2024 Reflections

(Posted from latest to oldest articles.)

Paul the Preacher (5^th Sunday of Easter)

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This week’s Acts reading comes at the heels of St. Paul’s conversion, which is describe for us in Acts 9:1-20. In verses 21-25, we see how right after Saul¹ is baptized, he wastes no time in beginning to proclaim the same Messiah whom he formerly rejected, using his immense scriptural learning to bear in defending his newfound faith, to the astonishment and chagrin of his former colleagues.

Three years later (according to the chronology in Gal. 1:18), Saul comes to Jerusalem in order to meet with the apostles. What happened in the intervening period is unknown to us, but he probably spent that time reflecting upon his conversion and growing in understanding his newfound faith to ensure that he had an accurate knowledge of it. He is seen with suspicion by the disciples at first, which was understandable given his past as an enemy of the Christians. Perhaps they thought his conversion was insincere, or that he was there to spy upon the Jerusalem church. It is only after St. Barnabas speaks on his behalf that he is accepted as part of the community (in line with Barnabas’ reputation as the “son of encouragement”). He then proceeds to preach to the Hellenists in Jerusalem—the very same people who had stoned St. Stephen to death before him in Acts 6-7—showing how the evangelistic witness to that community could not be stopped even by the death of the first martyr.

Verse 31 summarizes the growth of the Church at this time, how believers came from throughout Palestine and walked in the fear of the Lord. The conversion of a notorious enemy of the faith no doubt spurred on greater missionary zeal, and caused many Jews who were otherwise suspicious of the Gospel to become receptive to it. This shows us how God can turn even a great persecutor into a great promoter, or a great sinner into a great saint, and advance His Kingdom through them. We should pray that God may raise us up to be like St. Paul, boldly proclaiming the Gospel to all around us and leading others to eternal life.

J. Luis Dizon

Note

The Cornerstone (4th Sunday of Easter)

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This week’s reading from Acts continues the previous reading wherein Sts. Peter and John healed the lame beggar at the temple, on which occasion they declared the Gospel of Jesus (Acts 3). This prompted the temple police to arrest them, after which they are interrogated as to by what authority they were healing and preaching in the Temple (Acts 4:1-7).

Peter’s reply was that they were able to heal the beggar by the power of Jesus Christ, whom the rulers of the people had rejected. He then identifies Jesus as the “Cornerstone” which the builders rejected (v. 10), which is an allusion to Psalm 118:22. The cornerstone referred to the stone which held the walls of a building together, making it absolutely foundational. St. Paul would later refer to the Church as being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ as the chief cornerstone (Eph. 2:20). Despite their claim to mediate access to God via the Temple, since the Jewish leaders rejected Jesus, they proved themselves to be out of step with God’s will.

Peter then declares that Christ alone provides salvation to all mankind, and that there is no other name by which we may be saved (v. 12). This calls to mind Jesus’ declaration in John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me.” This statement excludes there being any other way to God apart from Christ, as only He could provide a perfect atonement for sins.

This was a provocative statement, as it went against the pluralism of the Roman world. It remains provocative today, as our multicultural society abhors any declaration of exclusive truth. However, since this teaching comes from Christ Himself, we cannot deny or water it down. We must remain firm in it just as the original apostles did, and seek the conversion of all those who do not yet know the Saviour.

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St. Peter’s sermon in Acts 3 comes right after his healing of the lame beggar in front of the Jerusalem temple gate. He declared that the man was healed by the power of Christ Jesus (v. 16), who had been crucified by the same people to whom he was preaching not that long ago.

In his sermon, he holds the Jerusalem crowd responsible for rejecting their Messiah and handing Him over to be crucified.¹ He refers to Jesus as the “Author or Life,” which is both an affirmation that He is God, as well as a declaration that it is through faith in Christ that one may receive eternal life. Perhaps he is here recalling Christ’s words in the upper room: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). He proves that Christ is truly their Saviour from the fact that 1) the Old Testament prophets foretold His suffering beforehand, and 2) they were witnesses to this fulfillment.

Despite their guilt in crucifying Jesus, however, they are not beyond redemption. Peter tells the crowd that they may still receive forgiveness and eternal life if they repent and believe upon that same Christ whom they had previously rejected. If they do this, he declares, their sins will be wiped away. While we are not told how many in that crowd came to faith, we know that the Church continued to grow after that, which means his words must have had an impact on the crowd.

