Homily – 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time (2/5-6/21)
May 26, 2021Homily – The Feast of the Holy Family (12/27/21)
May 26, 20212nd Sunday of Ordinary Time
A Divine Call!
Archimedes was possibly the world’s most outstanding scientist, at least the greatest in the classical age. He was a physicist, mathematician, astronomer, inventor, and engineer who lived in Syracuse on the island of Sicily in the third century B.C. Many of his inventions, theories, and concepts are still in use today. Perhaps his best-known achievement was his Eureka moment when he discovered the principle of buoyancy, also known as the Archimedes principle. A moment of epiphany and a moment of enlightenment in the life of Archimedes!
In today’s Gospel (John1:35-42), we see John the Baptist introducing two of his disciples, Andrew and John, to Jesus as the “Lamb of God.” They followed Jesus to His residence by accepting His invitation to “come and see.” They went with Jesus and stayed with Him for the rest of that day. It was a Eureka Moment, a divine call in the life of those two disciples. So, Andrew went and brought his brother Simon whom Jesus called Peter. This was the call of the first apostles. The first reading (I Samuel 3: 3-10,19) describes how Yahweh called Samuel for His service. The boy Samuel responded to God promptly, as instructed by his master and mentor, Eli, saying, “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” It was another Eureka Moment, a divine call in the life of Samuel. Then, God blessed him in the mission entrusted to him, and Samuel became an illustrious figure, ranking with Moses and David as a man of God. In the second reading (I Corinth 6: 13-15,17-20), we see St. Paul writing to the Corinthians that they have a Divine call, a call to holiness. He reminds Christians that they need to keep their bodies pure and their souls holy because they have become parts of Christ’s Body and the temples of the Holy Spirit in Baptism.
The Christian life is a divine call and a Eureka moment every day. Every day we are finding Jesus anew, experiencing Jesus anew, and living Jesus anew! In the Gospel, we see John the Baptist became an agent by helping Andrew and John to respond to the divine call, to experience Jesus anew as the Messiah. It was John the Baptist who pointed to Jesus and said, “This is the lamb of God.” Here we see, John the Baptist as an icon of a selfless leader who guides the followers on the right path to experience God. He was not looking to build up his own following but letting his followers leave him and follow the Lamb of God. From the first reading, in the life of Samuel, we also see the same, Eli becoming an agent of guiding Samuel to respond to the divine call and helping him experience God.
Our role today as followers of Jesus is to bring people to Jesus and help others to realize their divine call and respond to it appropriately. God calls each of us to stay with him as he invited Andrew and John. They stayed, experienced, and brought others to Jesus. Are we willing to stay with him to touch Him and experience Him? Are we willing to bring more people to Jesus as Andrew did?
A Divine call is always irresistible! Look at the call of Moses and several other prophets! God Choose them, and then He calls them, He molds them, and He makes them as His agents and instruments. The same Jesus who invited Andrew and John is inviting you and me today to come and see. Are we ready and willing to go, or do we want to cling on to our cozy zones? God bless us all. May you have a blessed weekend!
Fr. Tomy Joseph Puliyanampattayil, MSFS (Fr. T J. Puliyan, MSFS)
