In the time of Samuel revelations and visitation from God were uncommon.  So much so that when the Lord called Samuel, he didn’t recognized that it was the Lord.  He thought his teacher was saying his name.  He couldn’t even imagine that the Lord would call to him.  But once he realized that it was the Lord, he was of course happy to do the Lord’s bidding. 

I’m afraid we are in times like Samuel’s.  Revelations and visitations from God seem uncommon now.  In fact, today if people would say that God spoke out loud to them, they would be viewed as insane.  People seem to think that God is far away, or at least does not directly and physically interact with people.  Someone like Samuel, hearing his name called out loud, might himself suspect insanity instead of a visitation from God.

But I think God does call to us and does reveal himself and visit.  Maybe not with an audible voice, but in more subtle ways in our everyday lives.  All the time, all around us there are opportunities to help others physically and spiritually.  In the Gospel, Jesus is healing people, and when others ask for him he says "Let us move on to the neighboring villages so that I may proclaim the good news there also. That is what I have come to do." Every day there are opportunities for us to proclaim the good news.  We are here to do his will, and that is to help people however we can. 

Last month during the Christmas season, I saw many opportunities from God to help someone heal.   Every time I saw a Salvation Army bell ringer, I saw God asking me to help.  And every time I had change in my pocket it went into the bucket.  Every month I give money to charity.  It’s not a lot, but whatever I can do.  And I am grateful for this opportunity from God to be able to help in whatever way I can.  I have a friend whose wife just left him and their five children.  God called my family then to help our friend and his children, and we responded by buying toys and clothes for the children for Christmas and by babysitting so he could have a little bit of quiet time.  It’s only a little bit, but when God calls us, I think we should do what we can.

Every day when we look around us at all the opportunities there are to proclaim the good news, we need to have the attitude of Samuel when he realized he was being called.  We need to look around us and say, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”  We need to hear the Lord when he calls, and when we see the opportunities for doing good, we need to do God’s bidding. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.