Reflection for July 11, 2021

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time ( B )

Amos 7:12-15 | Psalm 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14 | Ephesians 1:3-10 | Mark 6:7-13

​Holy Mother Church teaches that every person who is baptized and confirmed receives directly from Christ a mandate to share in the Lord’s prophetic mission. The readings for this weekend remind us to be faithful to our calling, to recognize our giftedness and use it to engage in good works, and finally, to free ourselves of excess baggage in carrying out our mission.

Fr. Mychal F. Judge, O.F.M. was a friar of the Franciscan Province of the Holy Name who served as a chaplain to the New York City Fire Department since 1992. At 68 years old, he continued to be in active ministry in the force despite the advice of some friends and family and the fact that he could retire comfortably. He was a great fire fighter chaplain and passionate about his ministry. The good friar was killed while administering Last Rites to New York City firefighters at the scene of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan following the collapse of the South Tower at 9:59 AM. He became the first officially recorded fatality of the September 11, 2001 attacks. His confidence in his calling was sure. He knew his calling — to save souls. 

We see in the First Reading how prophet Amos (Carried by God), a simple shepherd and farmer, was chosen from the South to go to the North to be the “mouth piece of God”. We do not get the substance of Amos’ message in our reading today, but it gives us a glimpse of his basic attitude. Amos clashes with Amaziah, a priest in the temple in Jerusalem. Unlike Amaziah, Amos is not a prophet-for-hire. He saw himself as an authentic prophet called by God. Others who call themselves prophets in his time were hirelings by the king, ultimately to strengthen his rule over the people. Under such arrangements, these other prophets could not be trusted to preach the word of God in its pristine purity. Are you serving the church for the right reasons? Could it be that we are more skilled at collecting our benefits than shepherding the faith? Some get involve in church because they want to get noticed, to make money or to expand network and close connections. During a youth recollection some years ago, I remember Br. Franz Angelus, lay Missionary of Charity, reminding young parish workers, "We have to be constantly reminded that Christian vocation is a solemn mission, not a decoration or occupation." Amos asserts his role explaining that he is a prophet because that is what God told him to do, not to benefit for himself. 

Ernest visited the family of Cherry, his girlfriend for Christmas. He gave her a really big Christmas gift. It was all wrapped up beautifully, but when Cherry opened it she found a smaller box wrapped inside. And when she unwrapped that gift she found another gift wrapped inside that one. And the box that had started out big got smaller and smaller; and by the time she got to the last box Ernest was on his knee proposing. The ring was in the last box! 

Grace is like that. Grace is a gift within a gift within a gift. The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, starts by reminding them that God is the most generous of all givers. When we open up grace we discover our Heavenly Father chose us before the creation of the world to be his child and to share in the inheritance. But we find another gift, and when we unwrap that we find we are redeemed by the Son. That Jesus has won our freedom and has forgiven us by his blood apart from anything we’ve done. But there’s another gift, and when you unwrap this one we find that we are sealed and marked and in-dwelt by the Holy Spirit. It’s a gift within a gift within a gift with a diamond called grace at the center. Grace is a gift. But of course, there is a catch. We are filled with gifts so that we in turn can become givers. We owe love and worship and gratitude to the Giver, of course. But that’s not what he is most concerned with. After all, God is perfect in himself, and has no needs. Instead, his preoccupation is with our neighbors who do have needs. What we’ve received as a gift, he calls us to give as a gift. We are to to repay a grace received with a good deed or act of kindness to someone else.

Franciscan missionaries were in a quandary — What are we going to eat? Because of the government-mandated lockdown in response to COVID-19, retreat centers had to close indefinitely. This meant hardships for a community of Franciscan friars hosting retreats and spiritual renewal. On the very first day of the lockdown, the friars heard a knock at the door of their retreat center, which is right next to a small church. Not expecting visitors, they wondered who it could be. They guardedly walked to the front of the house and opened the door slowly. Surprised, he saw a man and a woman standing on the doorstep. They were total strangers. The man was a businessman visiting from Manila. The lockdown order had overtaken him and his wife, and they could not travel home. They looked for a place where they could safely stay during the lockdown. When they saw the small church, they decided to go there. It was the retreat center. The friars graciously received the couple into their humble home. In return, their unexpected guests, so thankful for a place of refuge, amply provided for the friars for more than two months! Fra Miguel, one of the friars happily remarked, “We’ve tasted all the delicious food we had never eaten before!” Without question, God’s providence is at work! We just have to trust God’s providential guidance and care for our life and ministry. He cares more for you than we can even imagine.

Today Jesus sends out his apostles in pairs to preach, teach and heal. He sends them out into the highways and byways, telling them to travel light — not to burden themselves with supplies or provisions. God will provide. Jesus gives this instruction to keep them from seeking comfort for themselves or embarrassing their host by asking for things that he or she cannot afford to give. With too much baggage, it is our baggage we serve, our own nests we feather. Material possessions are not as important as the message to be proclaimed. The less we have with us, the more room there is for the message. The apostles went, worked and returned successfully. They were not deprived of any material thing, everything was taken care of. Sometimes it’s hard to imagine how God would sustain us or how we could survive the difficulties of life until we learn to hold on to our faith and give our full trust and faith to God's providence. St. Francis of Assisi took these words to heart and threw away all his material possession and embraced Christ to follow. Mother Teresa had just 5 Indian rupees or ₱3.30 in her pocket when she founded the Missionaries of Charity. God, not material possessions, is the rock on which our ministry is founded. The wealth of a missionary is not his or her bank balance, but an utter surrender to God and an unfailing trust in him who sends. <enrique.ofs>