First Reading
Amos 7:12-15
Amaziah, priest of Bethel, said to Amos, “Off with you, visionary, flee to the land of Judah! There earn your bread by prophesying, but never again prophesy in Bethel; for it is the king’s sanctuary and a royal temple.” Amos answered Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor have I belonged to a company of prophets; 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.”
Second Reading
Ephesians 1:3-14
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved. In him we have redemption by his blood, the forgiveness of transgressions, in accord with the riches of his grace that he lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us the mystery of his will in accord with his favor that he set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of times, to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth. In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ. 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.
Gospel Cycle Cycle B
Mark 6:7-13
Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick—no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic. He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.” So they went off and preached repentance. The Twelve drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
We continue the theme of the Scriptures about prophets, which we have been listening to for the last two weeks. This is the third Sunday in a row in which we are invited to think about what it means to follow Jesus and to allow His words to form us and to guide our words and actions.
Today we hear Amos making sure that the people understand that he is not a prophet nor the son of a prophet. Prophets had come to have bad names, just as so many priests have bad names in our own time. So many of the prophets of the time of Amos had used prophecy just as a way of living, a way of getting money, a way of getting favors. No good man would want to be a prophet!
And yet God continued to call prophets and to insist that they proclaim His word and His message. Today also, in spite of all the sinfulness and awfulness of our Catholic priests, God continues to call men to be holy priests and to serve His people as priests.
In the Gospel, Jesus is sending the twelve men that he had chosen into the villages and to the places where people lived. He is very clear that their lives must be centered only on proclaiming the Good News. They are to take as little as possible with them. They are stripped for action. Even today we can recognize the difference in our priests: some seem totally at the service of the Good News while others seem focused on other things. We must pray for the conversion of our priests. This has been true in every age. We pray for the conversion of our bishops because it is they who establish the direction of the diocese.
How we should long to have good and holy priests and prophets in our Church today! Our faith is not about hiding from others. It is about proclaiming that there is a God who loves us and who invites us to share His life. The better leaders we have for forming us into community, into parishes, into dioceses and into the universal Church, the stronger will be our proclamation of God’s loving and compassion presence in our world.
Today let us pray for the priests and prophets of our own time. Let us pray that each of us would give our own lives to following Jesus as our Master. May He show us the way so that the world may be brought to Him.