Rev. Fr. (Dr.) Osmond Anike

Readings:

First Reading: 1 Samuel 3:3-10, 19 – Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 39(40):2, 4, 7-10 – Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 6:13-15, 17-20 – Do not sin against your own body.

Gospel: John 1:35-42 – We have found the Messiah.

Religion is simply a signpost pointing to a great Reality that lies beyond it. Religious personages and religious objects are all decorations of that signpost that help to highlight the direction the signpost is pointing. A true mark of spirituality is the ability to look beyond the signpost, the personages and the objects and see the Reality they are pointing at. But a greater sign of enlightenment is the courage to abandon the signpost and its decorations and move on to embrace the said Reality. This is the only way one can be said to have attained the pinnacle of spirituality and enlightenment.

But, alas, many people are not making any progress in spirituality because they cling to the signpost; they refuse to look beyond the signpost. They put in all their energy to arrive at the signpost. But then, they settle there and refuse to leave it. In an era when there was no GPS, imagine someone here in Belgium eager to discover Switzerland in a jolly ride. The person drives around and around for hours looking for direction to Switzerland. After burning out his gasoline for more than five hours, and exhausted with driving through rough roads, he finally finds himself in Germany and sees a signpost that reads, “This Way to Switzerland”. Then he stations his car beside the signpost, admires it for a while, and even takes some photos of it as souvenir, then turns back heading home with the satisfaction that he has discovered Switzerland. This is exactly the story of many of us with regards to God and religion. We are so busy admiring the signpost that we fail to see where it is pointing to. And any sane religious personage should be conscious of the fact that he or she is merely a painting on the signpost that helps to make clearer the direction the post is pointing.

John the Baptist was a great religious personage; in fact, the greatest born of a woman, according to Jesus. He could have very easily and very comfortably assumed the status of the Messiah. Many people were pressing hard on him to assume that title. But he was very conscious of his limitation as a mere signpost. This was why he was not perturbed at the news that Jesus whom he baptized recently was himself baptizing and attracting followers unto himself. His simple reply was: “He must increase while I must decrease”. In today’s Gospel, John did something very dramatic. He pointed unmistakeably to Jesus as the very Reality, the Lamb of God. The result was that two enlightened followers of his abandoned him and went after Jesus. These are the people who are awake. Other followers of John could not see beyond him to the Reality he was pointing. They kept on clinging to John, and even reporting Jesus to him so that John could stop him from rivalling him in the ministry of baptism. There is a saying in the East that when the sage points to the moon, only what the fool sees is the finger. The two enlightened disciples not only followed the direction of John’s finger to discover Jesus, they went back and brought their brothers along. The lesson for us is this: When you shall have discovered Jesus, go back and bring your brothers and sisters.

The first reading presents us with another example of an enlightened person who discovered Reality through the instrumentality of a religious personage. Samuel was having a hard time deciphering the voice of God. He was so attached to Eli (the religious personage) that he couldn’t move beyond the voice of Eli to hear the voice of Yahweh. He kept on clinging to Eli each time Yahweh called. He mistook Eli for the Reality. But Eli was merely a finger pointing to the Reality. As a mere finger, Eli had to do his job by advising the young Samuel that, in order to hear the voice of Yahweh, he (Samuel) needed to abandon him (Eli): “Go and lie down, and if someone calls say, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening’”. It takes courage and humility for someone to acknowledge that he/she is not what people assume that he/she is, especially when that assumption is of a high and prestigious status. Eli and John the Baptist proved that they were overboard in acknowledging their limitation. And in so doing, they have set an example for religious personages to follow. Unfortunately, many so-called “religious personages” (or “men of God” as some prefer to be called) create a cult of themselves, and subsequently, make themselves the centre of attention. Instead of pointing to the Reality, they point to themselves; and curiously, people follow them to the extent that they are willing to either die for them or go down with them. Warning! Each time you follow a person, you cease to follow the truth.

Today, we have all been shown the Lamb of God; the Reality. By virtue of our identifying with Christianity, we have arrived at the signpost. Many, out of foolish reverence, will continue to cling to the signpost and stupidly mope at it. Very few will have the courage to abandon the signpost and follow its direction to the Reality. We have all been called like Samuel. Many will continue to cling to Eli and thereby miss the voice of Yahweh. Only very few will have the courage to listen beyond Eli and hear the voice of Yahweh. Priests and pastors of souls should be humble enough to teach their parishioners that they are only a finger pointing to the Reality. Instead of deceiving them by making themselves the centre of attention, they should rather direct their community to follow the finger and discover the reality it is pointing. And parishioners themselves should stop wasting their time clinging to their “favourite” priests (whether past or present), and calling them “made in heaven priests” (whatever that means). Every priest is “made on earth” but chosen to direct people towards heaven. As he directs people towards heaven, he also makes effort not to miss heaven himself. Priests are mere fingers pointing to the moon. Follow the direction of the finger and you will discover the moon; concentrate on the finger and you will never see the moon.

Finally, brethren, be very careful else your religion and your religious personages become great obstacles to you on your march towards God.