Weekly Preaching
Open Your Heart by Quieting Distractions
2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time
Sunday, January 17, 2021
SCRIPTURE
Samuel 3:3b-10, 19/1 Corinthians 6:13c-15a, 17-20/John 1:35-42
The Lord called Samuel again, for the third time. Getting up and going to Eli, he said, “Here I am. You called me.” Then Eli understood that the Lord was calling the youth. (Samuel 3)
PREACHING
Jim AndrewsIn my own business, an ad agency, listening to my clients and fully understanding their needs is everything. But that doesn’t mean I always do it right.
Sometimes I’m thinking of what my response will be, which causes me to stop listening to the other person. Other times I might interrupt people, jumping in with my own stories. In some cases I disagree with someone, focusing on the disagreement rather than the kernel of truth they have to share.
I also struggle, at times, to listen to God. Even though I really want to, why can’t I hear God’s voice? Busyness, for one. I have a habit of trying to do everything that everybody asks me. As I spend time, energy, and priorities on those things, I don’t have room for God.
Competing voices is another. We spend more than 11 hours a day watching, reading, or reacting to media, up from nine hours, 32 minutes just a few years ago. It’s hard to hear God’s voice when I’m constantly “on” to all the media.
I want this to change, so I made a single resolution this new year: Less is more. Strategies include not working on weekends, meditating one or two times a day (for at least 20 minutes), and using Sunday as a true day of rest.
Putting these into practice, I hope, will lead to new ways to hear God. I’ll have more time for finding God in creation and nature, the written word, and hearing God’s small voice.
Samuel answered, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
by Jim Andrews, Dominican Associate of Sinsinawa