Peter’s message gives hope to all of us because it shows that, no matter how many times we sin and betray Christ, forgiveness is offered to us. If we confess and turn away from our sins, St. John tells us, God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us of all uncleanness (1 John 1:9). Let us, then, make use of this opportunity to avail ourselves of God’s mercy.

Note

Witnesses of the Lord (1^st Sunday of Easter)

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During the Easter Season, the first reading for Sundays is taken from the book of Acts rather than the Old Testament. Acts chronicles the life of the early church, and how Christianity spread from its birthplace in Jerusalem to the rest of the known world, culminating in St. Paul’s voyage to Rome.

In our reading, St. Peter is preaching regarding the life, death and Resurrection of Jesus. Twice, he appeals to the fact that he and the Apostles were witnesses to these things. He says this to emphasize the fact that he is not merely passing on something that he heard from others, but experienced directly. As he writes in one of his epistles, “we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Peter 1:16).

Likewise, St. Paul, writing to the Corinthians, recounts how when Jesus was raised from the dead, “he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared to me” (1 Corinthians 15:5-8).

By appealing to eyewitness testimony, the Apostles assure us that the Resurrection is not a myth, or hearsay. Rather, it is a real historical event that took place in a definite place and time. And because it is a real event, it has real consequences for our lives. Paul teaches us that our eternal life depends on whether we confess and live by the reality of the Resurrection: “If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

The Vindication of the Servant (Palm Sunday)

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This reading is the third of four Servant Songs that are in the book of Isaiah (the other three are in 42:1-7, 49:1-12, and 52:13-53:12). Here, rather than the Servant being addressed by God, it is the Servant speaking directly. In the first half of the reading, he is said to be the obedient servant who does not rebel against God, and has a knowledgeable tongue to be able to teach and exhort others. Thus, the servant is also a teacher of righteousness for God’s people.

When we get to the second half of the reading, however, the tenor of the song shifts, and now the Servant speaks of being persecuted by those around him for what he teaches to them. Through this persecution, however, he retains hope that he will be vindicated by God. Verse 7 bears this out, as well as the next two verses immediately after this reading:

He who vindicates me is near.

Who will contend with me?

Let us stand up together.

Who is my adversary?

Let him come near to me.

Behold, the Lord GOD helps me;

who will declare me guilty?

Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment;

the moth will eat them up. (Isaiah 50:8-9)

This servant song summarizes the experience of Jesus throughout Holy Week. The week begins with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, which we celebrate today as Palm Sunday. He spends the next few days teaching in the Temple, which causes the Pharisees and Sadducees to turn against Him and plot His death. That plot will eventually culminate in the events of Good Friday. Jesus is aware that all this would happen, because He already predicted it would happen beforehand (Matthew 16:21, 17:22-23, 20:17-19)

Through all of Jesus’ experiences in Passion Week, He knows that He will ultimately be vindicated by His Father, just as the Servant Song in Isaiah says. This certain knowledge, in addition to His desire to save us, is why He is able to accept the Father’s will: “not my will but Yours be done.” (Matthew 26:39).

The New Covenant (5^th Sunday of Lent)

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In past readings, we were introduced to a succession of covenants that God made with important individuals, after whom each covenant was named. These included the Noahic Covenant, the Abrahamic Covenant, the Mosaic Covenant, and the Davidic Covenant. We see that these covenants are the means by which God stays united to His people, which is why we read the oft-repeated refrain that they will be God’s people, and He will be their God (e.g. Genesis 17:7, Exodus 6:7, etc.). Each covenant included promises and conditions that needed to be met, whether it was a ritual such as circumcision, or the keeping of certain laws. Whenever a new covenant was established, it built on the previous one, and revealed God’s plans in greater detail.

The ultimate fufillment of God’s plans however, comes through what is known as the “New Covenant.” This covenant is hinted at in numerous places in the Old Testament, and is referred to by many names, but Jeremiah 31 is the only place where it is explicitly called as such. He declare his intention to establish this new covenant even while castigating His people for breaking the terms of the one He established with them at Sinai. This new covenant would differ from the old one in that it would focus more on what is internal, rather than what is external. Hence, God declares that He will inscribe His laws in people’s hearts, and they will all come to know Him.

