Speak, Lord, Your Servant is Listening

Homily for Wednesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

At first glance the stories we read this morning seem to be on opposite ends of the spectrum. In the first, Samuel is told to reply to God’s call with: “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” Most of us realize, however, that to be listening to God also means quieting ourselves so that the noise of everyday life will not block out God’s voice.

The first chapter of St. Mark’s Gospel is anything but quiet. Jesus sets a frenetic pace as he expels a demon from a paralytic, heals Peter’s mother-in-law, cures the various maladies of all who come to Peter’s house, casts out various demons, and cleanses a leper. Very subtly, St. Mark also indicates that during the night, Jesus slipped away from the crowd to pray, a quiet time to listen to God.

Henry David Thoreau once wrote: “Is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?” So much of our lives are or were consumed by being busy. I have heard many a person say that they looked forward to their elder years so they would have time to pray. Later they would find that even though they were no longer actively engaged in ministerial or work activity, because they had not learned to pray in their younger years, they found it difficult to pray in their later years. It was easier to simply watch television and read the newspaper.

Their error was in looking at prayer as something we do. It is not. Prayer is the foundation of our relationship with God. Relationships are not tasks to be done. They are intimate connections that have grown between two people through conversation, listening, and making sacrifices for one another. Jesus had such a relationship with His Father and knew that he had to make time in the midst of his busy life to spend time listening.

“Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” Even if for only a few minutes in the morning and a few minutes before bed, we need to carve out quiet time in our busy lives to allow God’s voice to enter.