Sunday, July 14, 2024
After the death of King Solomon, Israel’s third king, in 937 BC, the twelve tribes of Israel were divided into northern and southern kingdoms. The northern kingdom became known as the Kingdom of Israel until the Assyrians conquered and destroyed it in 722 BC. The southern kingdom called the Kingdom of Judah, survived until it was conquered by the Babylonians in 587 BC. The northern kingdom was made up of ten of the twelve tribes of Israel, while the southern kingdom was made up of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.
In today’s Old Testament Reading from the book of Amos, Amaziah, a Bethel priest or religious figure in the northern kingdom, seems to see prophesying as a way of making a living and is disconcerted that Amos, who’s from the southern kingdom of Judah, is preaching in his territory. Amaziah asks Amos to stop prophesying in the northern kingdom, to which Amos responds by saying he is not a prophet but a shepherd and a sycamore fig farmer. Amos said that prophesying is what God sent him to do.
In today’s reading from Mark’s Gospel, the twelve apostles receive a charge from Jesus to announce the Gospel through words and miracles. God commissioned them as He did Amos, but did they think they were prepared to go out and preach the good news of salvation? They were called to do it early in Jesus’ ministry, not after He was crucified and risen from the dead. The disciples were taught by Jesus, but likely, they were not fully prepared to carry on the work of Christ, preaching repentance, driving out demons, and healing the sick. Like Amos, they were ordinary, simple people. St. Mark tells us that the disciples did what Jesus asked of them: they preached, drove out demons, and healed the sick. The twelve disciples and Amos were holy men because they obeyed God. They were not well-educated and fully prepared to be evangelists and preachers of the Gospel. Holiness is not perfection.
Ad Gentes, the 1965 Second Vatican Council’s decree, establishes the Catholic Church’s commitment to evangelization as a fundamental mission and reaffirms ties between evangelization and charity for the poor. “The Church is catholic: she proclaims the fullness of the faith. She bears in herself and administers the totality of the means of salvation. She is sent out to all peoples. She speaks to all men. She encompasses all times. She is “missionary of her very nature” (AG 2).” (Catechism §868). The readings chosen for today remind us that God purposefully chooses us. Can we ask ourselves these questions today: What am I called to do? Why is God choosing me as His disciple? Am I fulfilling His purpose?
Detached from earthly goods and with only sandals and walking sticks, the disciples accepted Jesus’ calling. Can we put our trust in Him as they did? God is always with us and will provide for us.
Go in Peace to Love and Serve the Lord.