When Eli finally understands that it is the Lord who was calling Samuel, he gives him good advice: “Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” While it is Eli that understands what is happening, it is Samuel who has been attentive enough to hear a voice calling for him.
We give so much value to talking, even, in a sense,...
Commentaries on the Scriptures point out that people of New Testament times believed in the presence and power of devils or evil spirits all around them and especially as causes of illness and harm. The two readings today both suggest some of the frustrations and ills of ordinary human life which lend credence to the notion that some evil power is at work.
We don’t have to look too...
The word “epiphany” comes from the Greek word meaning a sudden moment of insight or revelation. When we apply that word to the mystery of the Incarnation, we are referring to the revelation of Jesus. There are actually three different epiphanies in the Gospels. The first of those is the epiphany that we celebrate today: the revelation of Jesus to the Magi who represent the Gentile...
In the text from the First Letter of St. John that we read this morning, we hear the words “testify” and “testimony” several times. As you probably know, the law of Moses demands that any crime or sin of omission can only stand if there are two who will testify to their knowledge of that crime or sin. The same is true of upholding any claim in court. To this end,...
“Can anything good come from Nazareth!” Philip runs to Nathaniel and exclaims: "We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth." To this extraordinary claim, Nathaniel responds: “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
At first glance, Nathaniel’s response seems to be...