To watch Fr. Joe’s homily from the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: CLICK HERE!
In our First Reading today from the Prophet Amos, we hear the High Priest tell Amos that he should take his message elsewhere. A message calling for social justice and condemning those who try to please God with sacrifice and praise while their lifestyle is based on dishonesty and oppression of the poor.
And the response to this is Amos sharing that being a Prophet is not his day job and not even his choice; rather he is responding to God’s call to Prophecy.
When it comes to our calling, our vocation, our lives today and into the future… God usually does not tell us what to do directly and clearly.
We have to listen… And how hard it is today to listen…
We get frustrated when others do not listen to us, or hear what we are saying and the truth is, the reverse is often true, too.
Or maybe we are listening and we have suspicion of what God might call us to do?
Put another way, often it is easier to convince ourselves we are supposed to take the comfortable and secure path.
Imagine the challenge of the doctor from Amsterdam, NY who cares for the sick in Africa. He is the only doctor for a large area, that includes some 750,000 people.
Imagine the challenge of the woman who many years ago entered the Peace Corp and worked in Central America then, returned home for several years to care for her elderly parents and later returned to work as a Maryknoll Lay Missionary in Asia and in central America.
And then there is the story of a classmate of mine who some 50 years ago sat down to take the entrance exam for West Point Military School. And after 10 minutes, got up and left the room. Upon returning home, he shared with his parents that he did not take the entrance exam and instead was going to become a Priest, which he did in 1975 and continues to serve a Priest today.
My guess is life for each of these people is far from easy, but I do know that they certainly listened to that voice of God for them. Now most of us are not going to Central America or Africa… Truth is, most of us are going home, going on vacation, going to work, etc.
But the point is that God speaks to us every day. God speaks to us at this Mass. Calling us to be the “Prophets of God,” the “Disciples of God,” in this time of history. To become attune to the good and the Godly that we can be instruments of daily.
Instruments of hope, peace and justice, help, support and an attentive ear. A reminder that God loves us and cares for us, ALL and always.
May we strive a bit more to be more and more attuned to God’s voice in the classroom of silence and prayer as we set out daily for our journey of today and the continuing journey of life. Bringing to life the words of goodness and God to one and all.