Commitment

                         13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                  A cycle

 

      

Today’s first reading from the Book of Kings is about Elisha, one of the greatest of the Hebrew prophets. Elisha is often regarded as a precursor of Christ mainly because of his miraculous healings. In our reading today we have only half the story about the prophet’s encounter with the woman of Shunem. We are told that in response to the woman’s hospitality. Elisha promises that the childless woman will bear a son.  

 

In the passages that follow we see that the woman finds it hard to believe but, sure enough, she does conceive and bear a son a year later. But in a few years her boy is struck down with a severe headache while working in the fields with his father. He is brought home, put to bed and appears to be dying. The grief stricken mother then summons Elisha from a nearby town. When Elisha finally arrives, he restores the young boy to life in much the same way that Jesus would do for the son of the widow of Nain centuries later. For her generous hospitality, the Woman of Shunem had indeed received a prophet’s reward.

 

This first reading leads into today’s gospel where Jesus speaks about receiving a prophet’s reward. Before we go any further, we have to deal with the seemingly harsh words he says in this passage from Matthew. 

 

Whoever loves father and mother more than me is not worthy of me,

and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;

and whoever does not take up his cross

and follow after me is not worthy of me.

 

We must understand that at the beginning of this chapter Jesus has named and called the Apostles. The rest of the chapter deals with his instructions for those who would follow him on his mission. Like anyone else asking others to embark on a significant and even perilous mission, Jesus asks his followers to understand what they are getting into before taking on the responsibility. 

 

He is telling them that they will meet opposition not only from strangers and enemies but also from their own loved ones. He is also saying that once they embark on the journey, they will not be able to look back. To follow him and take up his cross will involve a total commitment.

 

We all understand the importance of commitment in life. Coaches preach it to their athletes. They tell them that they must be willing to sacrifice and give up things in order to reach their goal. Usually, the most successful athletes are those who are most committed to their goals. They won’t let anything stand in their way even if their friends and loved ones do not give full support, or urge them to take it easy. To be successful in sports or anything else requires commitment. In a way, only when we sacrifice ourselves for some greater goal do we really find out what we’re made of or who we really are. 

 

We don’t have to be athletes to understand the nature of commitment. Ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things in their everyday lives even though they might not realize it. Last week we celebrated Father’s Day and what takes more commitment and self-sacrifice than being a father, except maybe being a mother.

 

The saints are models of commitment. Years ago, I heard a story about a man on a crowded airplane waiting to take off. As usual, the cabin was noisy before take-off but all of a sudden the cabin turned quiet. He wondered why and looked up to see two nuns wearing blue and white saris walking down the aisle toward his seat. It was Mother Teresa and a companion and they sat down next to him.

 

They immediately took out their rosaries and began to recite the decades in a low voice. Although Catholic the man was an admittedly lukewarm one, but he couldn’t help following along as they recited the prayers. When they finished, Mother Teresa asked him if he prayed the rosary daily. He said that he didn’t, and so she handed him her own beads and said, “You will now.” His life was change by this brief encounter with a prophet who had given up all to take up her cross and follow Jesus. 

 

Another saint who gave up all for Jesus was St. Paul. His greatest regret was that his own people rejected him. They beat him, imprisoned him, and even turned him over to pagans to be martyred. In today’s passage from the letter to the Christian community in Rome he tells them that they should be aware that since they have been baptized into death with Christ, they will also experience a new life with him. In that new life, they will love father and mother, son and daughter more than they could ever have imagined.

 

###

Reading 1. 2 Kings 4: 8-11, 14-16a

Reading II. Romans 6: 3-4, 8-11

Gospel. Matthew 10:37-42 (a prophet’s reward).

The Harvest

                    11th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                  A cycle

 

      

Today's readings all deal with a calling to a special vocation or mission. In the first reading from the Book of Exodus the Lord instructs Moses to tell the people that if they hearken to the voice of the Lord and keep His covenant, they shall be “a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.” Not just the priests but the whole nation of Israel is being called to do the work of the Lord.

