The great benefits that are ours as the people of God

Scripture1

July 11: Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time. Readings: 1. Amos 7:12-15; Psalm 85; 2. Ephesians 1:3-14; Gospel: Mark 6:7-13

With each of these biblical authors, we hear that it is God’s will that all people be drawn to him and the life he offers. Each, in turn, impresses upon us God’s never-ending efforts to make us sharers in his divine life.

The call of Amos to be a prophet is, therefore, part of that. Removed from his occupation as a shepherd, he is sent forth to be God’s spokesperson. In God’s big plan, the prophet is an indispensable worker. Aware of this, Amos himself confesses the significance of his call, a mission that cannot be rejected.

Everyone’s vocation as a Christian is what comes to the fore in this text from Ephesians. Importantly, it starts off by acknowledging God and his goodness. And that is just reason to bless God for the gift of his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. For it is in and through Christ that we truly come to know the great benefits that are ours as the people of God.

With these verses, then, we are made mindful of the blessings that the daily practice of our faith reveals to us. This text consequently encourages us to be living witnesses to the Good News we have received.

The call of the twelve in Mark is an invitation to be actively engaged in proclaiming what Jesus put into practice for all to see. The precise nature of that mission Jesus spells out in his instructions to the twelve. His directive to rely upon the generosity of others while on mission, making Jesus’ good works known far and wide, amply signals the urgent vocation that the Church too must now enact.

These readings plainly aid our ongoing participation in the spread of the faith. They remind us that we have all been called to make the Good News known.

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Fr Kevin Waldie sm

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