+ We are only in the first chapter of Mark and, “everyone was looking for” him.
He literally had to “escape” from them in order to become free to do what he had come to do.
He wanted to, and in fact, did go from town to town searching out through his preaching and teaching; and healing all who were hungry to hear, see, and be touched by his words.
It almost seems at times that there was almost an explosion of grace coming out from this man!
No wonder people were amazed and so attracted to him.
In the story of Samuel we get to see the beginnings of a life of prophetic service.
God called and called and called, and Samuel really could not figure out what was happening to him.
But thanks be to God; Samuel was minister to the Lord (for after all, his mother had dedicated him to the Lord) under Eli the old priest.
Three times he heard the voice of God but did not recognize the voice.
Three times he ran to Eli to answer, “Here I am. You called me.”
Three times Eli answered back, “I did not call you. Go back to sleep.”
Finally the priest of God realized. His experience spoke loudly to him, and he knew exactly how to teach Samuel to speak to God and to surrender to God.
Samuel repeated exactly what Eli taught him to say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”
Then, we, following Samuel’s example, utter these words five times in Psalm 40 today —
“Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.”
+ What if, five times a day — morning, noon, night, and then here and there — we uttered those same words?
What if, five times a day, we were to listen and surrender to God and express our desire to do his will?
What would it mean — what could it mean — if we saw ourselves as ministers of God’s will, and happy souls doing that will of God each day?
And maybe we all need a little of Eli in our lives, too.
Maybe we need to share with one another our own experiences of God, and our own growth in listening and surrendering so that others might learn it, too.
Yes, from us! And why not? Why not practice it right now?
Is it too hard to say? I think not.
And so, here we go —
“Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.”
Amen!
Father Perry Dean Leiker is the 13th pastor of St. Bernard Catholic Church. Reach him at (323) 255-6142. Email Father Perry at pleiker@stbernard-church.com.
