by Fr. Tommy Lane
What a difference between the reception that the preaching of the prophet Amos in our first reading received (Amos 7:12-15) and the reception that the preaching of apostles in the Gospel when Jesus sent them out (Mark 6:7-13). Amos was rejected by the Jewish priest Amaziah. By contrast, the apostles were very well received and drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and cured them. Amos experienced rejection when he preached the word of God, but the apostles experienced success. The key difference is the welcome or lack of welcome for the word of the Lord.
At the time Amos was called by God, in the eighth century BC, Israel was split into two kingdoms, Judah in the south and Israel in the north. Amos was from the south but called by God to preach in the north so they were biased against him. Amos could see that society was in very bad shape. There was a lot of injustice, and very rich people living in luxury oppressing the very poor people. Their lives did not reflect their worship of God. Amos said God had already allowed many disasters to strike them, but they did not repent (4:6-11). So, he told them one final disaster would strike them, an enemy would besiege their land (Amos 3:11; 7:11). How did they react? We heard the reaction in our first reading. The priest Amaziah in the shrine in Bethel sent Amos away. Not only that, but there are documents that tell us that Amos was struck on his head with an instrument and died shortly afterwards as a result of his head injury. Within just a few decades, the northern kingdom Israel was invaded as Amos had said. Had they welcomed his message and repented, we can imagine the situation would have been very different.
The apostles, on the other hand, were welcomed when they preached repentance. Welcoming the word of God brought a wonderful result: expulsion of demons and many sick were cured. Welcoming the word of God, even when it is challenging us to repent, produces much good fruit in our lives. Not welcoming the word of God, leads to disaster. So how do we welcome God into our lives? It is not a big secret. Prayer every day is essential. Pray in a way that helps you. Pray with your heart. Have a conversation with God in your heart. Just as we feed our bodies, we have to feed our prayer. Feed your prayer with good reading, good Catholic reading, and reading the Bible. Try reading a little of one of the Gospels every day. Then you could pray following that. When you pray the Rosary, try to do it in a reflective way, meditating on the events of the mysteries. Reading about that mystery of the Rosary before praying it might help. People said that after they saw movies on the Passion of Jesus, it helped them to pray the sorrowful mysteries of the Rosary. We can feed our prayer, help our prayer. Pray in a way that helps you. Pray with your heart. Have a conversation with God in your heart.
Another way to welcome God into our lives is obviously to celebrate the Eucharist here on Sundays and receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation frequently. During the Last Supper, Jesus said, “Do this in memory of me.” (1 Cor 11:24, 25) Remembering during a liturgy, in the Jewish understanding, was not just remembering or reenacting an event. It was participating in and sharing in the benefits of the original. When Jesus asked the apostles to “Do this in memory of me,” he was saying that in the future, when they would celebrate with bread and wine as he just did, they would participate in and share in what Jesus just did, the offering of himself for the redemption of us all. On another occasion Jesus said,
unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. . . Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. (John 6:53-56)
During Mass, we are spiritually present at Calvary and share in the redemption Jesus brings us at Calvary. That is why the Mass is the greatest prayer. There is no better way for you to be with Jesus and for Jesus to be with you. At Mass, we are with Jesus and he with us, like no other way. At Mass, Jesus says to you, “This is my Body for you.” He cannot give you anymore.
We also welcome the Lord into our lives by the way we live our lives. The ten commandments have not changed. In conversation with a man who asked him what to do to inherit eternal life, Jesus said, “If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” (Matt 19:17) There are many false gods in the world: the gods of sport, gods of entertainment, gods of social media, gods of dieting and so many more. Sport, entertainment and so on, are great in their proper place, but not when they become false gods. Jesus summarized the ten commandments as loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving our neighbor as ourselves (Matt 22:36-39; Mark 12:28-31). Loving our neighbor means getting rid of bitterness, jealousy, unjust anger. Forgiving is the greatest form of loving our neighbor. Another saying of Jesus about the commandments is, “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love.” (John 15:10) So false gods out, Jesus in. Not welcoming the word of God leads to disaster as Amos correctly predicted. Welcoming God into our lives through praying to God with our heart, the Mass, confession, and loving our neighbor as ourselves leads to countless blessings.
© Fr. Tommy Lane 2021
This homily was delivered in a parish in Ireland.
More Homilies for the Fifteenth Sunday of Year B
Chosen to be holy and spotless in Christ
Christ continues to minister to us through his Priests 2012
Related Homilies: Jesus could work no miracle because they rejected him
Second Reading: Chosen by God