A Stick is All We Need

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 12, 2015

Come, ring out our joy to the Lord; hail the God who saves us, alleluia.

First reading                                      Amos 7:12-15 

Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, said to Amos, ‘Go away, seer;’ get back to the land of Judah; earn your bread there, do your prophesying there. We want no more prophesying in Bethel; this is the royal sanctuary, the national temple.’ ‘I was no prophet, neither did I belong to any of the brotherhoods of prophets,’ Amos replied to Amaziah ‘I was a shepherd, and looked after sycamores: but it was the Lord who took me from herding the flock, and the Lord who said, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”’

Psalm                                              Psalm 84:9-14

Second reading                              Ephesians 1:3-14

Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ.

Before the world was made, he chose us, chose us in Christ,

to be holy and spotless, and to live through love in his presence,

determining that we should become his adopted sons, through Jesus Christ

for his own kind purposes,

to make us praise the glory of his grace,

his free gift to us in the Beloved,

in whom, through his blood, we gain our freedom, the forgiveness of our sins.

Such is the richness of the grace

which he has showered on us

in all wisdom and insight.

He has let us know the mystery of his purpose,

the hidden plan he so kindly made in Christ from the beginning

to act upon when the times had run their course to the end:

that he would bring everything together under Christ, as head,

everything in the heavens and everything on earth.

And it is in him that we were claimed as God’s own,

chosen from the beginning,

under the predetermined plan of the one who guides all things

as he decides by his own will;

chosen to be,

for his greater glory,

the people who would put their hopes in Christ before he came.

Now you too, in him,

have heard the message of the truth and the good news of your salvation,

and have believed it;

and you too have been stamped with the seal of the Holy Spirit of the Promise,

the pledge of our inheritance

which brings freedom for those whom God has taken for his own, to make his glory praised.

Gospel                                               Mark 6:7-13

Jesus 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

By Benj Santiago

“Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick—no food, no sack, no money in their belts.”

Me and my wife love to travel. Each time we go out we make sure all our provisions are prepared. To the minutest detail like what dress to wear each day is planned out. We don’t have just a small bag packed with all the things we need. In fact, we have big luggage and carry on with us to make sure we are well provided.

In the Gospel today Jesus called the Twelve to go out and evangelize to the people around Israel taking nothing with them but a “stick”! Nothing more, nothing less plus the authority over unclean spirits. The disciples obeyed and were able to perform their task of evangelizing to the Jews. They obeyed in spite of the fact that just a few days back, they saw that Jesus, their master, was rejected in His own home town. They obeyed and trusted the Lord their Master, Jesus Christ our Lord, for all their provisions and daily needs.

In our daily lives, we often busy ourselves to make sure we can have all we need without recognizing that what we need essentially is just a stick and the rest will be provided. The stick is practically a tool to ward off any unfriendly humans or animals. A stick is also something that we can depend on to help us on an upward climb. In our situation today, the stick can be our daily scriptures to guide us over our day to day activities.  To remind us that we can always depend on our Lord. And like the Twelve Apostles, we are called today to evangelize, to have the power to drive out demons and heal the sick with our presence not with our own power and preparation but by the power we have obtained through obedience and trust in Him.

Prayer

Dear Jesus, we thank You for all the provisions that You continuously provide us even if we don’t deserve it. Because You love us so much all we need is to obey and trust you totally. We pray Lord that You grant us the Spirit of Trust and Obedience that we may continue the task that You have given the Twelve Apostles. One with Mary we make this prayer. Amen!