15th Sunday of year B
✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark 6:7-13
Jesus made a tour round the villages, teaching. Then he summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs giving them authority over the unclean spirits. And he instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no haversack, no coppers for their purses. They were to wear sandals but, he added, ‘Do not take a spare tunic.’ And he said to them, ‘If you enter a house anywhere, stay there until you leave the district. And if any place does not welcome you and people refuse to listen to you, as you walk away shake off the dust from under your feet as a sign to them.’ So they set off to preach repentance; and they cast out many devils, and anointed many sick people with oil and cured them.
1. Today’s three readings convey a single message namely that when God calls someone to his service, he empowers the person, qualifies and sends him or her to specific mission. In the first reading (Amos 7:12-15), we read of the confrontation between Prophet Amos and Amaziah, the priest of Bethel. In Israel then, there were two classes of prophets: those who learn the art of prophesying and belong to a brotherhood of prophets after their graduation and those who receive direct call to prophecy through God. The members of the brotherhood of prophets are professionals and earn their living through the profession. The difference between the members of the brotherhood of prophets and the God-called prophets lies in their fidelity to their masters. Prophets called by God try to give only the messages that they receive directly from God while the professionals can sometimes dance to the tone of the one who hires him. While God-called prophet often give disturbing messages, the professionals, hired by kings, priests and the people often swing in the direction of what people want to hear (Cf. 1Kings 22).One now understands why Amaziah told Amos to go away to Judah and earn his bread there with his disturbing messages. Amos stood his ground and affirmed his call:‘I was no prophet, neither did I belong to any of the brotherhoods of prophets. I was a shepherd, and looked after sycamores: but it was the Lord who took me from herding the flock, and the Lord who said, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”’
2. From the ancient time till our day God continues to call prophets who are charged with specific missions. This is what played out in today’s gospel. Jesus called the twelve apostles from their different professions and empowered them and then sent them like Amos to go and announce the kingdom. He was specific on how the mission would be carried out: they were sent out in pairs and empowered to cast out devils, heal and preach, to depend on people’s generosity for their sustenance rather than worry about material things and to avoid confrontations with opposers of their message. From the mission’s terms of reference here we can retain three things that follow.
3. Why were they sent out in pairs? Jesus was deliberate about this. The first quality of an apostle is the ability to show love. Their love for each other should be the first witness for the people. He who cannot work with others cannot pretend to be working for Christ. Jesus wants his followers to live in harmony and love and to carry everyone along in a synodal way because without unity no mission will succeed. The success of the apostolic mission depends on the unity of the disciples. Today prophets are attacking one other within the same church and some in leadership positions in the church monopolize the work. In doing this the mission of the Church suffers.
4. The apostles were simple with no material encumbrances but depended on the generosity of the people. Jesus wants his apostles not to be attached to material things: money, clothes and other properties. Attachment to these would hinder the progress of the mission. It may lead to emphasizing the wrong things. Jesus wants them to preach repentance, a message that will disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He assured them that when the mission is done well, the people will support them in their needs. The labourer deserves his wages. Today, men of God still face the temptation of attachment to material things which is a sign of lack of trust in Jesus the Master of the vineyard. Some manipulate the Word of God to their personal advantages in order to enhance their acquisition of material things to the detriment of calling people to conversion, casting out devils and healing the sick.
5. Finally, Jesus wants his disciples to avoid confrontation with those who refuse to accept their mission. He prefers that they walk away, shaking off the dust of the place from their feet. This is a way of saying that people should not be forced to accept the gospel. The history of our church is filled with numerous instances where this instruction has been totally ignored by the leaders of the Church and their followers. The interreligious criticism that we witness in our midst today is built on people’s inability to allow others to worship God in a way that is different from theirs.
6. We live in a world that rejects God. As a Christian, you should understand that working as team is necessary for the success of the mission of the church today. Divisions, criticisms and attacks of Christians on fellow Christians is a scandal that goes against the mind of Christ. Materialism is the greatest danger against the integrity and purity of the faith. This is more dangerous than open persecution of Christians because it destroys the faith and dilutes the gospel message. You must strive to have a simple life style, contenting yourself with only essential goods, as you have been called by God through baptism to be a prophet and minister of the gospel.
© Vitalis Anaehobi
14/07/24
