January 19, 2003

Many telephone lines now let you know you have a call waiting. When you are on the telephone and another call comes through, how do you decide which call to answer and which one to keep waiting? In my opinion, this particular piece of technology is very rude. Can you imagine what Jesus would have done if Samuel, Andrew, Simon or Peter decided to put Jesus on CALL WAITING? I think not!

"Hello! Hello, Michael?" "Mom! Hold on for a minute while I get rid of this other call." As she waits for her son to return to the line, Sara smiles to herself, happy to think that she will get top priority in Michael's life. "Hi Mom, I'm back. What can I do for you?" Call waiting can be tricky. When your mother is on the line, it may be a simple choice. At least we hope so, but it is not always that easy to know which caller to respond to right away and which to put on hold or which to ignore.

The various people, interests and responsibilities that "call" us in our lives can present the same dilemma. How do we decide which to answer? How do we know when the Lord is calling us? Today's reading gives us a hint. Samuel and Andrew were deliberately seeking to hear and follow God's call, but Peter was not. All three discerned the Lord's call by responding to the voice of people they knew and trusted.

Those who have heard the call of the Lord respond in words and in deeds. Both Samuel and Andrew, after hearing and answering the Lord's call, went out and told others about the Lord. Paul's letter to the Corinthians invites us to "glorify God" in our bodies.

SO THE QUESTION: WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU KEPT WAITING "ON HOLD"? DID YOU EVER THINK HOW THEY FELT ABOUT BEING PUT ON HOLD? CAN WE JUST MAKE AN EFFORT NOT TO PUT EACH OTHER ON HOLD AND BE FOR EACH OTHER 100%?

Click here to view the archive