July 14, 2024 Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Welcome Father Daniel Today’s Readings: Am 7:12-15 | Eph 1:3-14 or 1:3-10 | Mk 6:7-13

The Readings for today speak of Prophets and their mission. In these Readings, the theme turns from the prophets to us, the modern-day disciples of Jesus, who are being sent out to witness to the goodness of God and His Plan of Salvation. Have you thought of yourself as a modern-day prophet or witness for Christ? We are all called to evangelize (witness) to the truths of our faith. This does not mean that we must go door-to-door as some Christians do, or stand on a street corner and preach. Our evangelizing is more effective as seen through our actions and our speech. There is so much more to worshipping God than just going to church on Sunday. Our Salvation depends on it.

The First Reading is from the Prophet Amos (7:12-15). Amos was not a professional prophet or a guild prophet. He was “a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores,” but God appointed him to preach to the king and people of the northern kingdom of Israel. However, the people rejected his message from God and essentially ran him out of town and told him to return to the southern kingdom of Judah. Not everyone is accepted when they witness or evangelize; but like Amos, we must fulfill our mission.

The Responsorial Psalm is(85:9-14). This Psalm speaks of God holding out the gift of salvation to those who hear, listen and obey His proclamations. Salvation is available to all mankind, but we must do our part in order to partake of it.

The Second Reading is from St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians (1:3-14). In this passage Paul speaks to the Christians of his day and to us about God’s Plan of Salvation which was unknown to mankind until Christ came to make “known to us the mystery of God’s will in accord with His plan” which was completed by the life, death and resurrection of Christ. This then is the “Gospel of our salvation,” but this is only the first step. It is up to us to do our part to complete the Plan. As Paul tells us in his Letter to the Colossians, “I make up in my own body what is missing in the sufferings of Christ.” (Col. 1:24b)

The Gospel Reading is taken from Mark (6:7-13). This story is a direct follow-on to last week’s Gospel. Here Jesus is sending his disciples out to preach and teach in His name and power. They did many great things, but Jesus warned them that they also would be rejected at various times and places. So doing the will of God is not always easy or successful. However, it is not the success or the results that are, or should be our concern, but the faith and willingness with which we do them. Hopefully, the above explanations speak for themselves and will prompt you to think about your salvation. So many people fret and fear the thought of dying and go out of their way to avoid discussing it and yet there is little that we can do about our actual death. On the other hand, our salvation is something that we should give time and attention to because we can and should do something about that. Death is a momentary event, Salvation is forever. Something to think about during your prayer time this week!

Source: https://stclareroseville.org/commentary Image: James Tissot - He Sent them out Two by Two