Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Fr Dominic’s Homily
Today Jesus instructs his disciples how to travel in order to be able to spread his word and message of the kingdom of heaven.
It’s as if he is preparing them for a flight somewhere. He says don’t take any extra baggage. He wants them to be unhindered. Or pay the price.
He describes to them what they should and shouldn’t take. He wants them to trust in his providence. To take extra luggage is to show a lack of faith in the one who sent you - in God.
This reminds all of us that we are not actually permanent residents here on earth. We all have a Visa from God for a certain period of time.
They are to take a staff and sandals but no extra money.
This reminds us of the Passover meal where they are to eat it as if they are going on a journey with a staff in their hands and sandals of their feet. This is because it is the New Exodus that they are embarking on. The spreading of the Word of God, of Gods kingdom. Jesus remember fulfils the Jewish law.
We hear that Jesus sends them off in pairs. It was the Jewish tradition at that time that only witness performed by two people was to be considered credible.
They are to call people to repentance – but what does that actually mean? They were the first words that Jesus is recorded to have spoken. “Repent for the kingdom of God is close at hand.”
In other words turn away from sin and change your minds and your hearts towards God. This is the very essence and core of the Christian message. We are all called to change.
If we have been baptised then we are all prophets and are expected to announce the kingdom of God. We are all apostles. We have not chosen him but rather he has chosen us. He called us first.
There is a saying:
• There is no life without a task,
• No person without a talent and
• No moment without its call.
We are all sent for a particular purpose and task. If we have been baptised then we are all prophets. We don’t need special training. Look at Amos in the first reading. He was a simple worker. Yet simple acts of faith can be the most powerful witness.
How often do you initiate grace for your family in a public place for example? Or do you initiate prayer with your family? How often do you pray together as a family? If the answer is never – why not start now?
Saint Ignatius of Loyola famously said ultimately the most important questions we should ask are:
• What have I done for Christ?
• What am I doing for Christ and
• What should I do for Christ?
The Lord often calls us to go beyond our comfort zones.
Jesus is also preparing the apostles for rejection. He says if you are rejected then simply shake the dust from your feet and move on to the next place. In other words shrug the rejection off and move on.
Last week Jesus told us that a prophet is never accepted in his own land and amongst his own family. This week we hear that the prophet Amos was rejected and humiliated. How do we respond to rejection?
Do we focus too much on what others think about us or say about us? It’s easy to spend our whole lives doing this. At the end of our days God may ask us what we have done with the gifts that he has given us.
Will we answer – Yes Lord – I know you gave me these gifts but I was afraid of what others might think and say about me so I never used them? So I buried them deeply.
Or will the answer be – yes. I recognised the gifts and I tried. Perhaps I wasn’t great but I tried my best in order to spread your word.
Let us learn to trust in Gods providence for us, to shrug off any rejection and to use the gifts that God has given us in order to proclaim his great glory.