2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, feast of St. Paul the Hermit Sunday, January 15, 2012

1. Master Speak Thy servant is listening

2. Samuel slept in the sanctuary – where the Arc of the Convernant was, he slept there so as to ensure that the lamp in the Sunctury will not go off, like we have in the Church.

3. 1 Sam 3:3 And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep; 4 That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I. 5 And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down. 6 And the LORD called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again. 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him. 8 And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child. 9 Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.

3. Samuel experienced the call & note that he responded though for the. 1st 2 nights, he responded but not appropriately. But on the 3rd time with Eli teaching he responded.

4. In the Gospel, the calling was also through the prompting of John the Baptist, but it was not verbal. And the Disciples of John responded.

5. John 1:35 Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; 36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! 37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? 39 He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. 42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.

5. Today’s call to Holiness & we should respond

6. So in the 2nd reading, St. Paul calls us to come to Holiness & avoid immorality. Immorality which abounds.

7. 1 Corth 6:13 Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body. 14 And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power. 15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. 16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. 17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. 18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. 19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

7. We are called to keep the lamp of our faith burning which will ensure that we keep holy.

8. The Body is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, so let’s not defile it.

9. Note that in the Gospel, Peter who was unholy on encountering Jesus, was converted from Simon to Cephas, the Rock upon which Christ will build His Church.

10. Note that it is not by our power that we become Holy, it is by His Grace. All we need to do is to open our heart to receive Him, in His Word & in His Body, the Eucharist.

11. He is calling us to Holiness, so that we can also us spread that Holiness.

12. It is our prayer in the Mass that when we leave we will leave transformed to Christ.

13. It is the reason for the Restoration Programme. We need to clean our wounds off sin, so that when the balm is poured on it during the restoration, we will be made whole & Holy.