Word to the Wise
Sunday, January 18, 2015 - 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - B
[1 Sam 3:3b-10, 19; 1 Cor 6:13c-15a, 17-20; John 1:35-42]"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. [John]
The Director of Vocations of the Dominican province to which I belong organizes a couple of weekends a year for young men who might be interested in joining the Dominican Order. These weekends are called "Come and see!" experiences. We know that the process of making a decision to commit oneself to enter the process of discernment about a vocation takes time. But it begins with some encounter in faith that leads to inquiry. ("Rabbi, where are you staying?) John the Baptist, in today's gospel scripture, serves as a kind of personal catalyst by pointing out Jesus as "the Lamb of God." In the first scriipture for today, the priest Eli, serves as the catalyst for Samuel who is hearing a call of some kind and is confused. Even Eli is not certain at first, but eventually tells Samuel to reply, "Speak, for your servant is listening."
Recently I have preached a retreat for diocesan seminarians and then gave some presentations to the novices for our Dominican province. All these men are trying to discern if the call to diocesan priesthood or religious life is genuine in them. Each one has a story to tell about how he came to this point. In most cases, it is a person who encourages him or points out something that causes the process to begin. The Gospel of John and the Book of Samuel show how this could happen. It could happen to anyone in the Beloved Congregation. We may be the one who is seeking or we may be the one who is encouraging. We need both kinds. AMEN