OMELIE / Omelie EN

15 lug 2018

15/07/2018  15th Sunday of O. T. - B 

15/07/2018  15^th Sunday of O. T. - B 

Reading 1, Amos 7,12-15 * Psalm 84 * Reading 2, Ephesians 1,3-14 * Gospel, Mark 6,7-13

The first reading tells about a pretty embarrassing event: the priest of God’s temple chases off the prophet Amos. In fact, he is lending his voice to God, though knowing that whoever has the power, or is living in its shadow, will not stand the rebuke that he is going to make. Often who needs to tell messages from God has to use hard speech, that could hurt the feelings of the rich and the great: God, in fact, is taking into great consideration the sufferings of the people, suffering indeed from the injustice, oppressions, prevarications of the powerful ones and the rich, never quite satisfied with power and wealth. The prophet, then, even if God Himself has given him the responsibility to talk, will have to leave the temple, because the person who is in charge of it is a servant of the king and his ministers. However, he is used to hard work and poverty, he does not shut up: he obeys God and continues to talk!

Like true prophets Jesus sends his Twelve. He is sending them “in pairs”! in order for a speech to be invaluable and believable, the Bible says, it needs to be based on the testimony of at least two men! As their messages will propose mutual love, here they go, being two, they cannot only speak about it, but they can also prove it! Jesus sends them off without giving them any provision for the journey, poor, without certainties. Their only certainty is the Father’s love, which they will have to blindly trust! In that way they will be able to announce even those things that might possibly not please their listeners, free to leave if someone will not welcome their message.

Jesus forewarns them: they will not need to be amazed if somewhere nobody will welcome the saving word! There they will shake the dust off their feet: as a matter of fact, those who do not want the gospel are like the pagans! The Jews did not want to contaminate their holy ground with pagan ground, that is why they were shaking the dust off before getting back. In the same way, the preacher of the gospel will not have anything to do with whom refuses his word: he does not want to delude him acting like that refusal was not relevant or indifferent.

The obedient disciples announce the kingdom of God, asking for conversion, and making the sick and the sufferers experience the joy of the recovery of the body and the beauty of the interior recovery, consequences of the Father’s love, a sign of His kingdom already present!

Let us too sing then, along with Saint Paul, the thanksgiving song (second reading)! The gospel, announcement of God’s love that becomes true through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, is a great benediction for us from God! Saint Paul knew from experience how the life of a non-Christian is. He knew about the habits of the Hebrews and the Pagans, and he could see instead how great a freedom and salvation is instead knowing Jesus and His love!

The Hebrews used to live, and still do, in the constant fear not to be able to observe all the laws, the detailed rules passed down through the scribes or very attentive practicing people. The Pagans used to be, and still are, drowning in superstitions and magic, paralyzed by the strict and revengeful gaze of demanding gods, immoral and without scruples, almost as they were human vices made gods. Others, even if they believe in a single God, think of Him as distant, impossible to know and unreachable, so much so that they feel like they need to live counting only on their own strength, or subject to rules made up by whom is saying he has been sent by that God. Others instead are dealing with beliefs that are bordering to pantheism, thinking about themselves as sparkles of the divine being, and then they are proud of themselves, because they think of themselves as without sin, always innocent. However, not having a God to listen to, to follow, to obey, they are also lacking Someone they can turn to when they are experiencing difficulties and sufferings. The former and the latter do not have any knowledge of an interior life, not even the possibility to turn to a Father, to trust His caring hands, to draw from His heart peace and safety, forgiveness and wisdom, hope for the future and for eternity!

How great a joy to know our God and Father! How great a gratitude for Jesus, who makes us meet Him and love Him, who even gives us His Spirit, a Holy Spirit that guarantees that we are truly children of His, loved by Him, then already "placed" in paradise! The apostle's praise seems endless, because it is such a great benefit that we receive from being called to meet the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ! We continue this praise with our life, obedient to the Spirit that has been put in our heart! We keep putting our trust in Christ Jesus, that is the centre, the heart of the world! We will be happy and peaceful, and, with our joy, we will be witnesses of God's salvation to everyone's advantage! We will be grateful to God for the apostles that He has sent to free us from ignorance and to reveal us His mystery of love.