Homily Ordinary 2B: Preparing the ground for vocations

 Homily for 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B 2018 

1 Samuel 3:3-10,19; 1 Corinthians 6:13-15,17-20; John 1:35-42

Introduction 

How do people like Drew Brees or Michael Jordan become sports stars?  How do people like Denzel Washington or Meryl Streep become great actors?  How do people like Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King whose legacy of working for human dignity and equality we celebrate this week, become great leaders? 

I would like to suggest that the success we see in such stars is only the tip of the iceberg.  Before they reach the pinnacle of their career, there is often much preparation, back-breaking hard work and tonnes of sweat, which unfortunately, like the rest of the iceberg, we often don't get to see. 

Scripture and Theology 

Today’s readings also provide us with celebrities of sorts: 

1. Samuel in the Old Testament called to be a prophet of God, a king-maker who chose and anointed Saul and David, the first two kings of Israel; 
2. Andrew and his brother Simon were called to be disciples and later become Apostles of Jesus.  In fact Simon would have his name changed to Cephas, or Peter, which means rock and would captain the ship we call the Church.  In a rags to riches kind of story, the fisherman became pope. 

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But what is the back story of these men?  I would like us to reflect on all the preparation that led to the success of these men in their specific missions.  While God can call anybody he wants, any time he wants and make them prophets or apostles overnight, that is not how he usually operates.  Often, like he did Samuel and the two brothers, he takes his time working on them in the background, usually through the mediation of other people. 

Let's start with Samuel.  He was the only son of Hannah his mother.  She had been unable to give her husband a child for many years and had suffered the taunts of the other wife.  But after hearing her repeated cries, God intervened and she gave birth to Samuel.  You would think that such a woman, when she finally gets a son, would cling to him.  But Hannah in gratitude instead gave the boy back to God, giving him to the priest Eli, to raise him for the service of the Lord.  The boy grew up in the house of the Lord.  You can think of his time with Eli, as an apprenticeship to learn a trade.  In his case, however, the trade was not carpentry or plumping, but the work of the Lord. 

Eli would play an even more important role in the calling of Samuel itself as we just heard.  Three times Samuel does not know it is God calling him, thinking that it is Eli, the priest, his teacher, calling.  Only after conferring with Eli three times does Samuel realize that it is God calling.  He needed the help of Eli who told him: "Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening."  Eli was an essential hearing-aid, if you like, to enable Samuel hear the voice of the Lord. 

Similarly with Andrew and Peter, God used other people to prepare them for their calling.  As we saw already, Andrew and unnamed disciple, probably John, were followers of John the Baptist.  These men had heard everything that the Baptist had taught them about the coming of the Messiah, about the need to prepare the pathways, about the Kingdom being at hand!  In all likelihood, they had also undergone John's baptism of repentance, a sign of converting from a life of sin to a life of righteousness as they awaited the coming of the Messiah.  And then as we heard today, John literally pointed Jesus out to them saying “Behold, the Lamb of God.”  In other words, saying, "guys, the man I have been telling you about is right there; go to him."  They both go to Jesus to ask him: “where are you staying?”  This is their way of saying, “Hey man, we want to hang out with you.” 

And did you notice how Jesus welcomed them?  He asked: "What are you looking for?"  Jesus recognized that these men were not novices, but men who  God had already touched and set on a journey of searching.  By calling them to become his disciples, Jesus was only capping a journey that began long before. 

And what John the Baptist was for Andrew and his friend, preparing and nudging them towards Jesus, Andrew became that bridge for his brother Simon.  He told him, "We have found the Messiah" and brought him to Jesus, and as they say, the rest is history. 

Christian Life 

The Lord continues to call people today.  There is the basic call for us all to be disciples, to be Christians.  And within this wider call, each of us is called to a specific vocation, such as the priesthood, the religious life, marriage and for some the single life.  We need to prepare those whom God calls today.  Can we be Eli to the Samuels of today? Can we be John the Baptist to the Andrews of today?  Can we be Andrew to the Simons of today? 

In my vocation journey, I have had many Elis, John the Baptists and Andrews.  I have had the privilege of attending many good schools and had many great teachers.  These nuns and brothers, priests and deacons, catechists and teachers, gave me the skills and knowledge, so that I could hear the voice of the Lord and respond appropriately, “Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening." 

And yet, I would say that despite all the help I received in school and seminary, the real journey that led to my ordination to the priesthood on July 4, 1998 begun at home in my family.  Mom set me on this journey, when she taught us and with us said the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be to the Father; when she told us Bible stories in a way we as children could understand, many of which stories aI still remember today; when she took us to church on Sunday, even when that meant walking three miles to church.  She made it possible for me to know Jesus, fall in love with Jesus and be ready when he called me to be a priest, to say, “Yes, Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will." 

Similarly perhaps many of you have also responded to your calling, because first you attended that all-important school of mom and dad.  At a conference about vocations a few years ago one anxious young father asked the speaker: “What is the best way for me to inspire vocation in my children?”  The nun who was giving the talk told him: “start by loving and caring for your wife.”  When the children see the love between mom and dad, they will learn too how to be good husbands and good wives, how to be good priests and good religious. 

Besides our teachers in school, besides our families, there is one more group that is crucial in fostering vocation: you the ordinary parishioners.  Do you encourage fellow parishioners to pursue their vocations of marriage, religious life or the priesthood?  Have you come up to a young man and said: “You look like one who would make a darn good priest?” Have you come up to a young couple that is dating, or that is newly married but having some problems, encouraging them in their commitment, giving some advice from your experience?  Have you been Eli, John the Baptist and Andrew to others outside your family? 

Conclusion 

We have a shortage of priests, religious, even lasting marriages today.  Some might think that the Lord has stopped calling people to vocations, like he did in the past.  I submit that God is still calling people; perhaps it is we who have somewhat dropped the ball in this enterprise.  Perhaps we need to step up to the plate to prepare and help people to hear his voice. 

In that way, like the high school coach of Drew Brees watching him play in the Superbowl, or like the high school drama teacher of Meryl Streep watching her win an oscar, or the catechist of Martin Luther King seeing him give his “I have a Dream speech at the Lincoln Memorial,” we too can look back at the vocations we have fostered and say, we knew them back when, we helped them hear God’s voice and say: "Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will."