We see this covenant inaugurated by Jesus in the Gospels. The emphasis on the internal condition of the heart is revealed to us in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). The promise that God would teach us His ways directly is fulfilled through the coming of the Holy Spirit, who teaches us all things (John 14-16). Finally, the old covenant signs are replaced with the new covenant sacraments, particularly Baptism (through which a person enters into the covenant), and the Eucharist (through which the benefits of the covenant are communicated). It is for this reason that when Jesus institutes the Eucharist, He refers to the cup as the “blood of the covenant” (cf. Matthew 26:28). All this comes through Christ, who is the mediator of the New Covenant (Hebrews 9:15, 12:24).

As people of the New Covenant, we who are Christians are heirs to a greater promise than what the previous covenants contain. Through our worship, we thank God for these blessings. Through the sacraments, we partake of their benefits. And through evangelization, we call upon others to believe in Christ and thus be included in the New Covenant, with all of its blessings.

Exile and Return (4^th Sunday of Lent)

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The history of the divided Kingdoms of Israel and Judah is a sad tale of how God’s chosen people broke the Covenant that God made with them at Mt. Sinai, and thus incurred the curses that He threatened would befall covenant breakers (Deuteronomy 28). Despite God warning them through His prophets, the people did not listen, but instead persecuted and even killed many of the prophets.

Eventually, Israel succumbed to its fate when the Neo-Assyrian Empire conquered them in 721 BC. Judah managed to survive somewhat longer, with God’s blessings occasionally coming upon them when righteous kings such as Hezekiah and Josiah came upon the throne, but they too ultimately met the same fate under the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 587 BC, and their exile would last for seventy years. Scripture makes clear that these were no mere geopolitical events, but rather Assyria and Babylon were the instruments of God’s wrath against His wayward people.

However, God’s chastisement would not last forever. Eventually, the Jews learned their lesson, and resolved to follow God’s Law more stringently. Eventually, their deliverance would come when Babylon was overthrown by the Median Empire, which was then replaced by the Achaemenid Persian Empire. King Cyrus the Great was known for his policy of religious tolerance, and largely respected the beliefs of his subject peoples, even if he did not hold to those beliefs himself. Rightly then does Isaiah present Cyrus as God’s shepherd and anointed one (Isaiah 44:28, 45:1). God in his providence used his tolerance to bring the Jews back to their land so that they could rebuild their temple, the story of which is recorded for us in Ezra-Nehemiah, as well as Esther.

This is instructive for us today, because we see how seriously God takes covenant breaking. If we take His commandments lightly, a similar chastisement will come upon us. On the other hand, however, if we repent and resolve to live according to His precepts, we will experience deliverance.

The Covenant Code (3^rd Sunday of Lent)

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When God rescued Israel out of slavery in Egypt, He brought them to Mt. Sinai, where He committed Himself in a covenant to constitute them as His chosen people on earth. In return, Israel was expected to listen to God’s voice and do as He says. We see this when God through Moses tells the people:

You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites. (Exodus 19:4-6)

As part of the stipulation for this covenant, God gave them a law code that they were expected to abide by, and all the covenant blessings were conditional upon their keeping it. This law was summarized in what is known as the Ten Commandments. This Law became central to the identity of this new nation as a covenant people. As Scott Hahn points out, these commandments “gave this ragtag outfit of twelve loosely knit tribes a new identity. The Decalogue revealed to Israel a radically new way of living under the lordship of Yahweh.”¹ So central was this Law to Israelite life that the stone tablets containing them were deposited in the Ark of the Covenant and kept in the Tabernacle (Exodus 25:16).

Even though we are under the New Covenant, this law continues to inform our moral life. As Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount:

Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-19).

Thus, we see in the New Testament that almost all these commandments are restated in some form or another, testifying to their enduring relevance.² As St. Paul tells us: “Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law” (Romans 3:31).

Most importantly, this Law serves as the teacher that leads us to Christ, as St. Paul states in Galatians 3:24. Through the Law, we realize our sin and thus our need for a Saviour. Thus, Law and Gospel come together to produce a complete picture of God’s story of how He saves us.