 

Today’s gospel reading starts with the end of the ninth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. This chapter is full of incredible works. By this time crowds are following Jesus and everywhere He turns there is work to do. He heals a paralyzed man after forgiving his sins. “Take up your pallet and walk.” Then He brings the daughter of Jairus, called by Matthew a ruler, back from the dead. On the way to the girl’s house a woman suffering from a hemorrhage is healed by just touching His cloak. After He left the house of Jairus, two blind men follow Jesus begging for their sight. He cures them also.

 

Matthew who had himself been called to follow Jesus in the midst of these miracles indicates that these extraordinary events he describes were just the tip of the iceberg.

 

And Jesus was going about all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every kind of disease and infirmity. 

 

At this point today’s gospel begins.The reading tells us that,

 

      At the sight of the crowds, Jesus’ heart was moved

      With pity for them

      Because they were troubled and abandoned,

      Like sheep without a shepherd.

 

There was so much work to be done. Wherever He turned, there were people in need of physical or spiritual healing. At this point in the narrative Jesus summoned twelve of his disciples and deputized them. Matthew gives us their names and a little information about them. Scholars tell us that the number twelve is important since it reminds us of the 12 tribes of Israel. In other words, just as the twelve tribes signified the whole people or nation of Israel, the twelve Apostles signify the whole Church. 

 

In the first reading the Lord said that Israel would be a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. In the same way Jesus makes it very clear throughout the gospels that we are all to share in the work of healing. 

 

Today, everyone here in church is here for a reason. Most of us are feeling some pain or anxiety either for ourselves or for our loved ones. Aren’t we like the crowds that followed Jesus? Outside the Church there are millions who also feel troubled and abandoned. Just read Anne Landers or Dear Abby to see how much people need healing. 

 

Typically, these modern day gurus advise people to see a counselor, as if there were enough counsellors to go around for all of us. Other people turn to drugs, legal or illegal, to cure their pain. Some of the most widely prescribed drugs are designed to counter depression and produce happiness. Even our wealthy and powerful and famous citizens have not escaped the epidemic of unhappiness. What’s going on?

Every time I hear the account of the calling of the Apostles, I think of fathers and their calling. I know that Fathers' Day is not til next week, but let me just say a few words about fatherhood in anticipation.

 

Is there any more difficult job than the one faced by fathers today? On this day society pays lip service to fathers but on every other day they are mocked and vilified. Comic strips, TV shows, and even commercials portray fathers as inept bumblers. More seriously, the very concept of Fatherhood has been attacked. Statistics show an alarming percentage of children being born without fathers. Everywhere we see men abandoning, and abusing their children, and even urging that they be aborted.

 

In every walk of life sacrifice is necessary to be successful. The best athletes are the ones who practice the longest and hardest.The best businessmen or women are those that pay the most attention to their clients. A father must give up a lot for his children but our Lord tells us that if we give up our life, we will find it. Let’s pray today that fathers will deny themselves, and take up their cross, and do their work.

 

Here is a little prayer for fathers:

 

      Our Father in Heaven, we thank you for all the fathers on earth who,

      Like St. Joseph, accept the responsibility to care for and love their children.

      May you strengthen them with the kindness, patience and wisdom they need

      To encourage and guide their children.

      May they be supported by a steadfast wife, a caring family and good friends.

      Most of all, may they know that you and you alone are the source of all that is

      Good and truly valuable in this world.

 

The words Jesus addressed to His first Apostles are addressed to all of us, “Without cost you have received, without cost you are to give.”

###

Reading 1. Exodus 19: 2-6a

Reading II. Romans 5: 6-11

Gospel. Matthew 9:36—10:8 (the harvest is abundant). 

Calling Apostles

                   15^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                  B cycle

 

 

When we hear of prophets we usually think of them as kind of mystical foretellers of the future. However, the special talent of the prophets we encounter in scripture was their ability to describe with sometimes brutal accuracy the wrongs of their own day and call for repentance and renewal. 

