Ordinary Persons, Extraordinary Call

This is a computer-generated transcription that has been included to make the homily searchable.  It has not been verified by the author. 

“Amos answered Amaziah, I was no prophet, nor have I belonged to a company of prophets. 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 saying that he was just an ordinary person, just a shepherd and a dresser of Sycamores. So it’s not a very high-status position, a very common position and he wasn’t a prophet. He wasn’t in a company of prophets. He wasn’t going to Prophet school. He didn’t have a prophet diploma. But God, out of the blue, surprised him, and he says, The Lord took me from following the flock. Took me. He doesn’t even just say, called me, he says, He took me and said, like, I had no choice, and said to me, go prophesy to my people, Israel. Notice the Lord doesn’t say to him, Amos, would you like to go prophesy to my people? How would you feel about going and prophesy. He doesn’t say that. He says, Go and prophesy to my people Israel. He doesn’t say, Go share your opinions with the people of Israel. He doesn’t say, go and ask the people of Israel how they feel. Go and take an opinion poll of the people of Israel. He says, “Go and prophesy.” And so Amos, from being an ordinary person, finds himself chosen for an extraordinary vocation. And in the gospel, we have another example of that.  The apostles, who are also ordinary persons. Some of them are in pretty advanced stages of their life. Some of them have had a life that was not at all inspiring. They’re imperfect, they’re weak, they’re sinful, and yet they discover that they also have been chosen, have been called, and gradually, and today is a big step in that gradually, Jesus is revealing to them what their call is and gradually also they are transformed by that call. So they also have been surprised to find that they ordinary persons, are called to something extraordinary and not just extraordinary, but divine, supernatural. So what about you? What about you? Most of us are pretty ordinary, and lots of times we feel the weight of our humanity, of our sinfulness, of our past. And today, the Lord gives us the second reading from the letter of Paul to the Ephesians. Do you remember what St Paul said? Probably you don’t remember, because it’s not an easy passage to remember. It’s very dense, but it’s all about you and your call and your extraordinary, supernatural, divine call. So let’s look at this passage that the Holy Spirit gives us today. How can you know your call? St Paul says, “God has made known to us,” God, because the world can’t make this known to us. Our human knowledge cannot make this known. It’s only God himself who can reveal this. And he says, “God has made known to us the mystery of His will,” mystery – that means it’s hidden. It’s a divine mystery. So it’s hidden, hidden from our human knowledge. And so what he’s saying that there’s something in you and in this life that we’re living in, this world we’re in, which is a mystery, a divine mystery that only God can reveal. That like psychoanalysis can’t reveal, and different tests that you can take to learn about your abilities and your strengths and weaknesses and so forth, those can be useful, but that can’t reveal to you this divine mystery. And it’s not something that you can discover either just by introspection. It’s only God who can reveal this. There’s something in you that God hides. We were talking about this last week when we’re talking about that passage from St Paul about how God lets him experience his own weakness. God hides this. Why does God? Why would God hide this? One of the reasons is for protection from the enemy, for protection from satan. So God often camouflages His mysteries to hide it from satan and hide it from the world, but also sometimes to hide it from ourselves, so that we don’t become puffed up by pride, where a lot of times we’re puffed up enough already. And so God hides this. And so it’s only by faith, supernatural faith, that we can begin to discover what is the divine mystery hidden in an ordinary person like yourself. And he says, “As a plan for the fullness of time.” So it’s just gradually, step by step, being accomplished and revealed. And we’re living a critical moment of that fullness of time. We think again of the assassination attempt yesterday, which is a very critical event, but so many, so much critical moments that we’re living right now in our world and in our Church. And even I really feel that right here in our little mission, a plan for the fullness of time. And this very struggle, this very struggle that I’ll be talking to you a little bit more at the very end of Mass about that our mission is going through. It’s part of this plan of God which is being played out in this great battle that we’re in, and which is revealed in the fullness of time. And so there’s things that are being revealed now that weren’t revealed earlier. And so what is this plan? He says, to unite all things in Him and our world, which is so divided. And that attempt last night was a sign of how divided our world is, how divided our country and our society is, and how we sense division even in our own families, and we sense, sadly, also division in the Church. But God’s plan, God’s design, is to unite all things in Him. And that’s even what coming together at Mass represents. It’s a little part of God calling us together. So this passage from St Paul of Ephesians, one is a typical passage, as I say, because it’s so rich. But St Paul begins. He says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” So again, he’s going to reveal to you your call. What does he say?  “God, the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ,” blessed us, not somebody else, but blessed us. He’s talking about us in Christ, “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” Do you feel that you’ve been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places? I don’t feel that way. I don’t feel like I’ve been, I don’t feel that way, but he’s talking. That’s why it’s a mystery. We often don’t on this earth, we don’t feel a lot of this. We don’t experience a lot of this, and that’s why we need St Paul to tell us that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly place. And he says, “Even as He chose us in Him,” that is even as the Father chose us in Christ, so emphasizing that you have been chosen by the Father in Jesus Christ to be united, to become a member of not the physical but the Mystical Body of Jesus. When were you chosen? Do you remember the date when you were chosen? St Paul says, “before the foundation of the world.” You were chosen before the foundation of the world. So you’re not just an accident of circumstances, but you were chosen before the foundation of the world. That was a long time ago. That’s when you were chosen. And what were you chosen for, “that we should be holy and blameless before Him.” So you’re going to say, Well, that didn’t work to be holy and blameless before Him. So what does that mean? Holy, already in the Old Testament, holy means something that is set apart. It’s not for just profane usage. It’s set apart for God, like say, we would say for the Mass, the chalice is not to be used just for normal drinking, but it’s set apart to receive the blood of Jesus Christ. So the holy means set apart. It means that you were chosen and set apart especially to be especially for God. He says holy and blameless in the Old Testament, what was going to be offered and sacrificed like the lambs had to be without blemish, so they would be fit for sacrifice. And so you are called to be without blemish, blameless, so that you can be offered to God. But then we could say, Well, that didn’t work, because I’m not blameless, I’m not holy, I’m a sinner. But then what does St Paul say? He says, “in Him, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our sins,” of our trespasses. And so more powerful than our sins is the sacrifice of His blood, the power of His redemption. So though we are sinners by the sacrifice of His blood, by the power of His redemption, we are sanctified. And how sanctified are we? Does he say, in the measure of our merits? He doesn’t say that. He says, “according to the riches, not of our merits, of what we’ve earned, but according to the riches of,” what? “The riches of His grace,” according to the riches of His grace, which He gave us a little bit. Now he doesn’t say which he gave us a little bit. He says, “which He lavished upon us,” lavished the riches of His grace, not according to what we deserve, but according to the riches of His Divine Mercy, which He lavished upon us, because God is just like bursting to give, pour out His Divine Mercy. And so he says, “He destined us in love.” That is not out of just to, he didn’t destine us to use us, like, say, a lot of powerful people humanly use their underlings to get what they want and not think of what’s good for the underling, just to use them. But he says He destined us in love. That is, all this is because He wants what is best for you. And so what is best? He says to be what? “To be His sons,” His sons and daughters, His children, through Jesus Christ. That’s the greatest title that there could be. It’s greater than a prophet, it’s greater than an apostle, it’s greater than a king, it’s greater than an emperor. It’s the title of Son of God. Only Jesus is son of God by nature, but by being united to Jesus, we become His children, by adoption, by His choice. I mean, we’ve heard that term so much, sons of God, that we have no idea how infinite that is. But that’s the title of the second person of the Trinity, Son of God, and that’s what He wants to share with us. “According to the purpose of His will.” So this is God’s will for you, because sometimes we think of God as kind of using us; but His will is to share His divine life, His divine glory, His infinite joy, His eternal happiness with you. For how long? Forever and ever. A little bit later, St Paul says, “In him, you also,” you also, you who are listening. He says to me, you who and what he says two things, “who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.” But that’s not enough. It’s not enough to hear the word of truth. What else does he say? And this is critical, “who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have,” what? Is it enough to hear it? He says, “and have believed,” have had faith. That is, our cooperation is necessary. God offers this. This is what He’s offering. But we also have to cooperate by accepting, by believing, by making an act of faith and trust. That’s what this mission is all about, faith so that God can act. That’s what St Paul is talking about here, and that’s what the Lord has told us so many times. He says, what He needs right now in this critical time of history is faith so that His infinite Divine Mercy and power and grace can act. And he says, “You have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him. Were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.” He doesn’t say, will be sealed. He says, “You have already, now been sealed with the Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance.” So you have already, we’re not yet living in glory. We’re still struggling in this battlefield, but we already have been given the Holy Spirit. Who comes to bring us sanctifying grace, and He’s already there with you right now, “who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of His glory.” So we’re still on the battlefield, but we have already received the Holy Spirit to lead us and strengthen us and guide us in this battle. So to conclude then; Amos and the apostles were examples of ordinary people called to an extraordinary divine vocation. And we have the example of our Blessed Mother, who believed and who opened herself completely to the power of God’s grace. And so we can ask her to help us believe that even though we are sinners, that if we trust in Him, trust in His mercy, believe in His grace, this infinite, divine, supernatural destiny can work in us and through us. And this very Eucharistic mystery that we’re celebrating right now is to strengthen us in this divine call. Because in this Holy Eucharist, we’re not receiving a human food, but you are receiving the very Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of the Son of God Himself, to be united in Him. And so I’ll just end with this sentence of St Paul, “He destined us in love to be His sons, His children, through Jesus, Christ.” Amen. 

KEYWORDS / PHRASES:
Amos 7:12-15
Ephesians 1:3-14
Mark 6:7-13