Gospel & Reflection for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
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.
Reflection
Friends, the late Jonathan Sacks was the former Chief Rabbi of England and among the world’s most respected of religious leaders. One of his many books was titled ‘To Heal A Fractured World’. In that book, he posed one question to the reader: ‘What is my ability to respond to the fractured world in which I live?’
Rabbi Sacks told a true story of a young university student, whose studies in Philosophy were challenging his faith and he had many questions which he needed to discuss and have answered. He was determined to seek out and talk to as many wise people as he could. While on holidays, this student went to America to meet one of the most famous and revered Rabbis of all time – Mendel Schneerson. Eventually, and after much pleading and waiting, he got to meet Rabbi Schneerson and was surprised by the man that he met. The student was expecting a powerful, charismatic leader but instead he met a quiet, unassuming man who gave the young man the impression that he was the most important person in the room.
Schneerson listened and responded to the young man’s questions but then he turned the tables and began asking the student questions. He asked him what he was doing to strengthen Jewish life in the university where he was attending? Was he befriending other students and drawing them close? The student was taken by surprise. He was looking for answers to issues that were troubling him but instead the Rabbi was inviting him to take the initiative, to get involved, and to accept responsibility for putting right that which was troubling him. The Rabbi’s words echoed in his mind for a long time.
Years later, that young student began theological studies. He eventually became a Rabbi, then a teacher of Rabbis and at last, a Chief Rabbi. Jonathan Sacks was telling his own story! He had been called and challenged by a saintly Rabbi who was more than a leader; he was someone who created leadership in others. The youthful Rabbi Sacks had learnt an important lesson which he summarised as: ‘There is no life without a task; no person without talents; no moment without its call.’
In Christian terms, we understand this as a call to be an Apostle. An Apostle is someone who everyday is sent forth – sent forth for a particular task – for which God has given us all a talent.
The Prophet Amos answers this call in our First Reading today. While basically told to clear off back home for himself, he courageously stands by what God has asked of him. He had been called and sent forth, and while having no status or support as a Prophet, still nothing, not even a hostile rebuke, would stop him from doing what God had called him to do. He preached without fear or compromise.
In our Gospel, we hear how the first Apostles are sent out in pairs, to preach repentance. Repentance as used here means ‘metanoia’ which translates as a new way of thinking or a change of mind. It was about getting people to think and look at life in a new way, in the way of the Jesus Christ. In doing so, the Apostles were no longer just followers of Jesus, they were now His witnesses. They were moving beyond what was comfortable and safe, and were getting involved and taking responsibility for what they themselves had come to know and believe. With Jesus’ words and example echoing in their lives, they set out to heal their own fractured world.
So too for us all. We are all called and we are sent to heal the fractured world around us by the faith that we profess and the example that Christ has given us. We all might ask: “Why me for this job? Why me for this challenge?” The answer is because there is no life without a task; no person without talents; no moment without its call. God whispers all our names deliberately and calls us to respond to Him.
It is a challenging call, as it was for Amos and the Apostles, but our faith is beautiful and hope-filled. It is a time not to be timid or weak but to be bold and brave – never to give up and to have confidence in the message we have to offer. We have the Gospel of life, goodness, beauty and truth, as found in Jesus Christ. Let none of us be afraid as we bring that Gospel to the world and change it for the better.
Fr. Richard