Scripture Study for

The first reading introduces the prophet Samuel as a youth who  is not yet familiar with the God for whom he would eventually  speak so eloquently. Samuel has come to the temple at Shiloh  because he was dedicated to the Lord by his mother, Hannah (1  Samuel 1:9–28). God’s difficulty in getting Samuel’s attention, and  the boy’s comical confusion about the source of the voice, point to  an important feature of most call narratives of prophets, namely,  that the prophetic figure has not sought out the role. This is a key  attribute of authentic prophets, who are indeed called and not self-proclaimed. In all cases, though, God is persistent, exemplifying  both divine patience and divine determination. 

In his First Letter to the Corinthians, Paul reminds his audience of  the implications of their baptism into Christ. They have not grasped  that they are different people now and must act accordingly. A case  in point is the ongoing sexual immorality of many members of the  church. Paul has informed them that they are each a temple of the  Spirit (3:16). In the Spirit they are all “joined to the Lord,” which  means that their bodies are “members of Christ,” part of Christ’s  “body.” Consequently their bodies are not theirs to do with as they  please. As temples of God and members of Christ’s body, they are  hosting (so to speak) his Spirit. Christians’ bodies are not our own,  but the Lord’s.

Whereas in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke)  Jesus calls his disciples, in John it is the disciples who seek out Jesus  and “follow” him, literally and metaphorically. Their response to his  question about whom they seek (“Where are you staying?”) seems  at first beside the point, but it’s not. The verb translated here as  “stay” appears elsewhere in John as “dwell” or “remain,” referring  to the mutual, abiding relationship of the Father, Jesus, the Spirit,  and believers (14:10, 17; 15:4, 6). Jesus does not tell them where he  “stays,” but invites them to see for themselves, and they “remain”  with him, which is the point of discipleship for this evangelist.