CHOSEN TO BE PROPHETS

CHOSEN TO BE PROPHETS"

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) Homily July 14, 2024

Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption

Rev. Mr. R. Christoph Sandoval, Deacon

Today’s three readings reveal God’s Divine initiative calling his chosen to mission by empowering them be his prophetic voice. A prophet, then, is someone who announces the will of God. In the first reading we hear about the Prophet Amos. Now, when we think of prophets, we think about people who were prophets all of their lives, people like Samuel, or Elijah, or the prophets in David’s court such as Nathan or Gad, or the three major prophets who have large books in the Old Testament----Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

But Amos was different. He was not a prophet for life. He was a simple dresser of sycamore-trees, a keeper of sheep, an ordinary working man. Still God called him to prophesize to the people of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. In his time, there were two Jewish Kingdoms, the Northern Kingdom of Israel with Bethel as its sanctuary and the Southern Kingdom of Judah with Jerusalem as its capital. God called him to go across the border to Bethel. The people of the Northern Kingdom had prospered but strayed away from their worship of Yahweh taking up pagan practices to false gods. So Amos crossed the border and prophesied to them that destruction was coming for their unrepentant sins. The priest of Bethel, Amaziah, told him to go back to where he came from. In another section of within the Book of the Prophet Amos, Amos declared, "The Lion" has roared, who would not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken, who would not offer prophesy? Amos is often pictured with a lion, the voice of God roaring for him to proclaim the truth. Amos prophecy begins with a sweeping indictment of Damascus, Philistia, Tyre, and Edom; but the forthright herdsman saves his climactic denunciation for Israel, warning that indeed expect the day of the Lord, but it would be a day of darkness and not of light. Amos’s message stands as one of the most powerful voices ever to challenge hypocrisy and injustice. He boldly indicts kings, priests, and leaders. He stresses the importance of the divine origin of the prophetic word; one must either heed that word in its entirety or suffer the consequences of their choices.

The Gospel reading presents a call to mission that Jesus gave to the Twelve apostles to proclaim the Kingdom of Heaven. He gave them authority over unclean spirits and the gift to heal the sick. The gospel documents, “So they went off and preached repentance. The Twelve drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.” So here we have ordinary people, like Amos, going off and performing signs of wonder. Jesus Christ the Lion of Judah roared and called the Twelve to prophesy. How could they not proclaim the Gospel, even if they and many who would come after them would be put to death for preaching the Good News.

Today’s second reading, from the beginning of the Letter to the Ephesians reads: “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.” Paul is not simply speaking about himself. He is speaking about us. We have been chosen by God. Like Amos, we have also been chosen to be prophets. We need to proclaim the Truth of Jesus Christ. Like the Twelve we have been chosen to drive out demons, What demons you ask---where are they? Let's take a look.

Let me begin by saying we must pray for our nation which is divided against itself---as we all heard there was a horrific assassination attempt on Former President Donald Trump at an election rally in Butler, Pennsylvania yesterday fueled by toxic political ideology gone awry fueled by the vitriol of hatred in the media. The The United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB) issued a statement “Together with my brother bishops, we condemn political violence, and we offer our prayers for President Trump, and those who were killed or injured. We also pray for our country and for an end to political violence, which is never a solution to political disagreements We must pray for our own State of California corrupted by perverse financial incentives. In proposed legislation the law of Euthanasia would be extended to patients without a terminal prognosis but with a “grievous and irremediable medical condition” that causes “physical or psychological suffering” which included people with early to mid-stage dementia, conditions that on their own do not cause death. Our prayers were answered when the Lawmaker was compelled to withdrew this sweeping bill after our opposition to this genocidal legislation. We must pray for our city of San Francisco that promoted the recent Pride Celebration. Nudity and sex acts were not only permitted in public but were done in full view of parade watchers and police officers, and even worse they were witnessed by children en masse. Like the Prophet Amos we must challenge injustice, indecency and moral decay sanctioned and promoted by local government.

What is our recourse as Catholic Christians? We cannot remain silent. It is voice of Jesus Christ that roars like a lion that calls us to speak his truth, to proclaim the gospel and offer his invitation to love in the service for the common good. The second reading offers beautiful comforting words “In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ…In him we have redemption by his Blood, the forgiveness of transgressions, in accord with the riches of his grace." God has chosen us for love. We are to proclaim the love of Christ invoking the power prayer, listening intently to the voice of Jesus in the proclamation of Gospel at Holy Mass and in opening ourselves to what God is trying to say to us in Eucharistic adoration. In the public square Catholic citizens are encouraged to be informed about Catholic Social teaching, to ponder legislative issues and ultimately Doing Good and Avoiding Evil in the voting booth.

Through the prophets, God forms his people in the hope of salvation, in the expectation of a new and everlasting Covenant intended for all, to be written into our hearts. The Prophetic Witness of St. John Paul II shows us the way. On October 17, 1978 at his First Radio Urbi et Orbi Message he said “We, who are called to hold the Supreme Office in the Church, must manifest this fidelity with all our might and for this reason we must be a shining example both in our thinking and in our actions. This indeed must be done because we preserve intact the deposit of faith and he goes on to say. “Through the moral life,” faith becomes ‘confession’, not only before God but also before men it becomes witness.” May we follow his example both in our thinking and in our actions.

Update: Vatican condemns violence at Trump rally, offers prayers for victims, peace: The Holy See is "united in the prayer of the U.S. bishops for America, for the victims, and for peace in the country, so that the motives of the violent may never prevail," the statement said in Italian.