OXYGEN

05 Jul – Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Church As Prophet Of God
The Church rejoices in the spirit of prophecy, even though the exercise of that charism does not bring her any honour from the world. It is exercised in weakness.

- The Sunday Missal
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Ezekiel 2:2-5

The spirit came into me and made me stand up, and I heard the Lord speaking to me. He said, ‘Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to the rebels who have turned against me. Till now they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me. The sons are defiant and obstinate; I am sending you to them, to say, “The Lord says this.” Whether they listen or not, this set of rebels shall know there is a prophet among them.’
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2 Corinthians 12:7-10

In view of the extraordinary nature of these revelations, to stop me from getting too proud I was given a thorn in the flesh, an angel of Satan to beat me and stop me from getting too proud! About this thing, I have pleaded with the Lord three times for it to leave me, but he has said, ‘My grace is enough for you: my power is at its best in weakness.’ So I shall be very happy to make my weaknesses my special boast so that the power of Christ may stay over me, and that is why I am quite content with my weaknesses, and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and the agonies I go through for Christ’s sake. For it is when I am weak that I am strong.
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Mark 6:1-6

Jesus went to his home town and his disciples accompanied him. With the coming of the sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue and most of them were astonished when they heard him. They said, ‘Where di the man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been granted him, and these miracles that are worked through him? This is the carpenter, surely, the son o Mary, the brother of James and Joset and Jude and Simeon? His sisters, too, are they not here with us?’ And they would not accept him. And Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is only despised in his own country among his own relations and in his own house’; and he could work no miracle there, though he cured a few sick people by laying his hands on them. he was amazed by their lack of faith.
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They shall know there is a prophet is among them

Among the various tasks I performed during regimental duties in my National Service was the stupendous and glorious undertaking of debris clearance. Alright, I am kidding. No matter what euphemisms are used, throwing away the trash is not glamorous. Everyone else knows that someone does it but few appreciate it. In society at large, such jobs are often the province of those considered of lower status. Still, it is important. Leave rubbish to stack up and it not only stinks but makes the place unsanitary. As the saying goes “it’s a dirty job but somebody has to do it” and really, thank goodness for those “someone-s”.

Today’s readings all speak on the issue of being witnesses for God. It is not too far off from the description of a dirty job. People like Ezekiel, Paul and Christ were often seen as eccentrics to be avoided by the general populace. Theirs was a lot which many would disdain. Yet what importance they played in our history. Imagine if there was no one to proclaim the word of God. Even those few who listened would not have had the chance to experience the truth.

A lot of my non-Christian friends tell me they prefer us Catholics to some other more “compelling” denominations because we do not force-feed them our faith. We attribute this to our evangelisation style – showing Christ through our lives. If we are not careful though, this can easily turn into an excuse for us to not dirty our hands. This is very dangerous. I know it happens for me. My brothers and sisters, does this occur for you too? Let us remember that we do not need to mess up the entire room to draw attention to God. Just a little elbow grease might be enough to grab someone’s notice.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Aloysius Ting)
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Prayer: We pray for courage to overcome any hesitation in bringing Christ to the world.

Thanksgiving: We give thanks to the Lord for those who handle those tasks we are unwilling to perform.

Upcoming Readings:
Mon, 06 Jul – Genesis 28:10-22; Matthew 9:18-26; Memorial for St Maria Goretti, Virgin and Martyr
Tue, 07 Jul – Genesis 32:23-33; Matthew 9:32-38
Wed, 08 Jul – Genesis 41:55-57;42:5-7.17-24; Matthew 10:1-7
Thu, 09 Jul – Genesis 44:18-21.23-29;45:1-5; Matthew 10:7-15
Fri, 10 Jul – Genesis 46:1-7.28-30; Matthew 10:16-23
Sat, 11 Jul – Genesis 49:29-33;50:15-26; Matthew 10:24-38; Memorial for St Benedict, Abbot
Sun, 12 Jul – Amos 7:12-15; Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark 7-13; Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time; Bible Sunday