20210711 CONVICTION OF ONE’S CALL
11 July, 2021, Sunday, 15th Week, Ordinary Time
First reading | Amos 7:12-15 © |
'Go, shepherd, and prophesy to my people Israel'
Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, said to Amos, ‘Go away, seer;’ get back to the land of Judah; earn your bread there, do your prophesying there. We want no more prophesying in Bethel; this is the royal sanctuary, the national temple.’ ‘I was no prophet, neither did I belong to any of the brotherhoods of prophets,’ Amos replied to Amaziah ‘I was a shepherd, and looked after sycamores: but it was the Lord who took me from herding the flock, and the Lord who said, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 84(85):9-14(Sun15) © |
Let us see, O Lord, your mercy, and give us your saving help.
I will hear what the Lord God has to say,
a voice that speaks of peace,
peace for his people.
His help is near for those who fear him
and his glory will dwell in our land.
Let us see, O Lord, your mercy, and give us your saving help.
Mercy and faithfulness have met;
justice and peace have embraced.
Faithfulness shall spring from the earth
and justice look down from heaven.
Let us see, O Lord, your mercy, and give us your saving help.
The Lord will make us prosper
and our earth shall yield its fruit.
Justice shall march before him
and peace shall follow his steps.
Let us see, O Lord, your mercy, and give us your saving help.
Second reading |
Ephesians 1:3-14 © |
God chose us in Christ before the world was made
Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ.
Before the world was made, he chose us, chose us in Christ,
to be holy and spotless, and to live through love in his presence,
determining that we should become his adopted sons, through Jesus Christ
for his own kind purposes,
to make us praise the glory of his grace,
his free gift to us in the Beloved,
in whom, through his blood, we gain our freedom, the forgiveness of our sins.
Such is the richness of the grace
which he has showered on us
in all wisdom and insight.
He has let us know the mystery of his purpose,
the hidden plan he so kindly made in Christ from the beginning
to act upon when the times had run their course to the end:
that he would bring everything together under Christ, as head,
everything in the heavens and everything on earth.
And it is in him that we were claimed as God’s own,
chosen from the beginning,
under the predetermined plan of the one who guides all things
as he decides by his own will;
chosen to be,
for his greater glory,
the people who would put their hopes in Christ before he came.
Now you too, in him,
have heard the message of the truth and the good news of your salvation,
and have believed it;
and you too have been stamped with the seal of the Holy Spirit of the Promise,
the pledge of our inheritance
which brings freedom for those whom God has taken for his own, to make his glory praised.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Jn6:63,68 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
Or: | cf.Ep1:17,18 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our mind,
so that we can see what hope his call holds for us.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 6:7-13 © |
'Take nothing with you'
Jesus made a tour round the villages, teaching. Then he summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs giving them authority over the unclean spirits. And he instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no haversack, no coppers for their purses. They were to wear sandals but, he added, ‘Do not take a spare tunic.’ And he said to them, ‘If you enter a house anywhere, stay there until you leave the district. And if any place does not welcome you and people refuse to listen to you, as you walk away shake off the dust from under your feet as a sign to them.’ So they set off to preach repentance; and they cast out many devils, and anointed many sick people with oil and cured them.
CONVICTION OF ONE’S CALL
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [AMOS 7:12-15; EPH 1:3-14; MK 6:7-13 ]
Why do some of us go through life without a sense of direction? We just drift through life, trying to keep ourselves alive with some pleasures and luxuries in life. But our life is meaningless. We have no real purpose for our existence. We work to keep ourselves alive and to make a living. We might even appear to be active doing many things but without direction and coherence. At the end of the day, we will be burnt-out with all sorts of activities, but achieve nothing substantial.
The scripture readings have this common theme, that we are all called by God for His purpose in various ways and capacities. Amos was a shepherd and farmer looking after his flocks and fruit-trees when he was called by the Lord to be a prophet to the Northern Kingdom of Israel. In the gospel, “Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs giving them authority over the unclean spirits. So they set off to preach repentance; and they cast out many devils, and anointed many sick people with oil and cured them.” Both the prophet Amos and the Twelve were given a specific vocation, one was called to be a prophet and the Twelve to preach the gospel of repentance and healing.
However, not all of us are called to undertake a full-time ministry in the Church. But this does not mean that we are exempted from the work of proclamation of the gospel. St Paul’s letter to the Ephesians affirmed the general calling of all Christians. He wrote, “Before the world was made, he chose us, chose us in Christ, to be holy and spotless, and to live through love in his presence, determining that we should become his adopted sons.” We are chosen to be adopted sons of God through Jesus Christ. This means that we share in the same inheritance of Christ. This was why St Paul began his letter praising God, “Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ.” In Christ, we share all the blessings that He has as the Son of the Father. This is indeed a great privilege given to us. We are no longer slaves or servants but the children of God.
