In recent years we have all had to learn to live with ‘voice mail’ as a necessary part of modern life. Sometimes it can be hard to get a human being on the other end of the telephone. The endless repetition of options and reassurances can be frustrating. But let’s think about what it would be like if God decided to install voice mail in Heaven. Imagine praying and hearing this: ‘Thank you for calling My Father's House. Please select one of the following options: 1 for Requests; 2 for Thanksgiving; 3 for Complaints; 4 for All Other Inquiries.’

And, what if God used the familiar excuse, ‘I'm sorry, we’re busy helping other sinners right now. However, your prayer is important to us, so please stay on the line and we will attend to you as soon as possible.’

Worse still, imagine if we heard, ‘Our computers show that you have already prayed THREE times today; Please hang up and try again tomorrow,’ or, ’This office is closed for the Sabbath, please pray again on Monday at 12.01am. If you need emergency assistance when this office is closed, contact your local Priest, Rabbi or Imam.’

The readings from the First Book of Samuel and the Gospel of John all involve call and response. The first reading plays out what many people think the call of God is like – a booming voice telling us what to do. John’s Gospel is more subtle. The earliest apostles are called in two ways and neither of them involves loud voices with grand requests. Andrew follows Jesus because of what John the Baptist says. Simon Peter comes to Jesus through word-of-mouth, his brother Andrew’s recommendation.

What these readings collectively indicate is the various ways in which people are drawn into the life and service of God. Sometimes, because we want certainty, we hope and long for a more dramatic indication of God’s will. Some people get it. Mostly, however, the experience of Andrew and Simon Peter is the more common one. We follow our desires, play our hunches and pursue what intrigues us. As time goes on, our experience indicates the path that will lead to the most hopeful, faithful and loving choice. What is especially encouraging about the Gospel is that Andrew goes after whatever it is that Jesus has. He lives with, or experiences, Jesus’ company for a day and then becomes his recruiting officer.

In so many ways, of course, things are different for us now. Rather than us seeking out where Jesus lives, we are given opportunities to experience his life, and invite him to come and make a home with us. But whatever the differences in the process, the end result is the same. Just as Samuel, Andrew and Peter could have no idea where their response to God’s call would lead them, so we cannot either. All we know is that it will cost us something, maybe everything.

Responding to God’s call in Christ is not for the faint hearted and we shouldn’t pretend it is. It involves loving our enemies, working for peace, forgiving those who have wronged us, and making the world a just place for all God’s children. If these charges make no claim on us in our daily lives, then, chances are, we are listening to voices that endlessly give us the runaround, rather than being hooked up to the source of life which makes sense and gives meaning to all our connections in this world and the next.

© Richard Leonard- liturgyhelp.com