 

For the most part, the prophets we encounter in scripture claimed no special gifts or talents. Last week we saw that the Prophet Ezekiel claimed that despite his own weakness or lack of ability, the Lord had called him to carry out a mission. In our first reading today, the Prophet Amos says much the same thing. He claims that he is not a prophet and that he does not even have the learning or background to be one.

 

I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores,

The Lord took me from following the flock, and said to me,

Go, prophesy to my people Israel.

 

In other words, Amos was just a simple, ordinary man no different from anyone else.          

 

In today’s gospel we see Our Lord entrusting a bunch of simple, ordinary men with a mission. Today’s gospel reading from Mark picks up right where we left off last week. We recall that after performing many healings and miracles in a neighboring region, Jesus returned home only to meet a doubtful reception from his own people. He was led to say that a “prophet is not without honor except in his own country.”

 

Nevertheless, Jesus commissions the Apostles to embark on a mission in the same way as Ezekiel and Amos. They wouldn’t need book learning or years in a seminary. They wouldn’t need a lot of money or equipment. 

 

He instructed them to take nothing for the journey

But a walking stick—

No food, no sack, no money in their belts.  

 

His authority would be all they needed to perform the same works that He had done. So, without any special training or experience they set out to do His work. We are told that like the prophets of old they preached repentance, drove out many demons, and “anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.”

 

When we hear of these first Apostles, we must always put ourselves in their shoes or sandals. We speak of our bishops as being successors of the Apostles, but we are all successors of the Apostles in our own little way. But how are we to be apostles or prophets with our own limited time and abilities?

 

I knew a young widow he told me about all that she was doing to care for and raise her young daughter. It was truly admirable. Nevertheless, she wished that she had more time to devote to God’s work, or to spend more time in prayer and devotion. I think I did right to tell her that when she cared for her daughter, she was indeed doing God’s work, the work she had been chosen to do. Her prayers were the words she said to her daughter. So many times in the gospel Jesus directs our attention away from himself, and asks us to care for those entrusted to our care. His one commandment was to love one another.

 

In today’s second reading, St. Paul begins his letter to the Ephesians, the young Christian community in the city of Ephesus, with a long introduction that seems to indicate that they are all apostles. He writes,

 

In him you also, who have heard the word of truth,

the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

which is the first installment of our inheritance

toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory. 

 

Even though we are simple, ordinary people involved in the mundane tasks of life, these same mundane tasks have been elevated or consecrated through the sacrifice of Jesus and the sanctification of his Holy Spirit.

 ###

Reading 1.  Amos 7: 12-15

Reading II. Ephesians 1: 3-14

Gospel. Mark 6: 7-13 (Jesus Summoned the Twelve)

Choosing Apostles

                   7th Sunday of Easter

                  B cycle

 

 

 

On this seventh Sunday of Easter we are in a kind of limbo. Last Thursday we celebrated the feast of the Ascension of the Lord into Heaven. But his Spirit will not come to us into next Sunday at Pentecost. For the nine days between the Ascension of the Lord and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost the Apostles were alone. These nine days are commemorated in our word “novena” that simply means “nine.” Nevertheless, the Church uses this week to present us with one of the most important of all lessons. 

 

But it is safe to say that the Apostles, just like ourselves, were never alone or deserted. We get an example in today’s first reading. The Apostles are trying to decide on a replacement for Judas, the one who betrayed the Lord. They understand that the successor must come from the ranks of those who have followed Jesus from the beginning.

 

Therefore, it is necessary that one of the men

Who accompanied us the whole time

The Lord Jesus came and went among us,

Beginning from the baptism of John

Until the day on which he was taken up from us,

Become with us a witness to his resurrection.