But privilege comes with responsibility. If we are children of God, we must give Jesus Christ the “praise the glory of his grace, his free gift to us in the Beloved, in whom, through his blood, we gain our freedom, the forgiveness of our sins.” In other words, we must live our life as sons and daughters of God. We cannot continue to live as if we are slaves of the world and of our passion since we have gained our freedom in Christ. A Christian must be holy, that is, set apart from the world. This does not mean that he does not live in the world or exclude himself from being involved in the world. But it does mean that a Christian is different and distinguishes himself from how worldly people live, with their selfish and self-centred values, contrary to the gospel of humility, dying to self, compassion, forgiveness and humble service. This is the real challenge of being a Christian today, to have the courage to be identified as one. What the world wants is for us to be identified with them. The world wants us to absorb their worldly values so that we will not be a reproach to their self-centred lifestyle or be a conscience to society.
But we are called to be not just holy, set apart, but spotless and blameless. St Paul used this word in the context of the Jewish sacrifice where an animal that was offered to God must be without blemish. To be spotless means therefore that we must make ourselves a living sacrifice to God by living out the perfect life of Christ. Jesus commanded us, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mt 5:48) This is not moral perfection but our goal must be to live out the live of sonship perfectly in union with our Lord. It is to live out our vocation of service and calling in life for the greater glory of God and our fellowmen.
In this way, God’s purpose for us and for humanity is realized. “Such is the richness of the grace which he has showered on us in all wisdom and insight. He has let us know the mystery of his purpose, the hidden plan he so kindly made in Christ from the beginning to act upon when the times had run their course to the end: that he would bring everything together under Christ, as head, everything in the heavens and everything on earth.” God has blessed us with this revelation and His abundant blessings so that we can share with others. We are never chosen for ourselves only but for others, to be a blessing to others. Whatever blessings we receive are received on behalf of others so that they too can share in God’s blessings.
Yet, being God’s blessing to others is not always met with joy or acceptance. The Good News is not always good to those who do not want it, or face the truth about themselves. This is not surprising because Jesus already forewarned His disciples that in spite of the Good News they are proclaiming and the works of healing and liberation they do, not all want to be healed, be reconciled, repent or be freed from their sinful way of life. Hence, He said, “If any place does not welcome you and people refuse to listen to you, as you walk away shake off the dust from under your feet as a sign to them.” We cannot force the Good News on those who are unwilling to listen or to repent. Still, we must continue to preach to those who might want to listen, but we must never force people to accept us or the message. It is free.
At times, more than just rejecting the blessings that we want to share, some would react with hostility and misrepresent our message. From Good News, they distort our message and present them as bad news. This was what the High Priest of the Shrine of Bethel, the National Sanctuary of the Northern Kingdom of Israel sought to do. He twisted the words of Prophet Amos by complaining to King Jeroboam of Israel that “Amos has conspired against you in the very centre of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words. For thus Amos has said, ‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel must go into exile away from his land.'” (Amos 7:10f) Amos spoke about the destruction of the Temple but he did not mention Jeroboam because he did not want to appear to be defensive of his interests. Instead, he misrepresented Amos by claiming that he cursed the King when he was merely warning about the consequences of the destruction of the kingdom. Today, the Christian message of freedom, marriage, sexuality, sanctity of life is being distorted, not just by unbelievers but even by false prophets from within our Church who want to please the world.
Amos was accused of having ulterior motives in preaching in the Northern Kingdom to make money for himself. Amaziah said to Amos, “Go away, seer; get back to the land of Judah; earn your bread there, do your prophesying there. We want no more prophesying in Bethel; this is the royal sanctuary, the national temple.” Amaziah was casting doubts on the authenticity of his call as a prophet. Amos in no uncertain terms retorted that he did not need to be a professional prophet to earn his keep. On the contrary, he said, “I was no prophet, neither did I belong to any of the brotherhoods of prophets. I was a shepherd, and looked after sycamores: but it was the Lord who took me from herding the flock, and the Lord who said, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”
Indeed, the crux of today’s message is clear. How faithful we are to our calling as Christians in the world, or to our vocation and ministry in the Church depends on how convicted we are of the call of God. If we are like St Paul, convinced that God has chosen us “from the beginning, under the predetermined plan of the one who guides all things as he decides by his own will; chosen to be, for his greater glory”, then we will be true to our calling in life. But if it is our own calling, then we can pick and choose what we want to do, and quit when the going gets tough. But if it is God who calls us, there is no question of resigning. This is what St Paul wrote, “An obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel! For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission.” (1 Cor 9:16f) We can persevere in what we do, and do so with purpose only when we are convinced in our hearts that it is the Lord who has chosen us for the office.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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