15th Sunday, Year B: Homily by Fr Isaac Chima
Theme: Materialism: the enemy of our priestly and prophetic mission
Reading: Amos 7:12–15; Eph 1:3–14; Mk 6:7–13
Dear friends in Christ, last Sunday, we were reminded that on the day of our baptism, we were anointed with the oil of Chrism, made priests and prophets and commissioned to free our world of evil, to admonish wrongdoers and help in the building up of the kingdom of God on earth. We were told that this prophetic mission would face many obstacles from the world, then, we were taught how to deal with such obstacles when they come.
This Sunday, the Church reminds us that obstacles to our prophetic and priestly mission in the world can also come from within us, from our desires and how we treat material things. The Church tells us that how we manage or value material things in this world may distract us from God and from the mission He gave us.
In the gospel reading of today, Jesus sent out his disciples on a missionary journey. He gave them authority over unclean spirits and instructed them against materialism. They were not to take any money, bread, bag, or extra tunic. At the end of their mission, they came back with good news that demons were cast out and the sick were healed. Their testimony demonstrates that the success of our prophetic mission does not depend on material things.
Why did Jesus instruct His disciples not to go on mission with those material needs? The first reason was to help his disciples to stay focused on their mission to preach, heal and correct errors. Jesus knew the power and influence of materialism, and that any person trapped by the love of material things will surely lose focus on his mission. The second reason was to make the disciples fully dependent on Him as they carry out their service among the people. Every missionary draws his strength and directive from the Lord of the mission, Jesus Christ, rather than from material things. We know that whoever places a higher value on material things will prioritize them over his mission, and will do everything possible to obtain them, including doing things that contradict his mission.
Dear friends, today’s gospel is calling us to disconnect ourselves from anything that can divert our attention from Jesus and the mission he gave us, it invites us to detach ourselves from anything that could prevent us from speaking the truth, denouncing evil, and correcting others. It could be material wealth; it could be friends or attitudes. It rather encourages us to only go with the staff, our symbol of authority and support with which we can wage war against errors in the society and pull back those who are going astray; and our sandals to protect us from being contaminated by the dirt in the society, by the wrong which we are fighting against.
The first reading showed us how love for material things can undermine the mission given to us by God. Amaziah was a priest in Northern Israel, a city where the people suffered from social injustice. God commissioned him to preach against social injustice and liberate the people. However, Amaziah’s love for material things diverted his attention from his mission. Instead of preaching against evil in the city, Amaziah got himself entangled with the rich who oppressed the people and then used his position to consolidate the evil status quo in the city. Amaziah traded his voice for material gains; he valued material things over his mission and his God.
It was because of the failure of Amaziah and other prophets in their prophetic and priestly mission in Northern Israel that God chose Amos from Southern Israel, made him a prophet and sent him to prophesy in Northern Israel. As we saw in the first reading, Amaziah confronted Amos and ordered him to leave northern Israel so that Amos will not shut the source of their material benefits. Dear friends, attachment to material things or inordinate love for material things can destroy our relationship with God, it can make us choose evil over good, it can make us choose the devil over God, it can close our mouth from saying the truth, , it can darken our minds and our conscience to the point that we will no longer see evil where there is evil, it can make us to compromise our good values, it can make us abandon the Church and our relationship with God in pursuit of material gains. We have seen the number of people that come to Church these days. Most people prioritize their businesses and farms over their relationship with God.
In the second reading, St Paul reminded us that God chose us for His mission in Christ before the foundation of the world and that He has already blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places to ensure the success of our mission. Therefore, becoming attached to material things will not help our mission; rather, it will expose us to contamination from the same errors we are meant to correct. Thus, to have authority over unclean spirits and correct errors as Jesus mandated us, St Paul urges us to be blameless and holy, so that we can show superiority over the mundane mentalities of this world and errors in the society.
Peace be with you.
Fr Isaac Chima