Here I am.
Speak Lord your servant is listening.
Our first reading this Sunday tells us of Samuel. A Prophet of God who was a little reluctant to hear the voice of God.
When God called him, ‘Samuel!’ he thought his master was calling him – Eli.
Three times God calls him – ‘Samuel, Samuel!’ and three times he goes to Eli and says ‘Here I am!’
The third time Eli sees what is going on and tells him to lie down and if he is called again to say ‘speak, for your servant is listening’. So Samual does as he is told and listens.
God calls him once more ‘Samuel, Samuel!’ and Samuel answered, ‘speak Lord, your servant is listening’.
Scripture tells us that Samual grew up and the Lord was with him – and he let no word of his ‘fall to the ground’.
How often does God call out to people we know and they fail to understand what is happening? How often have you seen the work of the Holy Spirit in friends life and they’ve not seen it for what it is?
Perhaps, quite understandably, they’re so pre-occupied with the world around them that they fail to grasp the enormity of what is happening.
Sometimes we have to be like Eli and take our friend’s hand and say to them;
“Listen! God is calling to you. Next time it happens whisper back ‘Lord, your servant is listening’ and see what He has to say to you.”
Fr. Matthew
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