15th Sunday in Ordinary Time READING 1:
Amos 7:12-15
Psalm
85 READING 2: Ephesians 1:3-14 GOSPEL: Mark 6:7-13
There the story of an pious old monk who was asked to explain the unique nature of his Religious Order. He said, “Well,, when it comes to learning, we certainly don’t compare with the Jesuits. And when it comes to good works, we’re no match for the Franciscans. And when it comes to preaching, we’re far less talented than the Dominicans or the Passionists. But when it comes to humility, we’re the absolute tops!” Jesus had high hopes for his disciples. Jesus has high hopes for us as well. Are all those hopes high, apple-pie-in-the-sky hopes? It was not until later that Peter was able to stutter out the realization: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” So what message did the disciples take on their journey? And what happened? First what might have happened if they thought about their own status? In the first reading today, we heard the prophet Amos admit to the royal high priest that Amos was a simple shepherd not a religious man. He, of course, was rejected. Yet we proclaim his words these thousands of years later. These disciples were certainly mere fishermen, country folk, un-educated mostly and low in stature. They also experienced rejection. Yet, again, two thousand years later, here we are. We don’t remember the ones who rejected them. No one has ever put up a statue to honor a critic! God has a message for the world. If we are embarrassed to carry that message to others; if we thought about being a priest but figured it’s too much, just maybe the Lord is calling you to carry the message. What happens when the message doesn’t get out? At least 35 years ago, a pastor stood up to a bishop. This is a true story as I have been told it. The pastor was very highly esteemed and a spokesman for his brother priests. The bishop removed him from his parish and sent him into a ministry that was clearly punishment. The priest got a Canon Lawyer and appealed to the Vatican . He never received a reply. But the bishop did receive a reply. It wasn’t what the bishop wanted to hear so he filed it away without any more comment. Several years later that bishop retired and died and the priest was still banished to the punishing ministry. The new bishop heard only the basic story and left the priest where he was. The priest finally retired after spending nearly 20 years in virtual exile. A few years later there was a diocesan priest function and the now feeble old priest was there. One of the young guys, just back from studying Canon Law in Rome , introduced himself. He said, “Father, it is great to meet you. We studied your case in Canon Law class. How did you feel when the Vatican ruled in your favor against the bishop?” The entire room went silent. No one knew. All those years and no one knew. That’s what happens in our world when no one proclaims God’s message. And the message needs to be delivered or people will live in exile, banished into a world of war and hate and indifference. That’s the message the disciples took out to their people. They told them God rules in their favor. People haven’t evolved much over the centuries and millenniums. Oh, there have been plenty of inventions, plenty of cures have been discovered, and our lives are certainly faster paced. But we still have problems. Even the most well off among us suffers. There will always be critics. There will always be tyrants. There will always be people too timid to make changes. And people are still afraid to trust God. There will always be reasons to excuse ourselves from God’s mission. But, we can accomplish anything we put our mind and energy into. The point is, we don’t have to let this life cripple us. We don’t have to be afraid. We are beloved, we are part of God’s plan, and we have a message to deliver. God has a message for us: God rules in our favor! Fr. Jeff McGowan |
