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.
Some are called to be evangelizers and some are called to be prophets. You and I are Christians and we are called to be evangelizers and prophets in some way for the good of the Church and for proclaiming the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ.
The early Church recognized that there are many ways to live out this calling of evangelization and prophecy. Not all are called in the same way. On the other hand, we all recognize that we must give witness to the presence of Jesus in our lives. Thus if we are put to the test, we must proclaim Jesus by our words and by our way of living.
The first reading today, from the Prophet Amos, is a statement from that prophet, telling us that God took him and forcibly made him a prophet to Israel. He did not want this calling but had to be faithful to what God asked of him. This can happen to us also. More and more we see the values given to us in Scripture and given to us by Jesus Himself being put to the test. We will be asked to deny these values and we must be prepared to stand the test and be faithful to the Lord.
Today we can find many ways to soften the teachings of Scripture and of Jesus, to cast doubts on His word and what it means for the present day Christian. But in time, we will see that this has all been in vain. The secular culture wants us Christians to abandon all values except those agreed upon by secular culture. We are being invited to become like the profession prophets, who simply tell others and their rulers whatever they want to hear. This assures the secular prophets a living and brings comfort to those who want to hear religious figures affirming that the secular values are just fine.
The Gospel of Mark today picks up this same theme: proclaim the Word of the Lord! Proclaim this word to others and be prepared to be rejected. There will be some who will not welcome you and who do not want to listen to you. Don’t waste your time with them. Instead, go on to those who do welcome you and listen to you.
These two readings are pretty strong teaching for us today. Most of us prefer not to get involved in controversy and even less in religious controversy. We should be able to see, however, that the direction of most developed countries today is in the direction of the denial of all religious values.
The second reading today, from the Letter to the Ephesians, reminds us that we have heard the word of truth, the gospel of salvation, and have believed in Jesus and have been sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. We must be prepared to die for our faith. Even more, we must be prepared to live for our faith today, when so often this faith is being questioned.
May we have courage, may we remain faithful to the Church, may we embrace the full teachings of Jesus and may we be prepared to live this faith unto death.