July 11, 2021 Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Lectionary: 104)
Reading I Am 7:12-15
Amaziah, priest of Bethel, said to Amos,
“Off with you, visionary, flee to the land of Judah!
There earn your bread by prophesying,
but never again prophesy in Bethel;
for it is the king’s sanctuary and a royal temple.”
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.”
Responsorial Psalm Ps 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14
R. (8) Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD —for he proclaims peace.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and prepare the way of his steps.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
Reading II Eph 1:3-14 or 1:3-10
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,
as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world,
to be holy and without blemish before him.
In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ,
in accord with the favor of his will,
for the praise of the glory of his grace
that he granted us in the beloved.
In him we have redemption by his blood,
the forgiveness of transgressions,
in accord with the riches of his grace that he lavished upon us.
In all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us
the mystery of his will in accord with his favor
that he set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of times,
to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth.
In him we were also chosen,
destined in accord with the purpose of the One
who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will,
so that we might exist for the praise of his glory,
we who first hoped in Christ.
In him you also, who have heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him,
were sealed with the promised holy Spirit,
which is the first installment of our inheritance
toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory.
OR:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,
as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world,
to be holy and without blemish before him.
In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ,
in accord with the favor of his will,
for the praise of the glory of God’s grace
that he granted us in the beloved.
In him we have redemption by his blood,
the forgiveness of transgressions,
in accord with the riches of his grace that he lavished upon us.
In all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us
the mystery of his will in accord with his favor
that he set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of times,
to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth.
Alleluia Cf. Eph 1:17-18
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our hearts,
that we may know what is the hope that
belongs to our call.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Mk 6:7-13
Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two
and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
He instructed them to take nothing for the journey
but a walking stick—
no food, no sack, no money in their belts.
They were, however, to wear sandals
but not a second tunic.
He said to them,
“Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave.
Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you,
leave there and shake the dust off your feet
in testimony against them.”
So they went off and preached repentance.
The Twelve drove out many demons,
and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
By Michael Cabrera
I don’t think I ever go anywhere bringing nothing. In every afternoon walk, I have my headphones flesh in my ears playing music from the phone in my pocket. On every Trader Joe’s trip, I walk in with reusable bags in hand (because of sustainability but also because my frugality cringes at the thought of paying extra). Every single time I leave the apartment, I have at least my keys and phone.
Naturally, I bring things with me because I know that these things will improve the experience of whatever I am doing at that moment. It seems that every trip necessitates the bringing of something, rendering the thought of bringing nothing unfathomable. But this is precisely what Christ instructs the twelve to do as he sends them off for the work of evangelization. Bring nothing with you.
In spreading the Gospel, the most important work of your life, bring nothing.
The dichotomy between the radicality of the Gospel and the practicality of the world often leaves me confused. I live in a world, for better or for worse (but I think worse), where Amazon Prime provides whatever I need - and often what I don’t - at my doorstep in a mere day.
Christ called the disciples into a reality where they did not know how or when their needs would be met. By the standards of the world, the disciples were unprepared. But, the disciples' unpreparedness was not a result of incompetence. Rather, the unpreparedness of the disciples was an intentional surrender: an acknowledgement that preparation pales in comparison to the Truth that God, in His gentle providence, will always provide.
In saying, “bring nothing,” He is not saying that the disciples should not eat or that they should not have money for their journey. Instead, He is saying,
Let me be the One to provide you with food, let me be the One to give you all that you need.
Providence, the practical love letters of the Father, teaches me that in the same way that God desires to provide for the needs of my heart, so does God desire to provide for the little needs of my humanity. In my privilege and ignorance, I am often oblivious to the fact that every moment of my life is proof of the Father constantly providing for me.
But recently, He has been reminding me of the gentleness of His providence at a scale palatable to my heart. He has been wooing me with unexpected joys, with provisions that compensate for where I inevitably fall short.
In a leftover food truck taco provided by a friend on a night when I forgot to eat dinner. In a brand new laptop replacement the day after I spilled water on my old one. In an available hand to hold the door open when my roommate and I lugged a used sectional up to our second floor unit. It astonishes me just how present He is in the smallness of my needs.
He is there, wholeheartedly, in all of it.
While I likely will still need to bring my keys with me whenever I leave my apartment, perhaps there are things I can leave behind, like the weight of my pride or the burden of my worry. I must come to Him with a heart, emptied and cleared, ready to open the love letters He has written into my reality.
(If you happen to be reading this blog post on the day it was posted, 7/11, maybe a way in which God would like to provide for you is through a free slurpee from your local 7-Eleven)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Cabrera is a current student at UC Berkeley and is active at the Newman Center, which is the Catholic center for the university. Originally from Southern California, Michael loves architecture, all things design, boba, and encountering Beauty itself in every moment.