The readings of today affords us the opportunity to reflect on our prophetic calling. We live in a world that finds it difficult to differentiate true prophet from false prophet. A world that promotes propheteering of the Gospel rather than the proclamation of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. Then, how can we know true prophets of God? Prophets are the visionaries of their time. When all others are blind, prophets are the ones granted to see the handwriting on the wall, to interpret the signs of the times, and to see the light beyond the tunnel.
Prophets refused to be defiled by the corruption of the moment; they refuse to be engulfed by the darkness of the surrounding environment. However, forecasting the future was not the only role of prophets in the Bible. Their calling was to be God’s agents, to be the conscience of the nation, to be attuned to evils that others ignore, and to alert the people to the spiritual sickness that was growing among them. They are endowed with rare courage not only to denounce evil in general, but also to name the specific human agents in society. They remind society that our God is a God of truth and that peace is the fruit of Justice.
The first reading presents to us Amos who was the great champion of social justice. He was a prophet by divine call. Amaziah the priest of Bethel said to Amos, ‘Go away, seer, get back to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, do your prophesying there’. This was because Amos prophesied against the royal house of King Jeroboam, ruler of the Northern tribes. Then, Amos answered Amaziah, “I am no prophet, nor a prophet’s son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel”.
But Amos was not deterred, strong in the awareness of his divine calling which obliged him to speak out freely to all; he did not seek his own advantage, not try to ingratiate himself with men, but only to bring them the word of God. Amos was not a professional prophet because he did not the speak for the government. At the time of President Goodluck Jonathan, we had a lot of professional prophets. Those who speak for Government, who made a lot of prophecies. The question is, where are all these people now? As Amos was sent to the people of Israel, Jesus sends out the twelve apostles. Amos was a poor, unsophisticated shepherd the same way we could described the apostles also. Having instructed them, the time had come for them to take active part in his ministry.
Their mission was an extension of his own mission. We must take into cognizance that this was only a temporary mission, of short duration and limited to the Jewish territory. In carrying out this mission, the disciples were to live and act in a certain way. They should take nothing for the journey except a pair of sandals and a staff. He sent them out two by two, instructing them to take nothing for the journey except a staff- no bread, no haversack, no coppers for their purses. They were neither to make provision for their food and extra clothes, nor were they to seek comfortable accommodation. Instead, they were to depend on the Lord’s providence like Jesus himself had done. They were to rely exclusively on the one who sent them. The messengers of the good news cannot afford to be bogged down by “excess luggage” or any encumbrances.
The lifestyle of the disciples must reflect the gospel that he preached. The ability to overcome the temptation to materialism and consumerism is the first test of missionary commitment. The lifestyle of poverty, frugality and detachment on the part of the messengers of Christ is very important to the Gospel. Detachment is a major witness to the kingdom and a major sign of contradiction before a world of greed and avarice. As he gave these instructions to the disciples, he hinted on the fact that the good news may be rejected by some. They were not to be discouraged. Instead, they were to shake off the dust of failure and reach out to the next place. It was important for Jesus to prepare his disciples for the instances of rejection that they would witness from time to time.
The undiluted message of God is often a harsh one. Such a message is bound to meet with resistance in many quarters. The prophets of old were known for being rejected and persecuted. Some of them were tortured and killed. Amos was one of the earliest of these prophets whose prophetic message that denounced corruption and social injustice in Israel, made him a “persona non grata” in the territory. Jesus’ person and message were rejected even in his own home town, by his own people. He could perform no miracles in Nazareth because of his rejection. My dear friends in Christ, as in the days of Jesus and the disciples of Jesus; the true faith of Jesus is rejected by many.
Every time a Christian preacher braces himself to declare the authentic word of God before a faithless, corrupt, hateful and unjust generations, he or she is sure to experience stiff opposition. Every time a Christian crusader goes public on the values of the gospel in the midst of a people who prefer to settle for the easy life, conflict necessarily results. Every time a Christian disciple takes a stand against social injustice, he or she soon faces rejection. Nevertheless, we must never be scared of rejection from people because we do not accept their views, no wonder Jesus said in Matt 10:28 “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in Hell”.
Also, he says he is with us to the end of time (Matt 28:30). By the virtue of our Baptism, we are prophet, king and priest. It is our duty also understand our prophetic calling as Christians, and speak against the social injustices in our society. But, most of us are sycophants, we don’t tell people their mistakes in their face but we go at their back and start gossiping and lamenting. We must emulate Amos, who was not deterred by the rejection he faced but he spoke the words of God; and he did not care whose ores is gored.
