And again, the Lord continued to call to Samuel. And rising up, Samuel went to Eli, and he said: “Here I am. For you called me.” And he responded: “I did not call you, my son. Return and sleep.” (1Sm 3:6)
וַיֹּ֣סֶף יְהוָ֗ה קְרֹ֣א עוֹד֮ שְׁמוּאֵל֒ וַיָּ֤קָם שְׁמוּאֵל֙ וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ אֶל־עֵלִ֔י וַיֹּ֣אמֶר הִנְנִ֔י כִּ֥י קָרָ֖אתָ לִ֑י וַיֹּ֛אמֶר לֹֽא־קָרָ֥אתִי בְנִ֖י שׁ֥וּב שְׁכָֽב׃
Et Dominus rursum vocavit Samuel. Consurgensque Samuel abiit ad Heli et dixit: “Ecce ego, quia vocasti me”. Qui respondit: “Non vocavi te, fili mi. Revertere et dormi!”.
To call (קָרָא qārā՚), the root qr՚ covers a wide range of meanings: from “to call, summon, name, invite, ask, read, read aloud” to “sing” or “scream”. The basic meaning is “to speak out loud.” The Greek equivalent most often used in the LXX translation is καλέω. This verb is most closely related to the sphere of interpersonal communication. In the Bible, it refers to communication, calling, for example, the Psalmist to God, as well as God’s addressing to man.
In today’s Sunday’s First Reading (1 Sm 3:3-10.19), the verb “to call” (קָרָא qārā՚) is the most frequently repeated word and an example of how the same word can take on different meanings. In its basic meaning, this verb expresses God’s call to Samuel: “Then the Lord called to Samuel, and he answered, ‘Here I am!'” (v. 6), but in the context of the entire story, קָרָא (qārā՚) has a special function: God’s call to Samuel is expressed by “calling him to serve God.” In this case, קָרָא (qārā՚) becomes a technical expression of calling.
Today’s Gospel (Jn 1:35-42) tells the episode of Jesus’ meeting with John the Baptist and his disciples. John discreetly, but not for the first time, points to Jesus as the “Lamb of God.” When his disciples hear this, they follow Jesus. The story ends in the Master’s house, and then Peter’s first meeting with Jesus, who fixed his eyes on Simon and gave him a new name, like a new identity. He called him Peter: “From now on your name will be (καλέω) Cephas – that is, Peter.” As we know, the Greek καλέω is a translation of the Hebrew קָרָא (qārā՚). In this calling of Peter by a new name, we can discover Peter’s calling, as if calling him to be a rock.
Each of us certainly calls out to the Lord often, but the question is, how does God call out to me…?