 

It’s good to know that there were others in addition to the Twelve who had followed Jesus and remained faithful from the beginning. Most of their names have been lost to history as most of our names will be. Nevertheless, there are two in their midst who fit the bill: Judas, called Barsabbas or Justus, and Matthias. Rather then take a vote the Apostles prayed and decided to leave the choice up to the Lord by drawing lots. They didn’t believe that they were leaving things up to chance but left it to the Lord to choose between the two qualified candidates. Although Matthias was chosen, one had to suspect that the other was still going to continue in the service of the Lord.

 

In today’s gospel Jesus makes known how dear the Apostles were to him. It is obvious that he regarded them as his special responsibility. In a prayer he addresses to the Father, he says,

 

When I was with them I protected them in your name that you have given me,

And I guarded them, and none of them was lost except the son of destruction.

 

Son of destruction refers to Judas, the one whose place was filled in today’s first reading.

 

We usually think of the bishops of the Church as the successors of the Apostles, but whenever we hear of the twelve Apostles we should also think of ourselves as their successors. Just as Matthias was chosen by God to succeed Judas we should also consider ourselves chosen by God to carry on his work.

 

Last Thursday we celebrated the feast of the Ascension of our Lord. Just before he departed from his disciples Jesus told them:

 

Go into the whole world

And proclaim the gospel to every creature.

 

We must understand that it is not just up to the Pope or bishops to carry on the work of the Apostles. In today’s second reading St. John makes it clear that we are all called to be apostles. 

 

Beloved, if God so loved us,

We also must love one another.

No one has ever seen God,

Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us,

And his love is brought to perfection in us.

 

Today is Mother’s day and there is no greater love than the love of a mother for her children even when those children are no longer children. When our mothers took upon themselves the responsibility to care for us, they said yes to a life of self-sacrifice. They said yes just as Mary did at the Annunciation. It might not be fashionable to use the word “handmaid” of the Lord anymore, but when we think of our mothers or look around at all the mothers in church, we can really behold handmaids of the Lord. Mothers are true successors of the Apostles.

 

###

Reading 1. Acts 1: 15-17, 20a, 20c-26

Reading II. I John 4: 11-16

Gospel. John 17: 11b-19 (I sent them into the world)

Fishers of Men

                       3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

                      B cycle

 

 

 

Everyone knows about Jonah, the reluctant prophet who was cast overboard by frightened sailors who believed that Jonah’s bad luck had put them in danger during a storm. Today, the word Jonah is still a symbol of bad luck. Nevertheless, in today’s reading Jonah brings good luck to the people of Nineveh. Jonah’s preaching convinced the people of Nineveh to depart from their evil ways and repent. As a result, we are told, the whole great city was saved from destruction.

 

Jonah has always been regarded as a precursor of Jesus who was sent by the Father to save the whole world from sin and destruction. Some even go so far as to say that the three days that Jonah supposedly spent in the belly of a whale or great fish were a symbol of the three days that Jesus spent between his own death and Resurrection. 

 

In any event, in today’s gospel St. Mark wastes no time in preliminaries. He brings Jesus immediately on stage to announce the purpose of his mission. Like Jonah, he has a message of repentance to proclaim.

 

“This is the time of fulfillment.

The Kingdom of God is at hand.

Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

 

Practically the first thing that Jesus does when he sets out on his public mission is to call disciples to follow Him and assist in His work of healing. In today’s gospel we see Him walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee when He sees Peter and his brother, Andrew. They were fishermen and He says to them, “come after Me and I will make you fishers of men.” We are told that immediately “they abandoned their nets and followed him.” 

 

Then he saw two other fishermen, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, and called them as well. They also “left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.” 

 

What strikes me most about this passage is how quickly these fishermen were converted. They did not require instruction or lessons in theology. They did not have to go through an extended course of study. They seemed to have asked no questions or made any inquiries about His background. From what follows in the gospels we know that these first disciples did not have a clear idea of who He was or what He was going to do. Like most of us when we embark on life’s great adventures, they did not know what they were getting into or where they would wind up.

 

There must have been something about Him that made them immediately give up their jobs and families to follow Him. There was something that led them to put their full faith in Him. They certainly could not have thought themselves worthy or able.

