15^th Sunday July 12, 2009

Amos 7:12-15 Ps 85 Ephesians 1:3-14 Mark 6:7-13

A prophet ! Last week’s readings described the “Who” of prophecy. This week, our readings tell us the “What and How” of prophecy.

1. Amos is a farmer. He cares for sycamore trees. He is quite content doing his work. Just imagine him: he talks to his trees, they do not answer him back, they are no threat to his life. But the Lord commands him to speak in the Lord’s name, the Lord calls him to prophesy. The basic task of the prophet is to call people back to walk in the Way of the Lord. People like sheep take the path of least resistance, the broad and easy path. Jesus warned us that this was the path to destruction, it was the narrow and the less trodden path that20leads to salvation. Now, no one likes to be corrected or reprimanded. However, Amos is called to prophesy not to the ordinary man in the street, but right to the top, to the king himself.

Now there were two philosophies of religion and the task of prophesying. One was that of the official school of prophets. These saw their task as being loyal to the king, whether he was right or wrong. They were public relations officers who tried to pour oil over troubled waters. Their outlook on being a prophet was something secular. Their first allegiance was not to God. Amaziah who scolds Amos belongs to this group. His first job was to banish Amos.

Then there was Amos! His command from God was to denounce the injustices and sinful ways, even if this reprimand went up the king himself. It was a dangerous job.

2. The was another issue that affected Amos in his work. Amos was from Judah in the south, and he did not belong to the guild of prophets. God does not ask for ID cards. Amos goes up to Israel in the North and begins to prophesy. It would be like someone from Toronto going to Quebec City to prophesy in English, or someone from New York going to tell the people in Louisiana how to behave. Neither would get a welcome. Besides, Amos was prophesying at Bethel. Bethel had become not a sacred place, but a political centre, where loyalty to the king rather than to God had become a priority.

Story: it is coincidental that this week we remember another man just like Amos. He is St. Thomas More. He was executed on the 6^thJuly 1535. Unlike Amaziah, St. Thomas More was loyal to God. K ing Henry thought that because Thomas More was his friend, he would be a “yes-man”, a rubber stamp to anything the King desired. The King was mistaken. Thomas stood his ground. He would tell Henry 8^th, “I am the king’s loyal servant, but God’s servant first. The King had Thomas executed. As in the case of the policeman in Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta The Mikado: - the prophet’s job was not a happy one.

3. Amos gives us another insight into the prophet’s qualifications. He is not expected

• · to be highly educated,
• · to have a famous job,
• · to be eloquent in speech nor rank in the high intelligent percentile.

• If he has this, it would help, but they are not necessary or even taken into consideration, when God calls you to be a prophet.

Our next step would be to find the modus operandi. How does the prophet work? Jesus spells it out quite vividly. Take no bread, no bag, no spare tunic nor a money belt. At first sight it seems a bit irresponsible and reckless. But Jesus paints a picture of a sense of urgency. You were to snatch what you could eat on the way. You were to wear a pair of sandals on your feet, as if there was not time even to bend down and tie your shoe laces. In a word, the prophet was expected to leave behind the clutter of everyday life and not to be bothered with needless anxieties.

4. Today we would not sally out without a blackberry or cell-phone and a whole slew of credit cards. Then there would be the ubiquitous laptop and an I-pod to made sure we are not bored with the sounds of silence. It is pretty difficult to imagine a prophet without these tools of the trade.

However, we have to realise that the call comes from God. The call is not a right that we have. We cannot take this prophecy by force. The call to prophesy cannot be rejected by people in authority like Amaziah, the King’s mouthpiece. God is the source of the call and God sets the terms.

Often we get caught in good works. We preach, we are lectors, we are Eucharistic ministers, we are catechists. We belong to the CWL, the Knights of Columbus, the St. Vincent de Paul society. We take great pride in doing this well. It is something praiseworthy. But we have t o be careful that we do not reach the stage when our work becomes our little Kingdom. It is a call that has come from God and it can be taken by God and given to someone else. We see this happen in the call of King Saul and King David.

5. Finally the task of the prophet includes the possibility of rejection as in the case of Amos. Rejection and the Cross seem to be part and parcel of the Vocation of a prophet. If the Apostles were to experience this animosity, Jesus advises his apostles and he advises us to shrug our shoulders, remove the dust off our shoes and move on. We plant the seed, we water the plants, but it is God that gives it growth.

"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...it's about learning how to dance in the rain."