15.17-20; John 1,35-42: 2nd Sun of Year: Year B)
The first reading presents to us the figure of Samuel as he was rendering cultic services in Silo’s sanctuary, where the ark of the Covenant was kept. The Lord was speaking to him but he was unable to discern the voice of the Lord and therefore missing the message. He needed Eli’s guidance to realize that it was the Lord who was calling him. As soon as he did so, he responded with all his soul disposition saying: Speak Lord, your servant is listening! As we participate in Holy Mass and other liturgical assemblies, we listen to God as he speaks and addresses us. With the guidance of the Priest and especially the assistance of the Holy Spirit we can then understand the message God is giving to us at any given moment. We should, like Samuel, follow the guidance of our Priests in order to discern the voice of God and the message being passed on. Young Samuel’s disposition should be our disposition and attitude at our prayer sessions. But often a time we seem to inundate God with all types of petitions, long lists of favours we want God to do for us. We deposit all of them in God’s ears without caring to listen to what He would want us to hear, know or do about our petitions. Prayer is a dialogue. God speaks to us and we speak to him. It should not be a one way traffic: our speaking to God only for he also has a lot to communicate to us on every single incident of our lives. Such prayer dialogue between us and God will nurture in us the good disposition to do God’s will in our lives. This will enable us resolve with the Psalmist who composed the responsorial refrain: Here I am Lord! I come to do your will.
One of the good news of today’s gospel reading is the revelation made by John the Baptist that Jesus was the Messiah, when he exclaimed as Jesus was passing by: Look, there is the lamb of God. Jesus was the true paschal lamb that would be immolated for the freedom and liberation of men from the slavery of sin. He is the faithful servant that was announced by Isaiah and who took upon himself the sins of the people. What John the Baptist said about Jesus made an impression on Andrew and John. Later on, Andrew declared to his brother Peter with joy: We have found the Messiah. It was in the ensuing encounter which Jesus had with Peter that He constituted him one of his disciples and the rock upon which He would build his Church. God, through Christ, calls each one of us as his disciple, just as he called Samuel, Andrew, John and Peter. He does so in order to make us participate in the work of salvation, first of all by closely adhering to him in a rapport of friendship and then becoming messengers of his work of evangelization by bringing our neighbours in contact with Christ as John the Baptist did (who pointed Christ to John the Evangelist and Andrew) and also Andrew (who brought Peter to Jesus).
Another good news of today’s gospel is that Jesus wishes to share his life with us, to have a deep rapport of friendship, based on deep knowledge and love. Jesus expressed his willingness to allow the disciples to experience him, and come to know his identity; a knowledge that could open a new vista for them, when in reply to their question, where do you live? he answered: Come and see.By this invitation to the disciples and by extension to us, Jesus wishes to make it clear that each of us can enter into intimate friendship with him any time we have a quiet time with him alone, at prayer, meditation and contemplation, when we encounter him in the Sacraments and when we strive to live always in the state of grace avoiding all sins that disconnect us from God.
One of the obstacle to this intimacy and encounter with Christ and what weakens our bringing Christ to others is the sin of impurity, the sin against one’s body: fornication, adultery, masturbation, etc. Paul brings out theological points to illustrate the gravity of these sins by noting first of all, that our bodies are parts of Christ: It (our body) is for the Lord and the Lord for the body. This truth is the aftermath of baptism. At baptism we are inserted, as it were, into Christ and our bodies as such do not belong any longer to us but to Christ and as such we should not do anything we like with it. We are not, therefore, to abuse it. As we belong to Christ, we hope to rise with him. Our own bodies will also rise with him. Another truth about our body that is consequent to our baptism is that we are temples of the Holy Spirit. We should neither defile the temple of the Holy Spirit nor grieve the Holy Spirit that abides in us. Another theological reason adduced by Paul for the avoidance of sins of impurity is that we were bought with great price. This price is nothing other than the blood of Christ.Christ redeemed us in toto, body and soul and we, therefore, should use our bodies for the glory of God. May we in today’s Eucharistic celebration ask the good Lord for the graces to be able to discern his voice and be ever willing to adhere to his will. May we also pray for the graces to know, love and be intimate with Christ, for this will enable us recognize our bodies really as the temples of the Holy Spirit redeemed with the great price of the Blood of Christ which we participate in today’s Eucharistic celebration.
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