Notes

The Binding of Isaac (2^nd Sunday of Lent)

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The binding of Isaac is one of the most significant events in the Bible’s redemptive history. It is pivotal because it marks Abraham’s faithfulness to God’s covenant promises, wherein God promises to bless him and his progeny, and make them as numerous as the sand and the stars (Genesis 12, 15 and 17). We see here that God reaffirms those promises and adds the additional detail that his descendants shall be triumphant over their enemies.

This episode also figures prominently in the New Testament, which comments upon it as a sign of his faithfulness. Hebrews, for example tells us that Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac because he knew that if God was able to give him Isaac in his old age, He would also be able to give Isaac back to him even after he was sacrificed:

By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son, of whom he had been told, “It is through Isaac that descendants shall be named for you.” He considered the fact that God is able even to raise someone from the dead—and figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. (Hebrews 11:17-19)

Likewise, St. James uses Abraham’s act of obedience as an example of how man is justified by works and not by faith alone:

Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is barren? Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was brought to completion by the works. Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. (James 2:20-24)

Finally, the Binding of Isaac is significant for Christians because it prefigures the sacrifice of Christ. Although the New Testament does not explicitly make this connection, it appears in the writings of the early church fathers and has been the standard Christian interpretation ever since. The ram which is found stuck in the thicket is a type of Christ, and just as the ram is sacrificed that Isaac may live, Jesus gives His life that we may live. As St. Paul declares in the epistle reading: "He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?" (Romans 8:32)

The Noahic Covenant (1st Sunday of Lent)

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In the aftermath of the Flood story in Genesis, God establishes a covenant with Noah. This covenant is one of the first of several covenants that God “cuts” with humans in the Biblical story (after the one with Adam and Eve). A covenant can basically be defined as “a kinship bond between two parties, with conditions or obligations, established by an oath or its equivalent.”¹ It differs from a contract in that, “unlike most contracts, covenants are not merely civil but sacred bonds, in which an oath is employed to call on God... to enforce the covenant obligations.”²

In this case, since Noah is the progenitor of all the people who would come after him, the covenant with him may be said to be a universal covenant that applies to all humanity. Various allowances, such as the eating of meat, and the use of capital punishment against murder, are given herein. The latter is particularly noteworthy, since it reflects the gravity with which God regards the taking of human life, and sees it as an assault on the image in which He created human beings.

Later Jewish tradition would expand upon this covenant and posit seven “Noahide Laws” that all humans, whether Jew or Gentile, are bound to obey. While such traditions probably do not go back to Noah, they do reflect the importance of Noah as a representative of all humanity, just as Adam was before him.

Most significantly, God sets his bow down as a reminder that He would never again flood the world. Although commonly understood to be a rainbow, the word for bow (qeshet) denotes a warbow. This signifies that God is laying down His arms, as it were, in making His promise. Although the rainbow is often misused as a symbol in our day, its significance as a reminder of God’s promise to never flood the world again remains valid, and we as Christians must never forget that vital truth. As St. Peter reminds us, God is delaying His judgment to allow us more time to repent, for God does not wish any to perish, but that all may repent. (2 Peter 3:9)

Notes

Ritual and Moral Purity (6th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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Leviticus contains extensive instructions for what to do if a person contracts a certain skin disease. Although the disease in question has traditionally been identified as leprosy, the instructions are meant to be applicable to a wide variety of skin diseases, including leprosy.¹

While the instructions to isolate the infected person may have had some medical benefits, in terms of preventing the spread of such diseases, the primary concern of this passage is not health, but ritual cleanliness. Skin diseases were associated with death, and just as contact with a dead body renders one unfit to come near the tabernacle (Numbers 19:11-13), so does the presence of skin disease. It is also notable that in many Bible passages, the Lord inflicts skin disease as a punishment for transgression, so there is an association with sinfulness as well, although not everyone who contracts such a disease necessarily did so because of something they did.

Although we no longer need to be outwardly clean in order to come to God in the New Covenant, the need to be ritually pure in the Old Testament provides a picture of the need to be morally pure, which applies in all ages. We know that coming to the Lord’s table with sin in our lives can lead to judgment and even death, as St. Paul teaches us (1 Corinthians 11:27-31). Even if we no longer need to be concerned about our outward purity, we still need to be inwardly pure in order to have access to God via the Eucharist.

