Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 11, 2021

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Like the twelve apostles, we are sent out to spread the message of Jesus and trust in his care.

Mark 6:7–13

Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.

These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”

They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

Music Meditations

Opening Prayer

You have called us Lord, to carry on your work and to spread your message. Help us to see where we may be needed, to comfort, to proclaim, to witness. Give us courage and give us the right attitude to understand that what we do in your name is for you and by you, and not for and by ourselves.

Companions for the Journey

From “First Impressions”, a service of the Southern Dominican Province, 2012:

In last Sunday’s gospel Mark focused on Jesus’ rejection in his own hometown community. In response to their hostile reaction Jesus said, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” This week Jesus sends the Twelve out to perform prophetic deeds and speak prophetic words.

Today’s gospel follows immediately upon last week’s. Mark is making a point: just as Jesus was rejected, so too, those sent in his name should expect the same treatment. When rejected as Jesus seems to expect they will be, they are to “… leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.” In other words, we should not be surprised when our words or deeds in Jesus’ name meet rejection—Jesus expected that to happen.

The sending of apostles did not end when Jesus sent out the Twelve, or on the last pages of the four Gospels. We too have been summoned to advance the reign of God, to act and speak in the spirit of Jesus. Jesus’ recommendations to his disciples about taking nothing “but a walking stick, no food, no sack, no money in their belts,” certainly cuts me out of the picture—as I pack a sandwich and magazines for the plane and cram my suitcase with books, sneakers, jacket, etc. Still, I think I understand something of what he’s asking. Is my quest for still more possessions and the latest laptop distracting me from my mission as one sent to the world? How am I telling the story of Jesus to the world by my words and example? What must I leave behind, or change in my daily life, so that I can more effectively witness to Jesus? More basically, does the way I live contradict the name of “Christian” that I bear?

Those are personal questions, but there are more general ones to think about. There are plenty of “demons” we need to cast out of our society. Think about the addictions of power, money, sex, drugs, materialism, exploitation of our environment, trafficking, etc. which possess us more and more. We say we are against them, yet our government makes cuts into programs for the poor, sick, addicted, in education, help for single parents, environmental protection, etc. The history of our church shows that it is not exempt from “demons” either—greed, sexism, power grabbing, alliances with corrupt governments, intellectual oppression, neglect of the poor, cover-ups of sexual predators, etc.

Jesus sends us to be prophets, to call the world to repentance; the immediate world we occupy, as well as the larger worlds we are part of. He wants us to change our behavior and also to drive out the demons that would destroy and lessen us as a people. Today we gather to be nourished by Word and Sacrament so we can go forth strengthened to be prophets to the world Jesus has entrusted to us.

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

He instructed them to take nothing for their journey but a walking stick

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

  • Who have been prophetic voices for us in our own lives? Were they the most theological, the holiest, or the most educated? How come Jesus does not always pick the “best and the brightest” for his team of prophets?
    How powerful was their message?
  • How might the experience of people who have gone through disasters like personal displacement affect how they may hear this gospel text?
  • From Jude Siciliano, O.P.:
    Where and to whom is Jesus sending you now?
    How are you telling the story of Jesus to the world by your words and example?
  • What is the role of preparation in the mission Christ is sending us on?
    How do we personally prepare?
  • Is our culture, with its quest for still more possessions and the latest laptop distracting each of us from our mission as one sent to the world?
    What “things” do I think I need to go through life?
    What reassurances do I think I need to go through life?
    What “baggage” do I have to unload to live out Christ’s mission?
    What must I leave behind, or change in my daily life, so that I can more effectively witness to Jesus?
    What is Jesus asking me to risk?
  • Have I ever had to rely on the generosity of others for my survival?
    Did it help my mission or hinder it?
  • How would I respond to a person who wanted me to do something but left me no real time for my personal needs?
    Have I ever responded to the needs of strangers that left me a bit vulnerable?
    Have I and my message ever been rejected?
    Where does Jesus fit into the above scenarios?
  • Jesus sends us to be prophets, to call the world to repentance; the immediate world we occupy, as well as the larger worlds we are part of. Have I ever had an experience of “rejection” when trying to talk to someone about changing their own life? How did I react?
  • What “slights” and “insults” do I have to shake off to make my heart free to do God’s work, whatever it is?
  • It would seem from this gospel that Jesus wants us to change our behavior and also to drive out the demons that would destroy and lessen us as a people:
    There are plenty of “demons” we need to cast out of our society. What are some of them?
  • The history of our church shows that it is not exempt from “demons” either
    Which ones do we own up to?
    Which ones are we inclined to make excuses for or ignore altogether?
  • This is a gospel about radical dependence on God. How is this message counter-cultural?
    Do I really believe Jesus is with me now and always?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Examen:

Adapted from Love: A Guide for Prayer, p.9:

The Examen of consciousness is the instrument by which we discover how God has been present to us and how we have responded to his presence throughout the day. St Ignatius believed this practice was so important that, in the event it was impossible to have a formal prayer period, it would sustain one’s vital link with God. The Examen of consciousness is not to be confused with the examination of conscience in which penitents are concerned with their failures. It is, rather, an exploration of how God is present within the events, circumstances and feelings of our daily lives.

Here is an excerpt from the dialogue that could take place at the end of each day. Your written response could be included in your prayer journal:

You have been present in my life today. Be near, as I now reflect on:

  • Your presence in the events of today
  • Your presence in the feelings I have experienced today
  • Your call to me
  • My response to you

What follows is a deeply private Examen for use during this week, reflecting on the gospel for the coming Sunday:

  • Do I think of myself as an “apostle?”
  • Does the way I live contradict or enhance the name of “Christian” that I bear?
  • What do I need to change?
A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:

Dom Helder Camera, the Brazilian bishop and advocate for social justice on behalf of the poor said: “Watch how you live. Your lives may be the only gospels your listeners will ever encounter.” So I consider:

  • Have I ever distorted the gospel by my actions?
  • Where can I improve?
  • I evaluate which of my possessions I no longer really need or am not using or wearing. What can I donate to a local thrift shop?
  • What can I do this week to spread the gospel of hope and compassion to those around me?
  • What can I do to help those trying to emulate the early apostles, (for example, those running the Catholic Worker House in Redwood city or the Rosie Rendu Center in East Palo Alto)?
Poetic Reflection:

This poetic meditation is from Fr. Michael Kennedy, written in 2006:

“Farewell Boogie”
(15th Sunday Ordinary Time)

There are
Many things that
Can lead us to be reluctant
In following the mission given
Us by a spouse or an employer
Or by a best friend so we try
To fulfill the task as soon
As possible and also as
Completely as we can
Since we really do
Not want to fail
Someone who is
That close
To us

But we also
Know that the harder
The task the higher the
Failure rate so we decide
Internally just exactly how
We will prepare for the inevitable
Disappointment that is sure to come
So we will say out loud that failure is
Possible but we will try as best we can
Implying clearly that the failure
Will be the fault of the one
Giving the mission
But our effort will
Be courageous
Anyway

And when Jesus
Gives orders to His
Followers He also makes a
Point to tell them they should
Not be offensive or aggressive
To those who do doubt their
Preaching but rather should
Just move on in a kind of

Gentle farewell
Boogie

Closing Prayer

I want to believe the psalmist, Lord, when he says
“The Lord himself will give his benefits; our land will yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him, and prepare the way of his steps.”
Lord, help me to see your kindness, help me bring your message to others of that kindness, and grant all of us the grace of your salvation.