FROM THE PULPIT FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME REFLECTION
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FROM THE PULPITThe Scripture passages from the prophet Amos and the Evangelist Mark have been fittingly chosen for today’s liturgy to teach us about fidelity to the mission received from the Lord. A prophet and a disciple are both messengers of God dispatched to proclaim God’s word. Their message is transformative of people’s life and proves God’s compassion and care to his people.
FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B
SCRIPTURE: Amos 7: 12-15; Psalm 85; Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark 6: 7-13.
REFLECTION: Fidelity to the Prophetic Mission.
Fr. Benoit Mukamba, CSSp.
The first reading places before us two contrasted conceptions of being a minister of God, one exhibited by Amaziah, priest of the royal temple in Bethel, and the other embodied by Amos, a prophet from Judah. Amaziah understood religion and his own role at the temple in civil terms. For him, the role of religion and temple cult existed to promote loyalty to the king and patriotism. Amaziah understood his personal obligation as an enchanter of the status quo, thus rulers and the powerful of the land felt good about their handling of personal and state affairs, while Amaziah maintained his position and benefits at the temple. His attack against Amos revealed his psychological projection. Amaziah exposed his feeling of being threatened by Amos’ preaching. “Off with you, visionary, flee to the land of Judah! There earn your bread by prophesying”( Amos 7: 12). Bethel was the king’s sanctuary and temple of the Northern kingdom of Israel, a sort of our national cathedral in DC. Amaziah played a role like one of a chaplain at a Washington National Prayer Breakfast. Such a chaplain wouldn’t anger or challenge leaders about their conduct of the national business and tell them about the worst conditions of the people they govern. He or she is a minister of a ‘feel-good religion’.
Prophet Amos, on the contrary, didn’t come to Bethel to earn his living; he came as one compelled by God to announce a liberating message that aims at changing people’s lifestyle. He proclaimed a message that puts an end to social injustices and calls the oppressors to be aware of the humanity of the oppressed. He invited the evildoers to change their lives and treat the weak members of the society justly and with dignity as children of God. Amos, definitely, recognized his mission as dangerous to himself but stood firm in carrying out God’s purpose of sending him. Though Amaziah opposed Amos, he acknowledged him as a visionary and prophet of God.
The Apostles received a twofold duty when Jesus sent them. They were to preach repentance for people’s sins and disclose God’s compassion and care through their ministry of healing and deliverance. Jesus reminded them that they were neither sent to make their living nor were they going with stuff for temporal security. The Apostles were commanded to focus on the proclamation of the Kingdom of God. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and the rest God will provide. A prophet and a disciple may experience failure and rejection but their fidelity to the mission will bring people to know that God’s messenger was in their midst.
At the end of today’s Mass, the priest or deacon will send us off to proclaim the Gospel with our lives. What does the word we just heard mean to each one of us? As we return to our ordinary living after worshipping God, we are sent in the spirit of Amos, the Apostles and Jesus himself. Our religion is the power of God to transform our lives and that of our neighbors. We cannot practice a ‘feel-good religion’ or hold a ‘please-all-attitude’ when things are going wrong. In our encounters with others should manifest God’s compassion and transforming power.
Let us pray that we may be changed by the power of the Gospel we have heard and the effects of the sacrament we have received; that we may become agents of change for eternal life with the Lord Jesus.
