2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

ST ANDREW KIM CATHOLIC CHURCH

January 17, 2021

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fr. Daegon Andrew Namgil Kim

Today is the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time. Today’s gospel conveys the scene

where Peter and Andrew become the disciples of Jesus. Andrew was a disciple

of John the Baptist. Then, John the Baptist suddenly said that Jesus is “the

Lamb of God.” John knew that Jesus was the Savior and the Lamb who would

save Israel. Jesus is the Savior who will save Israel and the whole mankind

from sin by his blood.

Andrew comes up to Jesus, and asks if he could stay with Jesus that night. At

that moment, Andrew calls Jesus as Rabbi, which means teacher. After staying

the night with Jesus, Andrew went to his brother Simon, and said that he met

the Messiah, that is Christ. Andrew now professes that he has met Jesus as the

Savior who will save the world, not just as a teacher. Andrew also came to

know that Jesus is the Savior who will save the world, like John the Baptist

knows.

After this, Jesus stares at Simon attentively, calls him Kephas, which is

translated as Peter. This has the meaning of rock. In this way, the encounter of

Jesus and Peter is made, and Peter becomes Jesus’ disciple. When we pray, we

say ‘Amen.’ Amen is originated from a word that means rock. A strong faith in

God and a total dependence on God are included in the word. Jesus calls Simon

as Peter, and accepts him as his disciple with much attention.

The 1st reading today conveys the scene where Samuel is called by God.

Samuel is still young so he could not recognize the calling of God in the

beginning. At last, he was able to answer the calling of God with the help of

Eli his teacher. In the appearance of Eli, John the Baptist and Andrew are

overlapped. To be able to answer the calling of God, we need the help of

someone who can recognize the calling of God like Eli. If we want to live

answering to the word of God, there must be someone who lives attentive to

the word of God before us.

The faith of our parents, the faithful brothers and sisters, and those who seek

the will of God are like those of Eli, John the Baptist, and Andrew. We are

destined to be affected and helped by others. And our attitude can be of

offering help to others. God is considered to deliver his calling through those

who seek Him. We may not be a Peter, but we can be another Andrew or John

the Baptist. And we can take the role of another Eli. Our little action can bring

a tremendous result.

It is obviously true that receiving the calling is his or her own share as we can

see in Peter. Samuel answers to the word of God: "Speak, for your servant is

listening." It is important to listen to the word of God as a servant. It is

obvious that only those who always try to bend their ears to the word of God

can respond to the calling rightly. Accordingly, each one of us needs to ask for

the life of always listening to the word of God.

Jesus saw Peter attentively and must know well that Peter had lived listening to

the word of God. The fact that the name Peter was given to him might not be

a coincidence. In fact, he must have lived the life of total obedience to the

word of God. That kind of person can respond to the calling of God instantly.

It is because the calling of God cannot be received by people who live at his

or her own disposal, without any preparation. After this, the word of God will

be with us, and God will accomplish his own work in us. “Samuel grew up,

and the LORD was with him, not permitting any word of his to be without

effect.”

In the 2nd reading, Paul the apostle invites the Corinthians to live as members

of Christ, so as to be united with the Lord in the same spirit. In fact, this is

the life of those who are called by the Lord. Therefore, Paul teaches them not

to defile their body and the body of the Lord as well, in order to

wholeheartedly serve the Lord who is the head of the members of the Lord. He

lets them know that the one who really loves and cares for their body is the

Lord.

Therefore, he continues to say that the way of living truly as a member of

Christ is to let the Lord be the true Lord in our body and to live with the

power of the Lord. He also explains that infidelity is not using our body for the

will of God, but for satisfying our greed. He says that infidelity, unlike other

sins, harms our own bodies, commits sin on ourselves, and hurts the body of

the Lord. He teaches us to be cautious and vigilant against infidelity that goes

against the glory of God, as the members of the Lord.

Accordingly, to respond to the calling of the Lord is to reveal the glory of God

with our bodies as a servant of God like Samuel and a rock-like faith life as

Peter. It is trying to always listen to the word of God with our bodies, and

thereby, to use our bodies according to the word of God so that we can try to

cooperate with the Lord who saves the world. This is the share of those who

receive the calling of God.

Even today, God calls each one of us to become His disciples in diverse ways

and through many persons in every moment. God gathers those who can work

together with Him for the kingdom of God and our salvation. If we can add

our effort a little, how joyful can we live! How joyful if we can be called the

members of the Lord! This could be the way to the kingdom of God!

To do so, we need to ask for the life of always listening to the word of the

Lord with our whole body and mind. The way of responding to the calling of

the Lord is only the share of those who prepare for it. We need to keep in

mind that those who can receive the calling are the members of the Lord. They

are the people who practice the will of God with the Lord. I hope that we can

ardently ask for the holy life as members and disciples who follow the will of

God and pray to reveal the glory of God. I pray for you, brothers and sisters,

to become the members of the Lord so that you can have joy and enter into the

glory of God fully.