Homily for January 13th, 2016: 1 Samuel 3:1-10,
19-20.
The child
Samuel, for whom his mother, Hannah, long unable to conceive, prayed with tears,
is now some twelve years old. Since his mother, as we heard yesterday, has
promised him to the Lord, he is already serving the Lord in the temple at Shiloh , supervised by the old and almost blind priest
Eli.
Asleep in the temple
one evening, Samuel hears someone calling his name. Because the temple doors
have been locked for the night, he assumes that Eli has called him. He goes to
the old priest and says: “Here I am. You called me.” “No I didn’t call you,”
Eli responds. “Go back to sleep.” When this happens twice more, Eli realizes
that the Lord was calling the boy. Again Eli sends Samuel back to bed, telling
him: “If you are called, reply, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’”
For centuries
Samuel’s response to the first three calls, “Here I am,” would be spoken in the rite for the ordination of priests.
When the name of each candidate was called out, he would reply with the single
Latin word, adsum, which means,
literally, “Here I am.” Today the candidate says the English word, “Present,”
which means the same thing. The word, whether spoke in Latin or English, means
the same thing: ‘Here I am, Lord, ready for service.’
A priest
ordained at the end of his thirties was asked how he came to priesthood. His
reply: “I got tired of saying no to the Lord.” Now in his mid-forties, he is
happy and fulfilled in the service of God and of his holy people.
Are you
unhappy, resentful, frustrated, unfulfilled? Then, perhaps, you are saying no
to the Lord. Turn that no into a yes. Say, with the boy Samuel and ten thousands
of priests down the ages: ‘Here I am, Lord. Speak, for your servant is
listening. Take me, shape me, mold me. Give me the flame of your love in my
heart.’ The moment you say that, and truly mean it, you will be more than rich;
and you will desire nothing more.
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