Fifteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time
The first reading is from the Prophet Amos. He is the first Old Testament prophet whose oracles (sayings) have been handed down in the form of a book. More correctly, his oracles were handed down in written form on a scroll. His prophetic ministry took place in mid 8th century B.C., around 745 B.C. Amos came from a small town, Tekoa, in the southern kingdom called the Kingdom of Judah. He was a breeder of livestock, sheep or cattle, and an orchardist. The latter occupation, called in our reading, “a dresser of sycamores,” involved puncturing the unripe fruit of mulberry figs to make them turn sweet. Amos was not called to the prophetic ministry in his home country – the Kingdom of Judah. Instead, the Lord sent him to the northern kingdom, called the Kingdom of Israel. David and Solomon’s little empire, which at its greatest extended from north of Egypt to the Euphrates River, split into two kingdoms after Solomon’s death in 922.
When the Davidic nation became two kingdoms, the northern tribes called on a former official of King Solomon to return from exile in Egypt and rule them as Jeroboam I. The new king had a problem. His subjects traveled south to the Kingdom of Judah to worship in the one legitimate temple, and this was in Jerusalem. He decided to build two temples in his own kingdom – one at each end. The temple at the northern end was built in the city of Dan. The temple at the southern end was built at Bethel. Today’s reading takes place at Bethel. The priest at Bethel, Amaziah, sends a message to King Jeroboam II, “Amos has conspired against you in the house (temple) of Israel. Our land is not able to bear all his words.” This put Amos in grave danger. Amaziah tells him, “Get back home to the land of Judah. Earn your bread by prophesying there. Don’t ever come back to Bethel. This is the king’s royal temple.” Amos’ response to Amaziah, “You will die in an unclean land (in exile). Your wife will become a prostitute. Your children will die by the sword.” Not material for the Sermon on the Mountain seven hundred years later.
Our reading does not tell us why the Lord sent Amos north to Bethel. What was bothering the Lord? Amos’ message was directed especially against the leadership of the kingdom – king, clergy, and upper classes. Harsh words were directed toward wealthy landowners who deprived the poor of their property, and against luxurious lifestyles. He lashes out against wealthy women as “cows of Bashan, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy.” Amos accuses the merchants of anxiously waiting until the Sabbath rest is over, so they can resume cheating the poor by adjusting scales to false readings. Amos is the first written prophet of social justice. The Responsorial Psalm (85) picks up Amos’ social justice theme, “Kindness and truth shall meet. Justice and peace shall kiss.” The people’s response recognizes these qualities as gifts of God.
The second reading, from Ephesians, is praise of God. Like our Gloria of the Mass, it is a doxology, a term of Greek origin meaning “word of praise.” Also like our Gloria, this doxology praises of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Like our Nicene Creed or the Apostle’s Creed, praise of the Divine Persons is mingled with the work or the operations attributed to each of them. The Father destined us for adoption. This was accomplished by Jesus Christ through “redemption by his blood and forgiveness of our sins.” At the end of the doxology, the author turns to the work of the Holy Spirit. We “were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, which is the first installment of our inheritance.” The wealth of theology contained in this blessing is almost beyond human comprehension. It is a work of the Holy Spirit and human genius.
The gospel reading continues a theme struck in the first reading. As Amos was called to be a prophet, that is, a spokesperson for God, so Jesus calls together the Twelve Apostles as his spokespersons, and sends them out into Galilee, (the location of the former Kingdom of Israel), with authority over unclean spirits and to preach repentance. The instructions Jesus gives them are known as “the Missionary Instructions.” They occur in Mark, Matthew, and Luke – though with considerable differences among the three versions. They occur in even more interesting form in a small manual composed toward the end of the first century. It is called “The Didache,” a Greek word meaning “The Teaching.” The instructions are harsh for missionaries. Their equipment: a walking stick – perhaps for protection against wild animals or bandits. They can wear sandals, a major concession since Matthew’s version does not permit sandals. Only one tunic (one shirt), so no change of clothing. They have to live off the land, or the charity of those to whom they minister. Therefore “no food, no sack (for money), not even the few coins they could hide in their belt.
If they are received into a house, they must stay in that house until mission accomplished. This avoided moving to better accommodations with wealthier patrons. If all the above is tough love, it gets even tougher. When a town will not receive them or listen to them, “Leave and shake the dust off your feet as a witness against them.” A curse? Why is it legitimate to consider this curse a later development rather than originating with Jesus? When Jesus himself is rejected in the Gospel of Mark, he leaves without recrimination. See 5:17-18; 6:6b. Why all the severity? There is an ancient Jewish saying, “A man may not enter the temple mount with his staff or his sandals, or his wallet, or with the dust upon his feet, nor may he make of it a short bypath, still less may he spit there.” How does this saying apply to the missionary instructions? Although this ancient saying provides for preserving the sacred character of the temple mount, the early Christian mission was also considered a sacred task, in which the missionaries acted as ambassadors of Jesus, and in which they depended entirely on God rather than on their own resources.
