15th Sunday Ord Time (B) 7.14.24
Apostle commission
“He summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two.”
Being the prophet . . .
We’ve all had to be the…“prophet” at some point in our lives:
We’ve had to tell our teenage son or daughter…
that their behavior is unacceptable.
We’ve had to call the contractor…accountable for his company’s
poor work or demand that a vendor make good on a mishandled order.
We’ve had to speak up…on behalf of someone who is being
victimized or abused by another’s greed or incompetence.
And we’ve been called…to “repentance” by some “prophet” in our life:
our spouse, a mentor, a teacher, a coach;
a “prophet” who cared about us,
who knew that…we ‘ARE’ better…than how we ‘ACTED’,
a “prophet” who would lay down his or her own body
to stop us from hurting ourselves or injuring another.
There’s a price to be paid for acting…’prophet-ically’.
At best, being a prophet demands that we abandon the safe
‘anonymity’ of the back of the room…or…
the last row…and move beyond our fears
to speak up for what…is right and just;
at worse, to act as the prophet is to risk…everything —
including our lives — for the justice and mercy of God.
The story of John the Baptist… is the story of ‘EVERY PROPHET’…
who hears the voice of God…and…
shares God’s dream of a world of…true peace and
a humanity…FULLY…RECONCILED…to God.
In Baptism, ‘WE,…,too, accepted the call of God to be ‘HIS’ prophet — and,
‘IF’…faithful to that call,…our response will COST us,…as well:
It may isolate us from family and friends,
cause us unbearable stress and worry,
put us in uncomfortable and terrifying situations.
But the “life of Jesus”…is God’s promise…that the good we do,
the justice we fight for,
the work of reconciliation and forgiveness we take on
WILL BE ‘EXALTED’ in the reign of God.
How hard is it to be a prophet???
What does a prophet…look like…today?
If…“I” wanted to be one, what would I need to know and
where do “I” begin?
The answers are in our readings today.
OBSERVE…PRAY…ACT
Thank goodness…“I” was not selected to be…
“AMOS” from the first reading.
Amos was removed from his current job…as a shepherd watching his flock
to become a prophet…not to the general public ‘BUT’…to the ROYAL family AND among the other prophets who were educated and already well-known for providing their prophesy to the “leaders”.
His orders were to…“Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”
The gospel tells of another sending.
Jesus, sends the Twelve on their first mission.
The word apostle means…”one who is sent”
Jesus sends them out two by two…
to preach the good news of the healing and liberation
that Jesus brings.
But the mission is NOT easy.
Jesus tells them to leave behind money and other necessities…
(except sandals and a walking stick)
AND… to expect opposition and IN-HOS.PI.TALITY.
The apostles…set out with FAITH and COURAGE… and
returned with JOY,
reporting on the success of their efforts.
Demons have been driven OUT and people…are HEALED.
Today, if I am going to travel…(away from my comfortable home-
where I have everything…I need …you can only imagine
the amount of planning, scheduling, hotels, airfare…etc.etc.etc…
that go into PLANNING that trip –
then there is packing for all the necessities
that will get me through until my return.
I commit…some serious time…to planning. Not the apostles.
What would happened…if when I arrive at my destination airport
where my luggage did not arrive …–
actually – It was never going to arrive… because it was lost.
What would I need to do?
First thing…would be to call Kathy and have her help me figure it out.
Seriously, what would “I” need to do???
OBSERVE…PRAY…ACT.
Instead, we must take our cue from the apostles.
Conformed to Jesus Christ, we follow the apostles’ example and
begin our mission. But where shall we go?
Today, the Church and our ‘parish’ face a challenge.
“Seeing the people and their needs “–
Jesus – confronted a similar challenge.
The first movement in Jesus’s process is to observe, analyze,
understand and have compassion for the needs of his distressed people.
You and “I”,…in the challenges of our own lives…need to take the first step.
We have to observe, analyze, understand and have compassion
for the needs of our people, our parishioners and our families.
The second movement is prayer.
Jesus encourages…prayer of petition.
God made us…to be an ASKING people.
God knows…the challenges…each of us face…in our lives.
By praying we are NOT telling God anything new.
But…we are demonstrating the fact that WITHOUT God
We ourselves are capable of NOTHING…BUT…
With God ….ALL THINGS are possible.
AND SO… we ASK.
“Jesus summoned his 12 apostles and gave them AUTHORITY…
He instructed them to go, to preach, to HEAL.
The third movement is ACTION.
After understanding and prayer, Jesus…ACTS…
decisively and confidently with the awareness
that the Father…”IS” with him.
We look at the needs of our world,
we pray about them and we “ACT” decisively.
We act to heal, to help, to forgive, to cast out evil, to give LIFE.
We do these things in the context of our own lives.
Who do we heal, help, forgive?
Whom can we save from evil?
To whom…can we give life?
We ALSO do these things in the context of the church.
How can we confront the challenges?
We can begin by begging God to care for us and his church.
We can encourage vocations to the Church within our families.
We can FEEL ourselves…being CALLED and SENT…
As the 12 disciples were sent in today’s gospel.
We can put our name in that list of disciples… and
know that Jesus empowers us
to be responsible for the mission of the Church…
and for the salvation of its people.
At the end of this liturgy, strengthened by the Eucharist,
we will be sent forth to share the Gospel.
Open your minds and hearts…AND
use the deeper understanding…of WHO…Jesus ‘IS’…
and a desire to take up
the work ‘HE’ has given you….
TAKE…NOTHING with you,
Let NOTHING hold you back. GO!!
