I HAVE CALLED YOU BY NAME
Good Sunday morning to you! Today’s scripture speaks tenderly to our hearts about God calling us by our name & our response to His call.
We see the Lord calling young Samuel in our First Reading today in 1 Samuel 3. Twice the Lord called out “Samuel! Samuel!” and Samuel ran over to Eli, the priest of the temple, thinking that Eli had summoned him. Only on the 3rd call did Samuel, having been guided by Eli, respond appropriately to the Lord with “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” (cf 1 Samuel 3:10). And from that day onwards, Samuel’s prophetic ministry began.
Likewise, in today’s Gospel, Jesus invited Andrew & another of John the Baptist’s followers to “Come and See.” (cf John 1:39) This led to Andrew bringing his brother Simon to Jesus. Jesus saw in Simon the future leader & shepherd of His Church and named him Cephas (Peter), meaning Rock.
What can we learn from today’s readings? Firstly, the initiative to believe in Jesus & come to Him is the solely the Lord’s. It is He who calls us – “You did not choose me; no, I chose you.” (cf John 15:16) He invites us to “Come and See” where & how He lives; His ministry; His mercy and love; His sacrifice for us on the Cross: His Risen Life; His abiding presence with us forever through the Holy Spirit in the Catholic Church.
Secondly, it is left up to us how we respond. Some of us will be like Samuel – we hear His invitation, & we joyfully embrace the call by saying “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” Or like many people, including Eli the priest, we are hard of hearing or hardened in heart, so much so we they miss or intentionally shut out the voice of God calling our name & inviting us into a loving relationship with Him.
There is a beautiful & touching scene in the recent hit movie series “The Chosen” on the life of Jesus from the Gospels, Season One Episode One. Mary Magdalene, reeling from deep confusion & sadness, meets Jesus. Jesus calls her name “Mary”. She is stunned, & Jesus then goes on to declare Isaiah 43:1 to her “Do not be afraid, I have redeemed you. I have called you by name. You are mine.” – the same words that she clung on to as a child in her times of fear & difficulty. Mary Magdalene responded with love & gratitude to Jesus & embraced Him as her Lord & Master.
While the above is a story by the scriptwriters in “The Chosen” & not contained in the Gospels, the Gospels do show that Mary Magdalene followed Jesus; faithfully stood near His cross with Mother Mary when the other apostles had fled (see John 19:25); was the first person to recognize the Risen Lord at the tomb when he called her name: “Mary”; & went to tell the wonderous good news to the disciples that Jesus had risen from the dead. (see John 20:16-18)
Today, Jesus is calling you & me lovingly by name. Will we be like Abraham, Moses, Samuel, Jeremiah, Peter, Andrew, Mary Magdalene (& countless other ancestors of our faith) & reply with the psalmist in today’s Responsorial Psalm “Here I am, Lord.” (cf Psalm 40:8-9)?
Article by Damian Boon, HFC Blog Team Lead