To Send Them Out

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Jim Bayne

Amaziah, priest of Bethel, said to Amos, “Off with you, visionary, flee to the land of Judah!....Amos answered Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor have I belonged to a company of prophets; I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores. The LORD took me from following the flock, and said to me, Go, prophesy to my people Israel.” (AM 7:12-15)

In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ. (EPH 1:11-12)

Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits.  He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick—no food, no sack, no money in their belts.  (MK 6:7-8)

Piety

Lord God, you call us, as you did Amos and the Apostles to go out and bring your love and healing to others.  Give us the courage to go forth with nothing more than a companion, your grace and your love.  Help us to trust in you and your grace for it is through them that we will be able to bring healing and wholeness.

Study

Amos, like the other prophets, did not see himself as a prophet.  He saw himself as simply a shepherd.  His humility allowed him to be better used by God.  As Paul noted, “I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor 12:10)

The Apostles were sent out in pairs because “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Mt 18:20)  That’s all we really need: just a traveling companion.  The Lord will take care of the rest.

When we get caught up in the hustle bustle of daily life, we can easily miss a call from God to go forth.  It is so easy to see prophecy and healing as the job of someone else: who me? I'm just an accountant, a housewife, a secretary.

Do you have a traveling companion to accompany you?  Does your group reunion support you in your efforts to go out and minister to those in need?  Are there occasions when you and your group do it together?  Who in your environment is in need of a prophet? A healer?  Are you willing to be used by God as a prophet or a healer?

Action

Fr. Dick Martin, the recently deceased pastor at Nativity, would tell us each week “It isn't in here folks, it's out there!! Go out and minister to the people across the street and around the world.”  Let's do it!!