2ND SUNDAY HOMILY IN ORDINARY TIME, YR B.
BY: Fr. Jude Nnadi
Brethren, “In the night, the Lord called: Samuel!” … “Jesus turned and said to them: Come and see!”. In these two biblical phrases we see a common thread in our reflection today. They are roots of two tales of vocation. The first has as its protagonist Samuel, prophet, and priest, around 1030 BC. His call came progressively, in several stages, it is not like a stormy and blinding eruption as the road to Damascus was for Paul; rather a slow apprenticeship that begins in the peaceful and silent night of the Temple.
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The initiative is always of God. Samuel’s adhesion though youthful; but was blind: constantly he asked the priest of the sanctuary of Shiloh: Did you call me? It will be only the fourth time, after three failures, that Samuel discovers his true vocation, that of not being a simple servant of a priest but a minister of the living God, prophet, and spokesman for him. From his response of that night Samuel is transformed into a new man with a new destiny. Like Jacob on the banks of the Jabbok River (Gen 32), Samuel was born in a full and authentic way.
Even in the second vocation story, that of Andrew and Peter, the initiative starts from God. It is Christ who turns and looks at those two disciples of John the Baptist. The Baptist “fixes his gaze on Jesus”, Jesus “turns and sees” the two who follow John and invites them to “come and see”; they “see where Jesus lives” and ultimately Jesus “fixes his gaze” on them calling them to a new destiny. It is not a question of a simple intertwining of glances, but a profound dialogue that leads to fullness of vocation encounter.
In the end, “seeking” is followed by a “finding”. From, “What are you looking for? To “We have found the Messiah!”. From a simple rabbi, Hebrew honorary title for teachers which literally translates “the great one”, Jesus becomes in the eyes of those men, the “Messiah-Christ”. No one ever encounters God and remains the same. By this act of communion with the Messiah a new man is born with a new name: just like Jacob on that famous night of struggle by Jabbok River had witnessed his name changed to “Israel”, now Simon of John becomes “Cephas-Peter”, a sign of great communion. An encounter with God positively upsets design, overwhelms resistance, and involves life in a joyful and total commitment.
There is a final element common to the two stories of vocation in our liturgy today. To reach the right path of personal calling, the help of a fraternal presence, that of a friend, a teacher, a spiritual director is precious. For Samuel, it is the priest Eli who, without replacing the one that called, guides, and directs him. For Andrew, it is the Baptist who points his finger at Christ presenting him as the Lamb of God. For Peter, it is his brother, Andrew, who announces to him with joy: “We have found Messiah!”. Through the help of a father, sister or brother, the steps on the path of vocation become safer and more embracing. Nobody is saved alone; everyone is saved supported by divine grace and human fraternity. We are invited in our liturgy today to help others discover their true and authentic Vocation in God who knows and calls each by name.
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