Team Building
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
1 Samuel 3:3b–10, 19 / Psalm 40:8a, 9a / 1 Corinthians 6:13c–15a, 17–20 / John 1:35–42
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Reflecting on the Word
By Dr. Karla J. Bellinger
A writer lay in bed at 5:52 a.m. She knew that her rooster-alarm would crow to tell her to get up and write at 6:00 a.m. She relaxed back on her pillow . . . eight more minutes . . . Then she felt an internal tug, a beckoning, a call: “Rise up, we have things to do.” She was startled: “We have things to do?”
Raised in an American individualistic society, she had often thought of “call” as something that she was told to do, something from afar, to which she was simply expected to respond in obedience. That call, that “Rise up, we have things to do,” implied that the divine Coach was a team builder and she a beloved member of the team. She got up with renewed energy and began to write . . .
Notice the team building in today’s call of the apostles. John the Baptist is standing in a group of three. Jesus walks by. Two follow him and they become a group of three. Andrew goes and gets his brother Peter and with Jesus, they become three again. It is a dance of threes, a gentle and quiet camaraderie of coming and going—one points out, two follow; another points out, his brother joins in. It almost feels Trinitarian, like the dance of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, coming and going, gently and forever loving and drawing in.
That tug, that call, is not just for a select few who are called to be apostles or prophets or saints or clergy. That awakening is for each of us as well. We arise to join in the dance of the Trinity, no matter what path we walk along in life. Like young Samuel, we call out in the night, “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening!”
Consider/Discuss
- When we ponder our call, what is our underlying perception? Is that call something that the divine Someone from afar imposes upon us as a task to be done? Is that call like taking the hand of a dance partner and joining in an already swirling dance? What difference does it make how we perceive that beckoning?
- Each morning, the tug of the Trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, beckons us to rise up one more time. What, God, are we going to do together today in this wild and wonderful life?
Living and Praying with the Word
God of Trinity, you tug at me to join in with what you are doing. You call me to link my life with yours in the dance of your being. Wherever we go together, whatever we do, shine through my eyes, touch through my hands, and speak through my mouth. Teach me to glorify you better through this earthly body, so that it is both transformed and transforming. Most of all, I thank you for letting me be a beloved member of your team. Thank you, thank you!