Sunday Reflection: 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

1^st Reading: Amos 7:12-15
2^nd Reading: Ephesians 1:3-14
Gospel: Mark 6:7-13

St. Paul in our 2^nd Reading this Sunday says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved.” These words of St. Paul exhort us of the reality of our calling in Christ that we have received in baptism. It is God who chose us to be His own from the foundation of the world.

From this reality of our calling to become holy and without blemish in His presence, He likewise called us to share in the prophet call to bring this Good News to all. The Lord Jesus in our Gospel sent the 12 Apostles to preach repentance and to make the wonders of God known to all the people; they drove out demons and cured the sick by anointing them with oil.

Our prophetic, kingly, and priestly office go hand in hand in our lives. We cannot just choose what we want to fulfill, we are called to be all of them together as they are in Christ. We have to live this vocation as Christians in the very ordinary way, wherever we might be, whatever circumstance we are in. Our Christian calling cannot be changed. We are given this vocation to be able to give glory to God in the different circumstances we are in.

The Prophet Amos in our 1^st Reading was sent away by the priest in Bethel because he was annoyed together with the royal household and the other people there. He told them, “I was no prophet, nor have I belonged to a company of prophets; I was a shepherd and dresser of sycamores. The LORD took me from following the flock, and said to be, Go, prophesy to my people Israel.” Each one of us has a particular vocation to live—it is that vocation that God sanctifies us and make us grow more. There might be times that we are tested in our vocation and it seems we have nothing to more to give. God is a God of surprises. When things seems to be a dead-end, He gives us an opportunity to look up and see another path, we have to move up. People might ask for our credibility in these matters, but only God is our sure source of credibility. We have to trust in Him who called us. We have to be confident that He who called us to this vocation will sustain us and bring it to fulfillment together with our willingness to go on with this same vocation.