Finally, the association of skin disease with one’s moral status puts a new dimension to the Gospel reading where Jesus heals the leper (Mark 1:40-45). Jesus is not just restoring his health, but also his access to the temple. This thus becomes a reflection of how Jesus through His atoning work grants us access to God. Similarly, although sin may make us unfit to receive our Lord, we can restore that fitness if we repent and turn back to Him through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Note

Hope Amid Suffering (5^th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

The book of Job relates the story of how Job copes with suffering after losing everything and being afflicted with grievous illness. It is particularly concerned with the problem of evil. Job’s fate shows us how God permits evil in order to accomplish His plans and bring about the greater good. However, because our perspective is limited, we often do not see what that greater good might be. Thus, Job only sees the misery afflicting him at present. He muses on the reality of suffering, and how every person must experience it at some point in their life, albeit in varying degrees. For him, life is a never ending series of troubles.

And yet, Job does not lose hope. Later in the book, he declares that he will someday see God in the flesh after he dies. Here, we see Job affirming the Resurrection of the dead. Although this concept is not fully fleshed out in the Old Testament, we do see the seeds of the belief here:

“O that my words were written down!

O that they were inscribed in a book!

O that with an iron pen and with lead

they were engraved on a rock forever!

For I know that my Redeemer lives,

and that at the last he will stand upon the earth;

and after my skin has been thus destroyed,

then in my flesh I shall see God,

whom I shall see on my side,

and my eyes shall behold, and not another.

My heart faints within me!” (Job 19:23-27)

When we get to the New Testament, this teaching is fleshed out further. Jesus during His earthly ministry healed the sick, cast out demons, and raised the dead, as the Gospel shows. However, this is only a prelude to the greatest act of restoration, which is the Resurrection of the dead. Paul reminds us that our momentary afflictions are preparing us for an eternal glory beyond comparison (2 Corinthians 4:17). When it arrives, Scripture declares, God will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and suffering will be no more (Revelation 21:4).

This is the hope that we as believers hold on to, that despite our present sufferings, we will someday be liberated from it all, and spend eternity with God.

The Prophetic Word (4th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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A prophet is someone whom the Lord has anointed to speak His revelation. Prophecy is usually associated with predicting the future, although not all prophecy concerns the future. Prophecy is how we come to know God’s will, as Scripture tells us, “Surely the Lord God does nothing, without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.” (Amos 3:7).

This OT passage from Deuteronomy concerns the sending of a prophet to the people of Israel. After this, God gives a criterion for how one can tell a true prophet from a false prophet. Such a criterion is necessary as many would falsely claim to be a prophet throughout history, as Jesus warns us in the Gospels (Mark 13:22), and as the passage of subsequent history shows us. The criterion is that whatever the prophet speaks will come to pass, and nothing that he says will fail to materialize:

You may say to yourself, “How can we recognize a word that the Lord has not spoken?” If a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord but the thing does not take place or prove true, it is a word that the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; do not be frightened by it. (Deuteronomy 18:21-22)

Although God has sent many prophets throughout history who can conceivably fit the description given here, one future prophet is envisioned who embodies the prophetic charism more greatly than all the rest. In the book of Acts, both St. Peter (Acts 3:22) and St. Stephen (Acts 7:37) apply this passage of Deuteronomy to Jesus Christ, and indeed, Jesus was recognized as a prophet during His lifetime (John 6:14). But his role is not reducible to that of a prophet only, as He is also a priest and a king. Nevertheless, His words and actions can be seen as prophetic revelation, in the sense that they fully reveal to us the will of God. As Hebrews tells us:

Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. (Hebrews 1:1-2)

Thus, if we want to know how we should live, and what God wants us to know, we can look to Jesus’ words and actions for guidance.

Being a Prophetic Voice (3^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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Jonah is best known for his refusal to preach to the people of Nineveh, and his subsequently being swallowed by a large fish while trying to escape. In Jonah 3-4, he was asked again to preach to the Ninevites, and this time he reluctantly accepted. This reading tells us that he preached in the city for three days, and they listened and repented, so God spared them. The rest of the chapter relates to us the measures that the inhabitants of the city took:

When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Then he had a proclamation made in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: No human being or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. They shall not feed, nor shall they drink water. Human beings and animals shall be covered with sackcloth, and they shall cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands. Who knows? God may relent and change his mind; he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish.”

