A Commentary and Reflection on the Readings for the 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year B. The Liturgical Sense of the Scriptures Podcast, by Catholic Author and Theologian David L. Gray. READINGS: Amos 7:12-15, Ephesians 1:3-14, Mark 6:7-13.
The Liturgy of the Mass is Forming Us to be Points of Constant Conflict
Inasmuch as the liturgy of the Catholic Mass participates in the desire of God to form us into becoming His agents of love and peace in the world, our formation remains at a point of constant conflict because we are not of this world. Although we are persons who were born into this world, we have been born again as partakers of the divine nature. We are now indwelled with the divine personhoods of the Son and the Holy Spirit. As Jesus prayed to His Father, saying, “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world,”[1] we understand the constant point of conflict is due to our being sanctified in Christ. The more holy we become, the less we become like the world and fond of the ways of the world, and the less familiar we become to the world, the more unrecognizable we become to those who remain in the world. In this way, the Liturgy of the Catholic Mass is forming us to be points of constant conflict by giving us a new language, a new way to speak, a new way to stand, a new way to kneel, a new way to walk, and a new way to encounter and engage.
We have become constant points of conflict through the sacraments because we are not entirely ourselves. Rather, we are in the Body of Christ. One cannot know us unless they know Him whose Body we are in. Imagine if you were to jump into someone else’s body and then appear to your closest friend; how would they know it was you and not the person whose body you are in? To be sure, they would know you by your unique words, which only you would have knowledge of and be able to share. However, what if you appeared as yourself, in your body, but you spoke the word of God and knowledge of Him? Would they recognize the word and knowledge of God through you? Through the Sacrament of Baptism, the Holy Spirit has leaped into our body, and to the degree that we cooperate with Him, we may appear to be our ordinary selves to those who know us, but for those who know Christ Jesus, our words and actions will appear to be from Him, and for those who do not know Christ Jesus, our words and actions will appear to be hostile. In other words, if they know to hate Christ Jesus, they will hate us; if they know to reject Christ Jesus, they will reject us; if they know to be indifferent towards Christ Jesus, they will be indifferent towards us, and if they only know the desire to kill Christ Jesus, they will try to kill us.
In today’s First Reading for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year B, from Amos 7:12-15, Amaziah, priest of Bethel under the reign of King Jeroboam II, is representative of the ideology of the world in his reaction, which also highlights the conflict between idolatrous worship versus the prophetic message of Amos, who was calling for repentance and warning of Israel’s impending judgment. Notice how “Amaziah, priest of Bethel, said to Amos, “Off with you, visionary, flee to the land of Judah! There, earn your bread by prophesying, but never again prophesy in Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary and a royal temple.” Amaziah’s words echo the state and darkness of the worldly mind. They cannot see us for whom God created us to be or know the mission He sent us on because they believe everyone is like them. Amaziah thought Amos was doing what he was doing. He thought they had the same career goals: to gain wealth and power from issuing false prophecies.
Amos responds to Amaziah, saying, “I was no prophet, nor have I belonged to a company of prophets; I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores. The LORD took me from following the flock, and said to me, Go, prophesy to my people Israel.” Here, the readings remind us that we should never be afraid to tell people who we are in Christ or what our mission is. On the contrary, we should be bold and courageous enough to testify in the face of conflict, not because we have something to gain from it but because the truth has nothing to lose.
Moreover, according to the Apostle Paul in today’s Second Reading from Ephesians 1:3-14, God our Father “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 him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ. In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised holy Spirit, which is the first installment of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory.” In other words, what God has chosen us for is the opposite of things that might gain us praise in the world but will earn us crowns in Heaven if we share them.[2] Here is the point of conflict: We were chosen to share the truth, but the world desires lies. We were chosen for and destined for holiness, but the world desires to tempt us into sin. We were chosen for life, but the world obsesses over death.
While it is true that we are not of this world and are in constant conflict with it, the good news, according to today’s Gospel Reading from Mark 6:7-13, is that we do not need anything from this world. When Jesus sent out the Twelve to preach repentance, “He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick — no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic. He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.” In the context of the hospitality norms at the time, it was customary to have a bowl of water in homes for guests to wash their feet. Since people commonly walked on dusty roads in sandals, their feet would become dirty, and washing them or having a servant wash them upon entering a home was a sign of welcome and respect. However, Jesus teaches that if the world does not welcome you as His disciples, give them a sign that we do not need their welcome. Indeed, our Lord does not want us to become too comfortable in this world, lest we might forget where our true home is. He does not desire us to become reliant on ourselves or the world, lest we forget He is our life and source of life.
Our only true home in this world is the House of God, which is the liturgy of the Catholic Mass. It is there that our whole body is washed with the waters of Baptism. There, we are fed the bread of eternal life and given to drink the Blood of eternal life. It is our true home where we are healed, invigorated, instructed, nourished with His word, and prepared again to traverse the path of conflict in the hope that we might assist our King in finding more of His lost sheep.
This is just one way how the readings at Mass this Sunday connect to the liturgy and how the liturgy is forming us how to live our lives in the world. Be in the world what you have received through the liturgy.
[1] John 17:18.
[2] Cf. According to the Apostolic writings, believers can receive five different crowns in heaven as rewards for their faithfulness and service to God. These crowns represent various achievements in the Christian life:
1. The Crown of Righteousness: Awarded to those who have eagerly awaited the Lord’s return and have lived a righteous life (2 Timothy 4:8).
2. The Crown of Life: Given to those who persevere under trial and remain steadfast in their love for Christ, even to the point of martyrdom (James 1:12; Revelation 2:10).
3. The Crown of Glory: Bestowed upon faithful pastors and elders who shepherd God’s flock (1 Peter 5:2-4).
4. The Crown of Rejoicing: Also known as the Soul-Winner’s Crown, it is for those who have led others to Christ (1 Thessalonians 2:19).
5. The Victor’s Crown: For those who exercise self-discipline in their Christian life and service (1 Corinthians 9:25-27).
