Ordinary Time

Pause

Christ is the light of the world — the one who sees us and helps us to see with the eyes of faith. In the season of Epiphany, we ponder who Christ is and remember his ministry among the people of Israel, as well as the outcasts and foreigners.

And we remember that God has called each of us to bear Christ’s light in the world.

So what is God calling you to see in your own life? Or to see in the lives of those around you? How might others know and see God in you this week?

Come. Come and see.

Listen

A third time the Lord called Samuel. He got up, went to Eli, and said, “I’m here. You called me?”

Then Eli realized that it was the Lord who was calling the boy. So Eli said to Samuel, “Go and lie down. If he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord. Your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down where he’d been.

Then the Lord came and stood there, calling just as before, “Samuel, Samuel!”

Samuel said, “Speak. Your servant is listening.”

1 Samuel 3:8-10

Think

Even though the priest Eli wasn’t focusing on God much anymore (he couldn’t “see” God as well as he used to), God still decided to act and to reach out to Samuel, Eli’s apprentice.

God didn’t look at Samuel’s youth and declare that he couldn’t serve because he was so young. Instead, God kept calling this young man in a time when people hadn’t heard or seen God in a long time. God saw the potential for a leader in Samuel and called him, even though he was young and inexperienced.

And furthermore, God used imperfect Eli as a mentor — a person to help point out God’s love and actions in Samuel’s life.

How do you sense God inviting you to serve? Who are the mentors (parents, teachers, pastors, coaches, extended family) in your life who help you to see where God’s at work?

Annabelle Peake Markey

Pray

Thank you, O God, for the people you’ve placed in my life who help to point me to you. I want to thank you specifically for them. (Name your mentors.) Help me not to be afraid of stepping out in faith to follow you; instead, may I boldly say with Samuel, “Speak. Your servant is listening.” Amen.

Go

Go, seen in the light of Christ.

Go, surrounded by the light of Christ.

Go, bearing the light of Christ to the world.

Go, reflecting the light of Christ to those in need.

Go, seeing the light of Christ shining forth from others.