Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (2)

Speak Lord, for your servant listening

Prayer communication w/ God

often one sided

foster listening, not simply asking, or worse simply telling

how find God in prayer?

help from first reading and gospel

speak Lord, for your servant listening

Samuel + Gospel

Notice where both Andrew and Samuel are staying when the voice of God

Samuel

student of Eli

is sleeping in the Temple away from the world!

Andrew

student of John the baptist

in desert away from the world

Both rely on intercession of God’s servants on Earth for education

Both living outside the world

Both waiting for God’s actions in life by cleaning up their own house

Made straight the paths, washed/baptized themselves of spiritual impurities

requires help of others and purification to better hear

IT person to fix a broken phone thats would be ringing

not necessarily fun, tho perhaps some enjoyment in spiritual combat

Now ritual washing/baptism, what a formula to listen?

Speak Lord, servant listening

Speak

Response to God

desire or knowledge that should pray

stronger and louder more we seek

phones already ringing ‘Dime Senor’

must trust that

Lord

Recognize who we are asking to speak

God HIMSELF

He is fundamentally simple honest Truth itself, Goodness Itself, Beauty itself

Infinitely more intelligent than us

not vastly more, infintiely more

the one you ask knows better than you do

know who ask so youre actually asking Him

Your Servant

acknowledge this relation

as Christ agony for our example

not my will be done, but yours [Mark 24:36]

stop asking Him as if you were God and knew best

seek His will first as a servant

pride and self-importance no place in prayer

not a fairy God father goal and reward Himself

as James says we ask wrongly to spend on our passions and so do not receive [James 4:3] telling us love of world is emnity with God

God, and nothign in this life is where our identity is ultimately found, for ourselves and others

so if seeking God for ulterior motive, then don’t expect insight

He alone is the Good

Listening

what gets in way listening?

dishonesty

be brutally honest

don’t try to hear what you want, try to just hear truth

don’t tell God what to say

even if think it is not what you want, remember God wants what is best for us like a parent

distractions

hardest part

treating all anxieties, thoughts, appetites as noise

think of 1 Kings 19:12 (not earthquake or storm but the light silent sound

God, Goodness itself, speaks through direct peaceful truth

found in the dead quite of the distractions

This takes time and practice and it is utter dependence and reliance on God, letting go of our last self-reliant attachments (the interior attachments of the mind)

like for Samuel, God is already speaking in ourselves which are Temples of the Spirit, we often just need to learn to actually listen.

Conclusion

How do we pray, think of Samuel

speak Lord, servant listening,

but best way to find God is as Christ says in the Gospel today:

come and you will see

Notes:

Me:

We hear God speaking “b4 we know him”

God initiates it

Samuel: “God hears”

Eli “my God”

leading up to this call is grave sins of Eli’s house

Sams in a holy place

get house in order if expect to hear God

---What are you looking for, you will be called Peter

---who say I am, you are Peter.

Commentators:

Pitre:

“Behold Lamb of God”

probably referring to:

exodus 12

Is 53. (silent like lamb led to slaughter)

where staying (abide meneo) used alot in John

close proximity

4 o clock

dwelling b4 sunset in Judaism

you will be called (already knows who be)

Andrew and other disciple are quite religious already

ready for call (Probably Samuel too)

Shemu’el ‘God hears’