When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it. (Jonah 3:6-10)

The next chapter tells us that Jonah was upset at God for this, and that Jonah knew all along that this would be the result. His reluctance to preach to the Ninevites was due to his national pride (after all, the Assyrians were subjugators of the Israelites), and his reluctance to see them come to repentance. God’s response shows us that He desired to show mercy upon all nations, not just Israel. This would find fuller expression in the New Covenant, when God creates a new people, the Church, comprised of every nation, tribe and tongue.

This story also teaches us the importance of the faithful acting as God’s prophetic voice to the world. This is why this passage is connected to our Gospel reading (Mark 1:14-20). Both are about God raising up men lead others to true faith. All the faithful–clergy and laity–have this prophetic call as God’s Church. Although each believer lives under different circumstances, we all have the opportunity and obligation to be a prophetic witness to the world through our words and actions. We must point others to Christ, and urge them to repent and believe.

Hearing God’s Voice (2^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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In Hebrew, Samuel’s name means “God heard” (Shmu’ El). His name is a reference to the fact that his birth came about as a result of God listening to the supplications of his mother, Hannah, who had been barren for many years (the story is recounted in 1 Samuel 1-2). As thanks for hearing her prayer, Hannah dedicated Samuel to God, and Samuel was raised in the house of God by Eli the priest.

Thus, Samuel grew up surrounded by holy things and holy people. Despite this, he did not immediately know the Lord. It was only when Eli informed him that the voice he was hearing was the Lord’s that he came to know God and receive his commission as a prophet. This teaches us that it is important to have more spiritually aware people in our lives to attune us to God’s voice, so that we can more readily recognize Him when He calls out to us. It also teaches us that simply being around religious places and people does not guarantee a relationship with God. While those things help, ultimately we have to form that relationship through the exercise of our own will.

The pairing of 1 Samuel 3 with John 1:35-42 as our Gospel reading is also significant, as the parallels between the two are striking. In the Gospel account, Andrew recognizes Jesus’ divine origin immediately, but his brother Simon does not initially do so, and has to be informed by Andrew of this fact. Despite his initial skepticism, Simon would go on to be chosen by Christ as the first leader of the Church, just as Samuel led Israel as the final judge before the monarchy was established. Here, we see that the events of the Old Testament reading serve as a foreshadowing of the event told in the Gospel, making Samuel a type of St. Peter.

Light to the Nations (Feast of the Epiphany)

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This passage of Isaiah is addressed to the Jews exiled in Babylon. Here, the prophet predicts a future where the Jewish people would be gathered from all of the nations they were scattered in and brought to Zion. Then, the light of Israel would arise and give light to the nations, who would walk in that light, and give homage to Israel.

A partial fulfillment of this passage came when King Cyrus of Persia decreed that the Jews would be allowed to return to their land and rebuild their temple. The glory of Israel would not be seen then, however. After the second temple was built, it lacked the glory even of the first temple, where God Himself had dwelt, in conjunction with the Ark of the Covenant (which Jeremiah had hidden in a secret place, according to 2 Maccabees 2). Thus, the passage would await a fuller fulfillment at the coming of Christ.

Traditionally, the passage has been interpreted as being fulfilled when the Magi came to worship the child Jesus, hence its association with the Epiphany. We can see this from many details in the text. For example, the constant references to light, radiance and rising all point towards the star that shone over Bethlehem. Also, the nations are said to bring gold and frankincense to Israel, which is what we see the Magi bringing to the child Jesus.

The reference to Midian, Ephah and Sheba (which are located in the Arabian peninsula) can also be an indication that some of the Magi originated there. Also, the reference to kings in v. 3 has led to the interpretation that the Magi were kings. It is probable that the Magi had some sort of royal authority in the nations they originated. Whatever the case, it is not hard to see how the coming of the Magi would fulfill this prophecy.

This Old Testament scripture shows us how the events of the Nativity were foretold hundreds of years in advance. Today, we walk in the light of God’s glory in Christ, who is the Light of the World (John 8:12). Just as the Magi were guided by the star during Epiphany, may we also continue to be guided by His light.