‘I WAS NO PROPHET’ BUT SENT AS ONE

HOMILY FOR THE 15^TH SUNDAY IN THE ORDINARY TIME, YEAR B

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

Some persons seek job while some jobs seek persons. There is a story of a young man who passed out from the university with the best result of his set. Many Companies and Firms began writing to him and begging him to come and work for them. They needed him to come translate the wonderful result in their job places. They needed efficiency, and for these Firms, efficiency is dependent of academic excellence. Surely, this is true, but there is an extent where it does not apply. Some persons may not do excellent academically, but are excellent in the field. Some persons are powerful painters and artists even when they had not studied anything theatrical and aesthetic. Thus, we may say that Amos never received the training for prophecy but he had the character. You need just to do it well, and the job will seek you. Yes, some jobs seek persons; persons who have characters and qualities needed for the job. For instance, if we assume God to be an employer, what do you think would be his needed qualities in men for the role of prophesy?

One can claim or belong to the company of prophets but has lost his prophetic voice, while another who does not belong to that group can be called by God to do the job. After all, God is the employer. This was simply the case of Amos in the First Reading (Amos 7:12-15) of today. There was a group for prophets known in Israel from the early monarchical years. They were so to speak the professional prophets. They were respected and sometimes paid for their prophecies by the people who listened to them; and this led them to corruption. They expected gifts for their prophecies; little wonder then they carried collecting bags which Jesus warned His disciples against. In some other Ancient Near Eastern religious practices, it was worse. The servants of their gods and goddesses went about with bags to collect contributions for the temple and for their gods. They were regarded as pious robbers. There was even an inscription in which a man who regarded himself as a slave of the Syrian goddess said that he brought in seventy bags full each journey for his lady. Most probably, the professional Israelite prophets of the time may not deny being influenced by such a practice.

Now, we understand better why Amaziah had to tell Amos to leave their land and go back to Judah; there he could earn his bread by prophesying. Thus, Prophesy became for these men a source of liveliness. And so, God had to select and elect some other person(s) that would relay His message in an unflinching manner and with no corruption. Thus, when Amos stated that he was not a prophet, he made it clear that he was not in the ‘guilds’ of prophets known in Israel. He denies relationship with the professional prophets. This denial could become a denial against their practices of prophesy for money, for firm and for themselves, which led them to prophesy what was only pleasant to the people. His prophetic call was not his choosing but the choosing of God who called him out of his major means of livelihood, which was shepherding and dressing of sycamore. This reminds us of God’s choice of David who was called from the pasture to be prince over Israel (cf. 2 Sam. 7:8). Amos, by this answer too appears to us as a simple person who, with no thought of personal advancement or motivation, responded to a spontaneous call of God to serve in a special and authoritative capacity. It therefore stresses the claim to authority on the part of the prophet; that is, he did not want the job, but the job came seeking for him, as he was compelled by God to do it anyway. This answer thus serves as a preparation to the new prophetic role which would be set by Jesus Christ in the New Testament.

This new role and the rules that would guide it are seen in the Gospel of today (Mark 6:7-13). Jesus summoned (called/elected) the twelve and sent them out two by two (mission) and gave them authority over unclean spirits (the role of prophecy). Jesus elected his new people and gave them mission to become prophets of the new age. Since the Old dispensation of the prophets had failed to work according to the mind of God, Jesus would now inaugurate a new people who would pattern their prophetic life in line with the prophetic role of Amos which is according to the way God wants it. Since the New age has come, Jesus would now give them some instructions so as not to repeat the mistakes of the past. 1) They were to take nothing for the journey (no food, no sack, and no money). 2) They were to take only the most necessary things (walking stick, sandals). 3) They were to be contented with the available homes for mission work 4) They were to leave any house that refuses their message. Having kept the instructions, they returned successful from the mission.

These instructions were geared towards the disciples’ training in detachment and contentment (not accumulation and luxury in material things), total resignation to the will of God (who would be with them in the person of the hospitable), total dependence on the good will of the people (not an imposition or forced charity), and humility to discover that they were merely sent and must not be accepted everywhere. And because of the transitory nature of their work, it becomes more understandable why they should not be overloaded. It would not be wise to waste time on a particular place of rejection to the detriment on so many other areas of possible acceptance. These would become some kind of missionary manual for the apostles of the early Christian community, and can also become our manual in the present world bereft of contentment and detachment. We are today faced with the problems of materialism, insecurity based on care of missionaries, frustration that may come from aversion and rejection from the people ministered to. This is also some bit of encouragement to all those who take care of prophets of today not to give up in their spirit of hospitality and charity.

But beyond looking at this in its direct application to the Church, we can also apply it to see ourselves as missionaries to one another, to the world of pleasure and discontentment, to the world of generosity and hospitality, to the world of rancour and hatred, to the world that shuts out other persons who are not of the same family, group or society, to the world that grows selfish day by day, to the world that sees the visit of other people as a threat to their strength or economy, to the world that trades togetherness, love and unity for national security, boundary protection and national pride. This also makes a call to the world that abuses hospitality to inflict pains on people, to the world that plays goodness in the guise of treachery, and to the world that plays down on truth in the guise of diplomacy. We therefore pray that Jesus raises among us more successful missionaries for our world of today. Amen. Happy new week. God bless you.