Father Perry D. Leiker, pastor.
“Looking Ahead” is a reflection on the Sunday readings, for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, by Father Perry.
By Father Perry D. Leiker, pastor
Anyone accepting the role of prophet had to be prepared that their audience might not listen. The response they gave to Amos in the first reading today was typical —
“Off with you, seer, flee to the land of Judah and there earn your bread by prophesying!
But never again prophesy in Bethel; for it is the king’s sanctuary and a royal temple.”
The people of Bethel declared themselves to be “the king’s sanctuary” and a “royal people.” Did this set them higher than the prophetic word of God? Did this mean they had nothing to hear, nothing to learn, or nothing to change?
In the Gospel, Jesus sends his disciples out, giving them authority over unclean spirits. He bestowed on them the prophetic voice to call people to repentance. They, however, were under no pretenses. Jesus himself told them —
“Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.”
We often seek after the material stuff of life to make us satisfied; and through it all to escape, if only temporarily, the difficulties and struggles of this life. The prophetic word is proclaimed in order to get us to take a good look at the interior quality of our souls and to listen deeply to the voice of God.
Have we become hard? Do we truly care about one another? Is God real to us anymore? Do we recognize the life of grace as the most important thing that can give meaning — even in the face of sadness, loss, trouble, and even death itself?
The voice of God further declares through Paul that we have been chosen, blessed, holy, destined,
‘chosen’, ‘blessed’, become ‘holy’, ‘destined’, ‘adopted’, ‘redeemed’, ‘forgiven’, and ‘sealed with the promised Holy Spirit’.
In today’s scripture we recognize the long history of God speaking to us, especially through the prophets. We also recognize his call to us to proclaim his prophetic word today to one another and to the world.
With the psalmist we profess —
“I will hear what God proclaims.”
Quote of the week |
“Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth.” — Buddha.
