Amos 7:12-15
Ephesians 1:3-14
Mark 6:7-13
Since the creation of the world, God has never ceased to make Himself present among His people. He always used the Patriarchs, Kings, Prophets, Apostles, Priests and other ministers to make His presence felt in the world. In a special way, He is also making Himself present in the world through each and every one of us whom He has sent into the world.
In the first reading, we are presented with the verbal attack on Amos by the priest at Bethel called Amaziah. Amos’ oracle indicated an impending disaster that will befall the King and the people in the form of exile due to their dissociation from God. Amaziah who was more of a political priest accosted the prophet Amos and asked him to leave the land of Israel to Judah and earn his bread as a prophet there.
From the scenario, it is clear that religion at that moment was a commercial and political enterprise. Amaziah’s position as the (chief) priest at Bethel could have been at the instance of the political scheme of king Jeroboam who must have brought in people who will tell him what he wanted to hear. One can then imagine what the prophecy of Amos portends. From Amaziah we understand that Bethel (house of God; the site of Jacob’s dream (Gen.28:18-19)) was now seen as a royal sanctuary and national temple. The people at the time were seeing the worship of God as a mere religious observance not as a spiritual activity.
There is then a difference between religious observance and spiritual practice. It is in this sense that one can be religious without being spiritual. Religious observance includes, though not restricted to conventions like strict attention to time, context, rubrics, and other religious rituals that are external to the religion in question. On the other hand worship as a spiritual activity has to do with an inner disposition which connects the worshipper with the object of worship (Jn. 4:24). In spiritual worship of God we talk about faith, hope and love (1 Cor. 13:13).
In the gospel reading (Mk. 6:7-13), Jesus made himself more present among the people by sending his twelve apostles to them. Today, he has also sent you to the world as he did to the twelve. Your mandate remains the same with that of the twelve to evangelize the people and make things better for them but through various approaches as medical doctors, engineers, teachers, lawyers, priests, etc. He has given you the authority over every obstacle and has charged you with the responsibility of making the world a better place.
So how do you fulfill your mission to the world? How have you made the presence of Christ who has sent you into the world felt among His people? How have you contributed to the alleviation of people’s problems and made the world a better place to live? Do you work in a manner that depicts your collaboration to work for the good of humanity after the mind of Christ who went about doing good? Have you preached the Good News through your life style?
As a student, farmer, health worker, trader, priest, religious, seminarian, etc, what motivates your mission among the people of God? Are you like Amaziah in the first reading (Amos 7:12-15) who thinks that our mission or vocation is solely to earn money? Be disposed like Amos to see your work or vocation as a calling from God and so be disposed to co-operate with His divine will for humanity.
Beloved friends, no matter how difficult your calling or work may be or how despondent you may be, the second reading (Eph 1:3-14) assures you that God chose you to do that even before the world was made. For this reason, He chose us in Christ as His adopted sons and daughters. He gave us the free gift of His beloved through whom we receive forgiveness of sins and the riches of God’s graces. So be assured that you can always find help and grace from God through Jesus Christ when you are in need instead of taking undue advantage of your work/vocation.
The second reading reminds us of God’s graces available for us. Through these graces we all have been redeemed and we have to collaborate with these graces in helping our people appreciate and live out the Good News of salvation. The gospel reading reminds us of the missionary nature of our work. Do not expect the whole world to welcome us, let us be disposed for obstacles on the way which we shall surmount with the grace of God. Therefore, let us not be afraid. Let us not entertain the people but preach repentance. Let us also remember to keep behind all useless anxieties, worries and possessions that would distract us so that at the end, we come back with success stories.
What message do we take home this Sunday? 1) Just like Amos is chosen and sent to confront the idolatry of the people of Israel, you and I are chosen and sent to confront today’s worship of false gods. 2) Just as Jesus sends his apostles to proclaim repentance and to heal the sick, Jesus sends us into our communities to proclaim God’s message of mercy, compassion and healing. 3) Material possessions should never become an obstacle to proclaiming the Gospel, because Christ who sends us will provide. In other words as disciples of Christ and minister in various services in the Church, we need to “travel light”; without material or spiritual baggage!
We must also realize that those who are being sent by Jesus today to preach are no longer the Twelve because they were gone already and have their mission accomplished. You know, it is the mission of the Church to preach. All of us are baptized as Catholic Christians and became members of this Church. Some are ordained to preach like us, priests, and others are not, but all of us, baptized Christians, are called to preach the gospel. And none of us is excused. Each one of us is commissioned to a ministry of love and justice by virtue of our baptism. Let us listen to these words of Vatican II’s Decree on the Laity: “Incorporated into Christ’s Mystical Body through baptism and strengthened by the power of the Holy through confirmation, the laity are assigned to the apostolate by the Lord Himself,” (no. 3). So what ever the kind of life, or profession or occupation you have now, you are sent out “to preach, teach, heal and witness to the Good news,” in short, you are sent to evangelize.
Today God is looking for Christians who are quiet enough to get the message from Him, brave enough to spread it and honest enough to live it. Please let us not hide ourselves because God, no matter how we hide ourselves from Him, sees us and finds us. Let us not play hide and seek. It is our vocation to preach, that is, to know Christ and to be like Him; to love Him and to love those who do not know Him and offer them the fruits of redemption.
Today we are called upon to receive the word of truth in our lives and not to replicate Amaziah. We are called upon to worship God in spirit and not like a mere religious obligation. We are called upon to reflect the missionary script given by our Lord Jesus to the apostles. Among other things we should know that if God has called, chosen and sent us, He will also provide for us. Thus there will be no need for struggling over material remunerations; they are distractions from the main purpose of our ministry and vocation as Christians.
There is also need to fight the Amaziah in us. This Amaziah comes in various shapes and shades. It stands for jealousy which is one of the viral attacks we face in our vocation. We should be able to accept the fact that we are differently gifted and should also appreciate and encourage one another. Amaziah also stands for materialism that is rocking the foundation of our ministry. Many are today more conscious of what will come to them than what will be gainful in the life of the people they minister to. This is the trend of our day and age where men of God live in mansions and drive exotic cars while the members of the church may not afford one modest meal. Yet they are persuaded to donate their last saving with the promise that God will make them suddenly rich. There is need for us to exterminate those destructive Amaziahs of selfishness and materialism in the ministry and incorporate the Amos that represents true mission as set out by our Lord Jesus Christ.
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