1 Sm 3:1-10, 19-20 / Mk 1:29-39
One of the saddest things we can ever see is a person getting off to a fine start and then ending badly. It’s bad enough when it’s just a game or a race, but it’s tragic when it’s someone’s life that goes badly off course. That kind of tragedy is what we are watching in the life of the high priest Eli.
With the passing of the years, Eli had grown jaded to things spiritual and had lost much of his awareness of God’s presence at his side. God was still there, and still speaking to him every day, but Eli rarely heard Him. He was too caught up in his own thoughts and his own desires to hear what God wanted.
Not so young Samuel, who though still just a boy, could already hear God’s voice clearly. And hearing that voice, he responded as we all would hope to: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”
Don’t let your heart become jaded or grow deaf to God’s quiet whisperings. Listen, and draw strength from the One who walks always at your side.
