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1 Samuel 3: 1-20

During the time young Samuel was minister to the LORD under Eli,
a revelation of the LORD was uncommon and vision infrequent.
One day Eli was asleep in his usual place.
His eyes had lately grown so weak that he could not see.
The lamp of God was not yet extinguished,
and Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the LORD
where the ark of God was.
The LORD called to Samuel, who answered, “Here I am.”

Samuel ran to Eli and said, “Here I am.  You called me.”
“I did not call you,” Eli said.  “Go back to sleep.” 
So he went back to sleep.
Again the LORD called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli.
“Here I am,” he said. “You called me.”
But Eli answered, “I did not call you, my son. Go back to sleep.”
At that time Samuel was not familiar with the LORD,
because the LORD had not revealed anything to him as yet.
The LORD called Samuel again, for the third time.
Getting up and going to Eli, he said, “Here I am. 
You called me.”
Then Eli understood that the LORD was calling the youth.
So Eli said to Samuel, “Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply,
‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’” 
When Samuel went to sleep in his place,
the LORD came and revealed his presence,
calling out as before, “Samuel, Samuel!”
Samuel answered, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

Samuel grew up, and the LORD was with him,
not permitting any word of his to be without effect.
Thus all Israel from Dan to Beersheba
came to know that Samuel was an accredited prophet of the LORD.

The Word of the Lord.

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Imagine you’re at a show in Las Vegas. Some popular magician has just walked onto a stage set with all sorts of props – a cage, boxes, saws, wands, swords, and so on.

After prepping the crowd, raising their expectations, he declares his need for help from the audience. Suddenly, you find his finger pointing right at you.

Like everyone else around you, your neck keeps turning as you seek to identify who the “unlucky” winner is. No, it’s not your neighbor.

It’s you.

The magician has called you onto stage.

Anyone who isn’t inclined to risk, who isn’t extroverted or a daredevil, might be a bit unhappy with this magician’s choice; you didn’t buy your ticket only to become another prop on his stage!

But there you are. The audience roars. The time has come to stand up and go.

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Though there is nothing “magical” about our faith, that sensation of being chosen – and feeling like you’re the last one fit for the job – happens quite frequently in the bible.

In our first reading, for example, God chooses Samuel to be his servant. Samuel’s young and inexperienced, but he becomes one of the great prophets of the Old Testament, preparing the way for Jesus.

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Like an unexpecting spectator, Samuel could’ve said, “Why me? Why not him or her?” 

But hear his response: “Here I am, Lord…Your servant is listening.”

How might our day change if we repeated Samuel’s words, “Here I am Lord” ?

I come to do your will.

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Image credits: (1) Fine Art America, Unique Trees (2) The Conversation (3) God Encounters Ministries

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Gospel: Mark 1: 21-28

Jesus came to Capernaum with his followers, 
and on the sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught.
The people were astonished at his teaching,
for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.
In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit;
he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are–the Holy One of God!” 
Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet!  Come out of him!”
The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him.
All were amazed and asked one another,
 “What is this?
A new teaching with authority.
He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.”
His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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When I think of a sacred space, I think of this church. This altar. This pulpit. The Saints and the Stations of the Cross that line our walls.

Sacred spaces are filled with holy things that point us to God.

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In today’s Gospel, there’s a man with an unclean spirit present in the synagogue. The synagogue is a holy place, so why is he there?

Surely, he doesn’t belong.  

Or does he?

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I imagine him to be a conflicted man, both a sinner and a believer – a man who knew he was under the power of something stronger than himself.

Maybe he showed up in the synagogue that day hoping to be set free.

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This becomes the first miracle that Jesus performs in Mark’s Gospel, giving this man an added meaning.

Perhaps Mark uses him as an image for all of us. 

Like that man in the synagogue, at times aren’t we all possessed by something, or under the influence of something stronger than ourselves?

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Think of the person who gives into a particular temptation over and over again; the person who cannot find the grace to forgive; the person who harbors jealous or judgmental thoughts about others.

Occasionally, we all need the healing grace of Jesus.

The best place to find it is either where that man was – in the house of God – or in the grace-filled silence of prayer.

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Image credits: (1) Limbourg Brothers, Jesus Casts Out an Unclean Spirit (2) Lens of Faith Blog (3) Indian Catholic Matters

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Gospel: Mark 1: 14-20

After John had been arrested,
Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God:
“This is the time of fulfillment.
The Kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”

As he passed by the Sea of Galilee,
he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea;
they were fishermen.
Jesus said to them,
“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Then they left their nets and followed him.
He walked along a little farther
and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.
They too were in a boat mending their nets.
Then he called them.
So they left their father Zebedee in the boat
along with the hired men and followed him.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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A few years ago, I spent the summer volunteering at the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal. 

One morning I noticed an old blind priest shuffling in to celebrate Mass. Holding onto the arm of a young man, he bent over to kiss the altar.

“Now, how is he going to celebrate Mass?” I wondered. “He’s blind!”

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After being guided to his chair, the priest was handed a set of headphones and a tape player. 

“In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” he said. 

Then it hit me…the young man who escorted him in for Mass recorded all of the prayers ahead of time, so that the priest could listen to his voice and then repeat what he heard.

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That bond between the elderly priest and the young man reminded me of two things we find in today’s Gospel: the desire for friendship and the invitation to hand on our faith.

Like us, Jesus wanted friends to share his journey with, and he needed witnesses to hand on their faith in him, which is why he calls Peter, Andrew, James, and John.

They will continue the good work that he begins.

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In that sense, faith and friendship are connected. Like that young man learning from a blind priest, we learn about Jesus from others.

Then we’re invited to hand on that faith.

So, who might I share my faith with today?

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Image credits: (1) WomenLivingWell.org (2) Duccio di Buoninsegna, The Calling of the Apostles Peter and Andrew (3) Pravmir.com