 

This passage reminded me of a book I once read about Brother Andre, a recently canonized Canadian saint, who had as little theological knowledge and book learning as his namesake, Andrew, in today’s gospel. Andre was a poor orphan who received practically no education beyond what his mother taught him before she died when he was only 12. Thereafter, he had to work to help support himself and help out with his brothers and sisters. Eventually, a local priest, impressed with his holiness, asked the Holy Cross Fathers in Montreal to take him in. Since he did not appear to be very intelligent, he could not even be made a brother, but they gave him a job as doorkeeper or porter at their school.

 

To make a long story short, within a few years people were flocking to the school because Andre had gained a reputation as a healer. Some would come on crutches but go away walking on their own, leaving their crutches behind. Many of these crutches can still be seen today in St. Joseph’s Oratory, the magnificent church eventually built to accommodate all the pilgrims who wanted to visit him. When Brother Andre died in 1937 over a million people filed by his casket.

 

I mention Brother Andre because during his whole life he denied that he was a miracle worker possessed with great healing powers. Like Jesus, Andre often used material objects like oil and medals in healing people but he also denied that these had any magical powers. He had a special devotion to St. Joseph and asked all who came to him to pray to St. Joseph but even that he regarded as only a means for them to enhance their faith in Jesus, the light of the world. Andre always gave the credit for all of his accomplishments to faith in Jesus Christ.

 

If Jonah is a precursor of Jesus, he is also a precursor of the first Apostles, Brother Andre and even us. In today’s second reading from the Letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul warned these early Christians that “time is running out,” and that they must change their behavior. We don’t know when the end of the world will come, but we do know that it came to an end for some of the members of our community last year. We also know that some of us will not make it through this new year. 

 

For most of us New Year’s resolutions are a joke, but we should all consider ways to change for the better and get our priorities in order. Hopefully, in the days to come we will all have the opportunity to follow Jesus like those fishermen on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

 

 

###

Reading 1. Jonah 3: 1-5, 10

Reading II. 1 Corinthians 7: 29-31

Gospel. Mark 1: 14-20 (fishers of men)

Fishers of Men

                      5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                      C cycle

 

 

Today might very well be called Vocation Sunday. The word vocation comes from the Latin word "vocare" which means to call. In each of the readings today, someone is called and in each case it is someone who feels unworthy or unable.*

 

In the first reading Isaiah has a vision of the heavenly Throne surrounded by angels and he is filled with fear.  Isaiah says,

 

       Woe is me, I am doomed!

       For I am a man of unclean lips,

       living among a people of unclean lips....

. 

Then one of the angels--and angels are always sent by God--around the throne flies to him and touches his mouth with a flaming ember and heals him. "See, now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged." Then Isaiah hears the Lord asking, "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?" and answers the call, "Here I am,...send me!"

 

In today's gospel from Luke, chapter 5, we hear the story of the calling of the first Apostles, in particular, Peter. Now in the previous chapter Luke recounted that Jesus had already worked his healing powers on many people in Galilee. It was this reason that led the people to crowd around him at the lakeside. One of his cures had been Peter's own mother-in-law and so it's no wonder that Peter allowed our Lord to use his boat and followed his directions. 

 

I love St. Peter. He is always impetuous, headstrong, and without guile. He is the prototype of all the great comic sidekicks in literature, from Don Quixote's Sancho Panza to Luke Skywalker's robots. "No, master," they always say, "we can't go there, we can't do that." In this case Peter thinks that the Lord is being a little impractical when He asks him to put out into the deep and lower his nets. "Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing,..."

 

Peter's astonishment at the incredible catch of fish reminds us of the fear that Isaiah felt. He falls at the knees of Jesus and says, "Depart from me Lord, for I am a sinful man." Jesus answers with the famous call, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men." I must confess that in this instance I prefer the old translation, where these fishermen are called to be "Fishers of Men."

