God uses ordinary people for extraordinary things. We are given countless examples of this throughout history. From the Old Testament reading today, ordinary Amos becomes a prophet for Israel. In the New Testament, Jesus picks ordinary men to not only be disciples, but apostles. They preached repentance and drove out demons. The ordinary apostles anointed the sick and cured them.
Chosen
Likewise, God is still choosing ordinary people today. The second reading reminds us, we are chosen! We are His beloved. We have favor with the Lord. He has lavished us with riches of His grace. God also sent help. Further, the Holy Spirit is the first installment of our inheritance.
After examining this gospel reading, I was reminded of a precious time, about six years ago. I was part of a group that met with a priest every Wednesday morning. For a few hours each week, we would literally sit at his feet and listen as he poured wisdom and truth into us. My pen often couldn’t move fast enough to capture the words.
Today, I got out my journals from those meetings. The words they are filled with relate so well to this gospel message. I will share a bit of my notes below. They are a great reminder to me as well.
Sent to Evangelize
Just as the apostles were called to evangelize, so are we. Moreover, we need to bring the word of God to all those we meet. The best way we can do this is through living our faith. Be an ordinary person with extraordinary faith. Live intentionally. Seek to know what our faith is all about. Get to know your neighbor.
Our priest had this saying, “Put on your Jesus glasses.” It means, see people how Jesus sees them. See them with mercy and compassion. People are longing for hope, grace, and peace. We need to share our stories in order to give others hope.
Galatians 5:22-23 reminds us about the fruit of the Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law.” The Holy Spirit sanctifies us, gathers us, consoles us, teaches us and makes us holy. The gifts He gives us are for our sake. He also gives us gifts to give away—for the sake of others.
C.S. Lewis, in The Weight of Glory said, “Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses.” Were you light and love today to those you met? Did they encounter Christ through you?
Finally, the word sin comes from the Greek Harmartia. It means, “missing the mark.” Where did you and I miss the mark today? Where can we do better tomorrow? Where can we be light and love to others?
[Readings: Am 7:12-15; Ps 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14; Eph 1:3-14 or 1:3-10; Mk 6:7-13]
Loved your line from C.S. Lewis, thank you Joanne! Also appreciated your remark about hamartia, missing the mark. Certainly worth asking ourselves this question every day, about where we have missed the mark, and how we can bring light to others.
I knew this was your writing prior to finishing it. Wonderful article, dear friend and sister in Christ. -Kathryn
Kathryn, your comment mean so much to me! Thank you.
Thank you for your reflection. I appreciated all of it including the following. C.S. Lewis, in The Weight of Glory said, “Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses.” Being we are created in the image and likeness of God, it makes absolute sense that Lewis got it right.