Wednesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

“Hannah Giving Her Son Samuel to the Priest”
by Jan Victors, 1645

 
Readings for Wednesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading I: 1 Samuel 3:1-10, 19-20
 
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.
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Commentary on 1 Sm 3:1-10, 19-20
 
This passage contains the story of the call of Samuel popularized by the song, “Here I Am Lord.” It is clear from the text that this historical period did not have regular contacts with those gifted with prophecy. (“It was rare for the Lord to speak in those days.”) [4] It is the priest Eli who recognizes that it is God calling to the young Samuel and tells the boy how to respond.
 
"God's revelation to Samuel, which elevates him to the rank of prophet, contains a second message of calamity to the house of Eli.  The narrative consists of five parts: an introduction, dialogues between Eli and Samuel, the revelation (in the center), again dialogue between Eli and Samuel, and conclusion." [5]
 
Although it is not contained in the selection, verses 11-18 provide the context of Samuel’s first oracle. It turns out to be a punishment upon the family of Eli, whose sons have blasphemed. Samuel's fame, we are told, spreads as his favored status as prophet becomes known.
 
CCC: 1 Sm 3:9-10 2578
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 40:2 and 5, 7-8a, 8b-9, 10
 
R. (8a and 9a) Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
 
I have waited, waited for the LORD,
and he stooped toward me and heard my cry.
Blessed the man who makes the LORD his trust;
who turns not to idolatry
or to those who stray after falsehood.
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
 
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Burnt offerings or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, “Behold I come.”
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
 
“In the written scroll it is prescribed for me.
To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!”
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
 
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
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Commentary on Ps 40:2 and 5, 7-8a, 8b-9, 10
 
While Psalm 40 is a song of thanksgiving, it is also combined with a lament.  The psalmist's faithful anticipation is rewarded by God's favor, shown to one who is steadfast in service to Him.  Praise and thanksgiving are given to God whose justice is applied to all. This selection of the Psalm has a teaching or didactic note, as we hear the implied criticism of any who had not turned from false wisdom of pagans, idolatry, and sacrifices.  God’s harsh justice will be celebrated.
 
CCC: Ps 40:2 2657; Ps 40:7-9 LXX 462; Ps 40:7 2824
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Gospel: Mark 1:29-39
 
On leaving the synagogue
Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.
Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever.
They immediately told him about her.
He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up.
Then the fever left her and she waited on them.
 
When it was evening, after sunset,
they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.
The whole town was gathered at the door.
He cured many who were sick with various diseases,
and he drove out many demons,
not permitting them to speak because they knew him.
 
Rising very early before dawn,
he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.
Simon and those who were with him pursued him
and on finding him said, “Everyone is looking for you.”
He told them, “Let us go on to the nearby villages
that I may preach there also.
For this purpose have I come.”
So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons
throughout the whole of Galilee.
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Commentary on Mk 1:29-39
 
Jesus comes to the house of Simon (Peter) and Andrew from Capernaum. He continues to heal the sick and to cast out demons. This episode is somewhat different in that it occurs in a private setting, attended by the three privileged disciples. Scholars speculate that this, like other such accounts (Mark 4:10, 34; 5:37-40; 6:31-32), is an eyewitness report of the Lord’s revelation in the privacy of a home setting.
 
It is noteworthy that Mark tells us that as Jesus cast out demons, he was “not permitting them to speak because they knew him.” Demons presumably had supernatural powers and were therefore able to recognize the nature of Jesus. Because of this, he silenced them. He did so, it is proposed, because he needed to show the people (and his disciples) that he was not the “royal messiah,” but something unexpected.[6] The Gospel tells us that the Lord then went off to a deserted place to pray, and it was only when Simon and his companions came and found him that he continued his mission of proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom of God.
 
CCC: Mk 1:35 2602
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Reflection:
 
As we continue to see Christ revealing the Father’s love for us in Scripture in the fullness of his ministry, we also are given an additional insight into his obedience.  Taken alone, we might see the Gospel story of Jesus exercising his preaching and healing gifts as an expression of his self-directed salvific mission.  Indeed, because of the eternal nature of the Lord, this “purpose” is implicit throughout the period from his baptism to his crucifixion. 
 
However, we also are given the story of Samuel’s call.  Samuel, who was dedicated from birth to be set aside for service to God, is now a young man in the service of the very priest who spoke to his mother, Hannah. He is the same priest who gave her the temple blessing on her prayer that she might bear a son.  We are told that, in this period of history, encounters with God were rare and the role of the prophets had not yet developed into something recognized easily or expected.  It is the priest Eli, after having been awakened three times by Samuel, who recognizes the boy has been receiving a call from the Lord God.  He tells the boy how to respond.  From that point forward the story becomes one of call and response.
 
When we are given the story of the call of Samuel as a powerful example of how the call of God can be made known, we see that Jesus is also responding to the call of the Father.  Although in a different way because he is also true God, Jesus, nonetheless, is obedient to the Father’s will (we see this most graphically in his prayer in the garden just before the passion).
 
So the clear lesson we must take from God’s word today is to be alert and open to God’s call.  He came to Samuel as a summons in the night.  Because they are of the same essence, God’s will was made known to his Son Jesus very directly.  We will probably not be so fortunate as to have the Father’s will about our actions announced to us clearly. This is due, in a large degree, to the fact that when we pray, most of us spend most of our time talking and little time listening. 
 
Today our prayer is this; that we be given the grace to listen patiently and respond to God with zeal and love when he makes our purpose known to us.  As his disciples who want to do his will, it is critical that we listen for his voice, whether it comes at night indistinctly in a dream, through a sudden insight driven by the Word of God, or in brilliant flashes of clarity. (We can always hope for the latter.)
 
Pax

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[1] The picture is “Hannah Giving Her Son Samuel to the Priest” by Jan Victors, 1645.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, except for the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] See Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968, 9:13, 27-36, p. 166.
[5] The Jewish Study Bible, © 2004 Oxford University Press, New York, NY, p. 567.
[6] The Navarre Bible, “Gospels and Acts,” Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, p. 230.