Pastor's Letter-- July 11, 2021

My dear parishioners,
Grace and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus to you and your households!

Hope you had a joyous 4th of July celebration with families and friends. I was glad to spend time with some of our young adults for a cookout and some gaming activity. It was such a pleasant opportunity to get to meet and know some of our parishioners. My gratitude goes to our Director for Evangelization, Abby Kyle, for inviting, and our wonderful hosts, Sebastian and Annie. God bless you!

Do you remember the distinction Jesus made between a shepherd, the owner of the sheep, and a hireling, a paid worker? You can read it in John 10:12. The shepherd does not desert or forsake the flock when they are in danger. Rather, he defends them, even at the risk to his own life. On the other hand, the hireling works for a fee. His personal comfort/safety is more important than the wellbeing of the sheep. And he has no commitment to protect the sheep from wolves. This distinction seems apt in describing the two characters in this weekend’s First reading. Amaziah was the chief priest of the royal sanctuary in Bethel. He was on the king Jeroboam II’s payroll. As such, he spoke only what the king liked to hear. Confusing the prophet Amos for one of the many professional prophets who prophesied for money, Amaziah took Amos’ words out of context and accused him of conspiracy against the king. This would lead to the expulsion of Amos from Israel. Amaziah did not consider Amos a true prophet, and even undermines his identity by addressing him using a contemptuous and pejorative term “visionary.”

For his part, Amos was called by God to abandon his profession as a shepherd and a dresser of sycamore trees to go prophesy to Israel. Even though he was neither a prophet nor belonged to the company of prophets, he had God’s word, and he was to deliver it as instructed. By prophesying something contrary to the feel-good type of message the king was accustomed to, Amos posed a threat to the job security of the Priest of Bethel, who tried to shut him up. Amaziah thought that because he was compromised, everyone else could be bought for a fee. He 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.”

The prophet’s task is not an easy one. But since they speak for God, they have the assurance that the One on whose behalf they speak is faithful to protect them from whatever hostilities they encounter. The Good News of salvation must be proclaimed whether or not it is accepted. Our Lord Jesus demonstrates this imperative in our gospel reading. After the skepticism of the people of his hometown and their lack of faith that prevented him from performing many miracles there, he still goes on to send his disciples out to preach repentance and to drive out demons. He tells them not to allow resistance or rejection deter them from this mission. He says, “Preach. If they don’t listen to you, shake off the dust from your feet and move on.” This was the same mission he entrusted to them after his resurrection when he commissioned them to go make disciples of all nations. This is the mandate that we have all received. We are to go tell everyone we meet about the love of God, and our experience of this love. We must know that not everyone will accept the gospel. But we must preach it nevertheless.

We evangelize by proposing the gospel not by imposing it. The Christian does not bring people to knowledge of the love of God by coercing them into acceptance. We proclaim the good news by words, and even more by our lives. The former, though necessary, is often not sufficient to win hearts and minds. This is why James says faith without good works is dead (James 2:14). While we cannot dismiss the significance of verbal communication of the Word of God, we must also see to it that our lives are in harmony with the gospel we proclaim. This gives more credibility to the faith we profess.

Like Ezekiel from last weekend’s readings, and like Amos from this weekend’s reading, the Lord calls you and me, no matter our profession, to go proclaim the Good News. Will your response be affirmative? Will you trust in the one who sent you or rather be preoccupied with the response of those to whom you are sent? This week, make it a goal to share your faith with those whom the Lord brings your way.

May Jesus bless you, and may Our Lady protect you! With blessings from my heart,