Both the first reading (1 Sm 3:3b-10, 19) and the gospel (Jn 1:35-42) this Sunday carry the theme of God calling people to start a relationship with him. In the first reading, Samuel responded to God’s call saying, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” In the gospel, John the Baptist, when he saw Jesus passing by, said to the two disciples who were with him, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” Hearing this, the two disciples followed Jesus and asked him, “Teacher, where are you staying?” to which Jesus replied, “Come and see.”
Just as the Lord called Samuel and the two disciples, he is also calling each and everyone of us to look at him, follow him, and see the fullness of life that comes from a loving relationship with him. He is calling us because we belong to him. Within the second reading (1 Cor 6:13c-15a, 17-20) we read, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?”
Yes, we were created to fulfill God’s purpose. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (No. 1721) says it clearly with the following words, “God put us in the world to know, to love, and to serve him, and so to come to Paradise” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1721).
We were created to know who our Creator is, and that is God himself. God intentionally brought us to existence, just as he did to Jeremiah when he told him, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you” (Jer 1:5). Praying to the Father, Jesus said, “Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ” (Jn 17:3).
We were created to love Him who first loved us. He showed his love for us by offering his very life for the salvation of our souls, and for this, our response should also be love. Asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus answered, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt 22:37-39).
Finally, we were created to serve God who, because of his supreme authority over all peoples and beings in heaven and on earth, deserve all the worship and praise. Jesus himself gave us the perfect example of a life of service – serving God directly and in others. Matthew 20:28 says, “Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” In humility, he washed his disciples’ feet, and then said, “If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do” (Jn 13:14-15). Tirelessly, he obeyed the Father’s will, and tirelessly, too, he preached the good news, healed the sick, drove out demons, and served God’s design even unto the cross. We may not do things as grandiose as he did, but we are called to serve God and our fellowmen in the ordinary things of everyday life.
This 2024, may we be more sensitive to God’s call and like Samuel say, “Here am I, Lord, I come to do your will.” Knowing him, loving him, and serving him will, in the end, lead us to our eternal home – heaven – in perfect union with God, and with all his angels and saints.