15th Sunday of the Year: Sent by God for work in the world.

Study:  Recall a time in life when you had to completely trust another.  How did you react to being dependent?

Pray:  Where do you see the need for strength in your life today?   Call upon God for the help to face your struggles.

Serve:  Is there someone in your life you can help empower?  Is there a way that you can assist another to face new challenges?

Mass Readings – 15th Sunday of the Year

One of the themes that surface in the Scriptures this week focuses on the notion that God chooses us and gives us what we need.  Take a look:

• 1st Reading: Amos was formerly a shepherd who cared for sycamore trees, until God called him
• 2nd Reading: Ephesians reminds us that we are chosen by God, who has blessed us in Jesus Christ
• Gospel: Jesus sends his disciples to preach and heal, trusting in God’s providence along the way

What does this mean for us today?

First, our lives are guided by God.  We find our origin and focus in the one who chooses and calls us to the gift of life.  We find ourselves in situations that contain blessings and burdens, at times touched by grace, at other times driven to our knees as we are overwhelmed by trial.  Yet through it all we recognize that God is the origin and source of our lives.

Second, we find our strength in God.  Amos found power and conviction to preach a difficult message – because he knew that the Lord would give him what he needed.  The book of Ephesians reminds us that glory and redemption, wisdom and insight, come from the one who triumphed through the Cross.  Jesus sends his disciples on mission – trusting entirely upon providence – so that their ministry is not sustained by their own power but dependent upon God alone.

We live our lives with the conviction that we stay close to the Lord.  As we draw near to Jesus Christ, we continue to recognize our need for the Lord to remain the center and focus of all that we say and do.  Apart from God our lives lose direction; united with the Almighty we discover purpose and meaning.

What’s more, as we rely on Christ we draw new strength!  We understand that everything we have comes from God, and through this awareness we are able to receive the power we need to face situations we would have otherwise considered impossible.

God called the prophets and disciples to do extraordinary things…and gave them the strength to carry them out.  As we face our challenges this day, may we respond to the one who calls us to do the task before us – trusting that the Lord will also give us what we need.

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Archive of Fr. Andrew’s Podcasts

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Note: This post was originally published on July 8, 2015.