Commentary
Sunday, July 12, 2015, Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
We Are Blessed and in Good Company
“Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you (falsely) because of me.” “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” These Beatitudes were given to us by Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 5:11-12
Amos was one of the prophets that Jesus was talking about. He was spreading the LORD’s Word in Bethel but Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, persecuted Amos and reported to Jeroboam, the king of Israel, that Amos was conspiring against the king. Amaziah told Amos to leave Bethel but Amos stood his ground saying that he was not a professional prophet, meaning that he was not a false prophet looking for personal gain, but that he had been sent by the LORD to prophesy to the people of Israel. Eventually, Amaziah would kill Amos.
Anyone who answers their baptismal call to evangelize is vulnerable to persecution. The devil works hard to close the minds and harden the hearts of those who are weak in faith. Even people who declare themselves, to be devout Christians do not want to be bothered by someone who is attempting to share the Word of the Lord.
In today’s society, religion has become a taboo subject of conversation unless the person that you are talking to is on your level and shares your belief. And, as we learned in last Sunday’s gospel, Mark 6:1-6, it is the people who are closest to you who will probably be the most difficult to talk to or share your faith with.
The example of Amos standing his ground should give us inspiration and serve as an example that we are in very good company. What Amos experienced should remind us of the Beatitudes which should give us the strength to stand up to whatever persecution others may give us for testifying to our faith.
We cannot be responsible for the actions of others but we are responsible for our own actions and if we fail to share the Word because of fear; we are failing our baptismal calling. Remember Amos and all of the other prophets. Remember the martyrs. Remember the promise made by Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:3-12 and pray to the Spirit for fortitude and strength. Then, keep on sharing.
Being Blessed Is Our Destiny
Paul continues the message that we are blessed in the opening of his letter to the Ephesians. He tells us that we are blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens.
The key word in that statement is “spiritual.” In an indirect way, Paul is telling us once again that we have to step out of the comfort zone of our humanity in our relationship with God. Our life on earth and everything physical are gifts from God but they are only temporary and of no value in God’s ultimate plan for us. That plan is for us to be with Him in heaven.
Paul tells us that it was God’s plan before the foundation of the world that we, be without blemish before Him. But just as our plans in this life don’t always work out the way that we want them to, God’s plan needed a back-up. Not because God needed a back-up plan because of His imperfection. God is All-Perfect. We are the problem. We sin and we are with blemish because of sin.
So God, the Father, sent God, the Son, to sacrifice Himself to this life and defeat death so that our blemishes could be removed. This is why Paul says that we were adopted; to God through Jesus Christ in accord with the favor of His will. It is because of God’s love for us that we are redeemed and that our transgressions are forgiven by the blood of Christ.
Paul says that in all wisdom and insight, God has revealed the mystery of His will which is; that all things in heaven and on earth be summed up in Christ. Simply put, Jesus Christ is Lord! We are not in control and it is futile for us to want to be in control. God who created all things is in control and the Son is King over all.
Finally, Paul tells us that we are chosen by God so that we might exist for the praise of His glory. Throughout the Book of Revelations, we see the angels and all of those who are in heaven worshipping God with praise.
Imagine a life where nothing ever goes wrong. A life where there are no hardships of any kind. A life where there is no sickness or pain. A life where there is no conflict, war or hatred. A life where there is only joy, peace and happiness. A life where there is no work. A life where all we have to do is be happy and give praise to our Creator.
This is our destiny and according to Paul, we have already received the first installment of inheritance toward redemption by being sealed with the Holy Spirit. The only thing that we have to do to be sealed is believe. In other words, accept and practice the Spirit’s gift of faith.
The Sending of the Twelve
Matthew, Mark and Luke all account for the sending of the Twelve. Today, we hear Mark’s gospel. See Matthew 10:5-15 and Luke 9:1-5.
In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus told the disciples to proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. In other words, the time for the Kingdom has come. In faith, we know that when Christ defeated death on the cross, He also opened up the gates of the Kingdom for us all. Heaven awaits us and Jesus not only waits for us to join Him, He also shows us the way to get there. The path is in His Light and we follow that path with our faith and by obeying His commandments.
This is one of several events that require us to read more than one gospel to get the full story of what happened. When we read all three gospels, we find that Jesus instructed the disciples to cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers and drive out demons. In effect, Jesus has empowered the disciples with all of His authority, with the exception of passing judgment. Any of the authority which they used, they did so in the name of Jesus.
Jesus instructed the disciples to take nothing with them—no food, no sack, no money and no second tunic. But Jesus did instruct them to wear sandals. Matthew tells us that Jesus said, “Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.” Jesus could have said, “You do not need anything to share My Word and My Word is not for sale.” Anyone who preaches for the sole purpose of making money is not following the instructions of this gospel and they should be if they call themselves spreading the Word of Jesus. Such preachers are false prophets.
Jesus did not want the disciples to take anything with them because He did not want them to be distracted by material wealth or possessions. That distraction could tempt them and cause them to loose sight of their mission and could easily give the wrong impression to those being evangelized. Besides, Jesus lived a very humble life and Jesus wanted the disciples to be a reflection of Him.
This is also true for us. When we evangelize, we need to keep our minds and hearts focused on the Word and tell Satan to get behind us with every distraction that he throws in front of us and believe me; he will throw everything that he possibly can at us. Sharing the Word of God is the last thing that Satan wants us to do.
The disciples were instructed to find a worthy house in whatever town they entered and to stay until they left that town. They were also instructed to offer peace to whatever household they entered. Matthew tells us that Jesus said, “If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to you.” Matthew 10:13 Jesus was telling the disciples that some households would welcome them and some would not and He was telling them to not be upset if they were not welcomed.
Mark tells us that Jesus said, “Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.” Shaking the dust from your feet in those days was an outward expression of protest. It was a way of saying, “I am not wasting my time with you.” Jesus does not want us to argue and debate with people about our faith. Simply put, we do not have to—we hold the truth.
According to Matthew, Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.” Matthew 10:15
Jesus was talking about the people who know that God exists, but do not want to listen to the Word or have anything to do with the Church. Jesus was saying that these people are worse than the people who lived in Sodom and Gomorrah because they deliberately choose to reject God. These people are Satan's disciples and not God's disciples.
These people have allowed themselves to be taken over by the evil one and they will try their very best to intimidate us. We should never allow these people to scare us or intimidate us because the devil is no match for us when we are with Jesus in faith. Instead, remember the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus said, “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.” Matthew 5:12 Remember that you are in the company of Amos and all of the prophets and martyrs who gave their lives because of their faith. When we are in their company; we are in God's company!
