What is God calling you to?
When challenged by Amaziah, priest of Bethel, the prophet Amos insists that he is a humble man, not highly educated, yet called by God to deliver God’s message to the God’s people: I was no prophet, Amos tells Amaziah, 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. Amos is an ordinary man called to do the extraordinary, which he does in spite of opposition and myriad difficulties. The people of Israel do not want to hear his accusations that they have been inattentive to their relationship with the Lord, and have therefore failed to live justly; Amos is sent to put the people back on the right track, to signal that they’ve lost their way, to call them to conversion. Their obstinacy is set in stark contrast to the psalmist in Psalm 85, who states clearly, I will hear what God proclaims, and embraces God’s kindness, justice, and peace, trusting with confidence in a God who desires relationship, calling us to conversion and a belief in the prophetic promise of salvation.
In Mark’s Gospel, the apostles are also humble men, yet they are called by Jesus to proclaim the good news: Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two. They are to preach repentance, revealing God’s promise of salvation not only in words but in action, driving out demons and curing the sick. The apostles will fulfill their commission to the praise of God’s glory, taking with them only the authority granted to them by Jesus. The Ephesians are one of the communities that have experienced conversion with the help of the apostles; they believe in the power of Christ’s death and rising – redemption by his blood – and recognize that they were also chosen, that they too might exist for the praise of his glory. They find unity in Christ, sharing together in his life as one church destined for adoption, called through baptism, holy and without blemish, to love one another. Like them, we are called through baptism to reveal God’s love, proclaiming God at work in our lives and, in the process, chosen to ensure that justice might be had by all.
This post is based on OLMC’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com
In Mark’s Gospel, the apostles are also humble men, yet they are called by Jesus to proclaim the good news: Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two. They are to preach repentance, revealing God’s promise of salvation not only in words but in action, driving out demons and curing the sick. The apostles will fulfill their commission to the praise of God’s glory, taking with them only the authority granted to them by Jesus. The Ephesians are one of the communities that have experienced conversion with the help of the apostles; they believe in the power of Christ’s death and rising – redemption by his blood – and recognize that they were also chosen, that they too might exist for the praise of his glory. They find unity in Christ, sharing together in his life as one church destined for adoption, called through baptism, holy and without blemish, to love one another. Like them, we are called through baptism to reveal God’s love, proclaiming God at work in our lives and, in the process, chosen to ensure that justice might be had by all.
This post is based on OLMC’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com
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