2024/01/14 SCRIPTURE REFLECTION
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
-Marta Stepniak, Dir. of Evangelization, Children’s & Leader Formation
The First Reading is taken from the First Book of Samuel 3:3-10; 19 and gives an account of Samuel's vocation to take over the leadership of the Chosen People. What does it mean to be called by God?
In this passage we see Samuel at a time when the voice and presence of God has gone silent for a while. Eli, however, had not forgotten the voice of God. Eli remembered God’s sound. It was because Eli had a relationship with God and knew God’s voice that he was able to confirm that it was God who was calling out to Samuel.
God’s voice and presence in our lives change as we get older and our faith matures. In some seasons God’s voice and presence feel larger than life, consuming and all powerful. In other seasons God’s voice and presence feel like a gentle breeze or distant whisper. The ability to recognize the voice of God is critical for us and also essential for our ability to share with others who are searching to hear God. We should be able to recognize God’s voice even when life seems too loud. God’s sound, tone, warmth is in our lives. God’s call comes when we least expect it and often to those we least expect. God is always the God of surprises. We, as the church, need to be like Eli, encouraging everyone to hear the voice that calls them forth into all they are created to be. At the same time, we help each other to tell the truth, even when the truth is hard to hear. Think of a time when you failed to hear God calling you. What helps you to listen to God?
The Second Reading is from the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians 6:13c-15a, 17-20 in which St. Paul makes it crystal clear that justifying fornication as part of Christian liberty is an incorrect interpretation of his preaching and that the body must be preserved from all immorality. Your body is a temple of the Spirit. Paul invites us to consider the way we treat our physical bodies and how that reflects our unity with Christ. It is a great reminder that our bodies are not temples we own but temples that belong to God. Our task is to care for the temples we have access to. We follow God’s rules to honor our temples. There is a variety of ways to understand how one cares for one’s own body. Our job is not to judge how others take care of their God-given temples but to work on our own care for what God has given, all the while honoring that gift.
Connecting thoughts from both readings — we have to use our wisdom based on our relationship with Jesus to judge what is beneficial and acceptable for our lives and for those in our community. Leaning on our relationship to Jesus is key. God has plans for us. Even if we never hear God’s audible voice, through Scripture God still provides guidance for our lives.
Lord, help us to pause, stop, breathe, wait, and listen. May we honor you in all that we do.