Over the years, children have asked me, “How did you know God wanted you to be a priest? When did you receive “the call”? At first, I really didn’t hear God calling me (at least not in the way he called Samuel in the first reading). I can relate more to the 2 disciples in the gospel who were searching for Jesus, not the other way around.
I had questions about God. I wanted to know how Jesus could make my life better. Isn’t that why anyone would follow Jesus in the first place? We want a better life. We want help. We want healing. We want peace. We want meaning. Is it possible that Jesus could give these things to us?
I didn’t want to become a priest so that I could help others find God but because I wanted to find God. It was only after I came to realize how the Lord helps me that I heard my “call” or vocation of helping others in their search for the Lord. Jesus asks all of us, “What are you looking for?” Only when we find that he can give us what we’re looking for can we invite others to follow him too.