Sunday the 14th of July 2024 - Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Amos 7:12-15/ Psalm 84(85)/ Ephesians 1:3-14/ Mark 6:7-13

The Gospel last Sunday told how Jesus and his message was rejected in his hometown. The readings today show that we are all called by God to continue the missionary work started by Jesus. We, and the message of Gods love, mercy and redemption may also be rejected and sometimes by those closest to us. This must not put us off, we, like Amos in the first reading, must persevere in our mission regardless of what people around us think, do, or say.

Amos was not a prophet from the cult of prophets, not a prophet by profession or choice. He was a shepherd and grower but was chosen by God to preach God’s word to the people who were being led astray through false beliefs and practices. He was rejected, as Jesus was rejected, but the message he had remained the same and held out no matter how the world tried to supress it.

The apostles sent out by Jesus in the gospel passage were given a sense of urgency in their mission. They were to travel light, relying on the hospitality of those they encountered for their upkeep. If they and their message were rejected, they were to shake the soil from their feet as a sign of the rejection, a sign that by rejecting them they were also rejecting the gospel message and the promise of redemption it holds. Jesus was a realist, he knew he was going to die, he knew that he and his message would be rejected, he instilled a sense of urgency into the spreading of the gospel, but he did not wish time and effort to be wasted on people who were determined to reject the offer of redemption.

The letter to the early Christian church at Ephesus sets out what the nature of the mission we are called to is. The extract today is largely made up of a trinitarian blessing which unifies the work of God the Father acting through Jesus, his son, bound together by the Holy Spirit. Through Jesus humanity can become a reconciled and sanctified people worthy to stand in the presence of God. We might feel that we are far from being reconciled and holy but with Jesus at the heart of God’s plan for us we will indeed become that holy people who can, one day, face God. Through Jesus we become adopted sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus, who can share in his life, death, and resurrection. Through Jesus we are saved from the domain of sin so entangling the world today. Having been chosen and reconciled we are now called to spread that message to all.

The way that evil has gripped the earth is the reason why our mission is urgent. We are sent out into a world that will often reject the message of redemption carried by the gospel. God knows that his message will be rejected, and he tells us to move on from these rejections so that the message continues to be spread. God’s will is that we spread his message with some urgency and, if we are committed to this task, as was Amos, the spreading of this message cannot be halted either by rejection or legal decree. The decree from God, his will, can be rebutted by the world but cannot be silenced. This has always been the case and is evident in countries where Christianity is outlawed or suppressed by law. It is under persecution that Christianity seems to flourish. The long a distinguished line of martyrs stand in testament to this.

Worldly comforts and the temptations of today have no place in the life of the Christian called to mission. Faith should become a passion within us so that we feel the urgency to spread it to others. Acting in cooperation with God things will happen and the world can be changed. Our faith, the practice of our religion, can become a habit, enthusiasm can become infectious and our whole lives can become mission driven. We know that some will be irritated by this, the readings today tell us that has always been the case, but there is no place for being too cautious if we are to be the instruments through which God’s will for humanity is delivered. We can become stifled by caution, programs and administration leading to an overdose of prudence which can quench the fire of evangelisation. We do have to tread carefully, but we should also not allow our mission to be strangled.  

Through our baptism we are all called to be missionaries to the world we live in. That mission should shine out from our lives in the way we live. We are joined with God and Jesus, his son, by the bond of the Holy Spirit. The gifts we receive from this union flow out from us in whatever path we follow in life. We are not all called to be preachers by profession but whatever our life skills are they can be used for the fulfilment of God’s will for us and the world. We must put the gifts we have been given at God’s disposal rather than our own.

God Bless Brendan.