 

Whatever the translation, they still responded to the call--"they left everything and followed Him."

 

Finally, in the second reading St. Paul reminds the Corinthians of his own calling. Recalling all those who had seen Christ after His Resurrection, he says.

 

       Last of all...he appeared to me.

       For I am the least of the apostles,

       not fit to be called an apostle,

       because I persecuted the church of God.

 

Isaiah, Peter, Paul, they all recognized their unworthiness or weakness, but all came to realize that God's grace would give them the strength. As Paul said, "I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective.”

 

We would make a mistake if we believed that vocations are only for priests and religious. Peter, James, and John were fisherman. Paul although extremely well educated was a tentmaker by trade. Today's readings are for all of us. We all have our vocation or calling in life. 

 

Another mistake would be to think that we're not ready or prepared. Who would ever enter into one of life's great callings if they had the slightest idea of the trials and tribulations that they would encounter on life's journey? Peter and Paul did not go through a long period of training or study before they were called. That would come afterwards. When our Lord appeared to them they recognized that they were not ready but they couldn't resist Him. 

 

Finally, another mistake would be to look inside of us for the call. Today's readings tell us that the call will usually come from outside. Our Lord appears to Peter at the side of the lake and to Paul on the road to Damascus.  We should not expect to hear some kind of inner voice. In another place in the gospels our Lord tells us that when we did the least thing for one of our brothers, we did it for Him. In the same way when we hear someone asking us to do something or to undertake some task, we might consider that the Lord is speaking through them.

 

I'll never forget my dear aunt Nan. She had no children of her own but when my mother died when I was only 11 she stepped up and became a virtual mother to myself and my two younger brothers. Didn't the Lord speak to her through her widowed brother and three young nephews. Like Isaiah she responded, "Here I am."

 

If today you hear His Voice, harden not your hearts.

 

###

*Today's image is Caravaggio's famous version of the calling of Matthew. Click on image to enlarge.

Reading 1. Isaiah 6:1-2a, 3-8.

Reading II. I Corinthians 15: 1-11

Gospel. Luke 5: 1-11 (Fishers of Men). 

Calling the Apostles

                       15^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                     

 

 

When we hear of prophets we usually think of them as mystical foretellers of the future. However, the special talent of the prophets we encounter in scripture was their ability to describe with sometimes brutal accuracy the wrongs of their own day and call for repentance and renewal. 

 

For the most part, the prophets we encounter in scripture claimed no special gifts or talents. Last week we saw that the Prophet Ezekiel claimed that despite his own weakness or lack of ability, the Lord had called him to carry out a mission. In our first reading today, the Prophet Amos says much the same thing. He claims that he is not a prophet and that he does not even have the learning or background to be one.

 

I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores,

The Lord took me from following the flock, and said to me,

Go, prophesy to my people Israel.

 

In other words, Amos was just a simple, ordinary man no different from anyone else.        

 

In today’s gospel we see Our Lord entrusting a bunch of simple, ordinary men with a mission. Today’s gospel reading from Mark picks up right where we left off last week. We recall that after performing many healings and miracles in a neighboring region, Jesus returned home only to meet a doubtful reception from his own people. He was led to say that a “prophet is not without honor except in his own country.”

 

Nevertheless, Jesus commissions the Apostles to embark on a mission in the same way as Ezekiel and Amos. They wouldn’t need book learning or years in a seminary. They wouldn’t need a lot of money or equipment. 

 

He instructed them to take nothing for the journey

But a walking stick—

No food, no sack, no money in their belts.  

 

His authority would be all they needed to perform the same works that He had done. So, without any special training or experience they set out to do His work. We are told that like the prophets of old they preached repentance, drove out many demons, and “anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.”

 

When we hear of these first Apostles, we must always put ourselves in their shoes or sandals. We speak of our bishops as being successors of the Apostles, but we are all successors of the Apostles in our own little way. But how are we to be apostles or prophets with our own limited time and abilities?

 

I knew a young widow who told me about all that she was doing to care for and raise her young daughter. It was truly admirable. Nevertheless, she wished that she had more time to devote to God’s work, or to spend more time in prayer and devotion. I think I did right to tell her that when she cared for her daughter, she was indeed doing God’s work, the work she had been chosen to do. Her prayers were the words she said to her daughter. So many times in the gospel Jesus directs our attention away from Himself, and asks us to care for those entrusted to our care. His one commandment was to love one another.

 

In today’s second reading, St. Paul begins his letter to the Ephesians, that is the young Christian community in the city of Ephesus, with a long introduction that seems to indicate that they are all apostles. He writes,

 

In him you also, who have heard the word of truth,

the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, which is the first installment of our inheritance

toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory. 

 

Even though we are simple, ordinary people involved in the mundane tasks of life, these same mundane tasks have been elevated or consecrated through the sacrifice of Jesus and the sanctification of his Holy Spirit.

 ###

Reading 1.  Amos 7: 12-15

Reading II. Ephesians 1: 3-14

Gospel. Mark 6: 7-13 (Jesus Summoned the Twelve)

The Little Way

                           15^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                         

When we hear of prophets we usually think of them as kind of mystical foretellers of the future. However, the special talent of the prophets we encounter in scripture was their ability to describe with sometimes brutal accuracy the wrongs of their own day and call for repentance and renewal.

For the most part, the prophets we encounter in scripture claimed no special gifts or talents. Last week we saw that the Prophet Ezekiel claimed that despite his own weakness or lack of ability, the Lord had called him to carry out a mission. In our first reading today, the Prophet Amos says much the same thing. He claims that he is not a prophet and that he does not even have the learning or background to be one.

I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores,

The Lord took me from following the flock, and said to me,

Go, prophesy to my people Israel.

In other words, Amos was just a simple, ordinary man no different from anyone else.             

In today’s gospel we see Our Lord entrusting a bunch of simple, ordinary men with a mission. Today’s gospel reading from Mark picks up right where we left off last week. We recall that after performing many healings and miracles in a neighboring region, Jesus returned home only to meet a doubtful reception from his own people. He was led to say that a “prophet is not without honor except in his own country.”

Nevertheless, Jesus commissions the Apostles to embark on a mission in the same way as Ezekiel and Amos. They wouldn’t need book learning or years in a seminary. They wouldn’t need a lot of money or equipment.

He instructed them to take nothing for the journey

But a walking stick—

No food, no sack, no money in their belts. 

His authority would be all they needed to perform the same works that He had done. So, without any special training or experience they set out to do His work. We are told that like the prophets of old they preached repentance, drove out many demons, and “anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.”

When we hear of these first Apostles, we must always put ourselves in their shoes or sandals. We speak of our bishops as being successors of the Apostles, but we are all successors of the Apostles in our own little way. But how are we to be apostles or prophets with our own limited time and abilities?

I knew a young widow he told me about all that she was doing to care for and raise her young daughter. It was truly admirable. Nevertheless, she wished that she had more time to devote to God’s work, or to spend more time in prayer and devotion. I think I did right to tell her that when she cared for her daughter, she was indeed doing God’s work, the work she had been chosen to do. Her prayers were the words she said to her daughter. So many times in the gospel Jesus directs our attention away from himself, and asks us to care for those entrusted to our care. His one commandment was to love one another.

In today’s second reading, St. Paul begins his letter to the Ephesians, that is the young Christian community in the city of Ephesus, with a long introduction that seems to indicate that they are all apostles. He writes,

In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, which is the first installment of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory.

Even though we are simple, ordinary people involved in the mundane tasks of life, these same mundane tasks have been elevated or consecrated through the sacrifice of Jesus and the sanctification of his Holy Spirit. 

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Reading 1.  Amos 7: 12-15

Reading II. Ephesians 1: 3-14

Gospel. Mark 6: 7-13 (Jesus Summoned the Twelve)