Sunday readings reflection: Chosen from among the unqualified

Readings for July 11  2021

Amons 7:12-15
Psalm 85:9-14
Ephesians 1:3-14
Mark 6:7-13

www.usccb.org/bible/readings/

Amos was a lowly shepherd when God called on him to denounce the injustice and corruption of the northern kingdom. Paul was a famously notorious persecutor of those who believed in Jesus as the Christ. And, of course, the Apostles were a ragtag collection of fishermen and others known more for their sins than their holiness. Yet each was chosen by God to do something more, to be His instrument in the salvation of His people.

I have made and been in plenty of trouble in my life. While always a church-going Catholic, in my youth I was not one whom my classmates may have expected to be writing a blog of reflections, prayers, and religious-themed poetry. I spent so much time in my high school principal’s office that when I met him by chance at a Mass many years later, he still knew my name. Yet here I am, trying to do what I believe is the will of God by reflecting on, praying with, or poetically musing on His Word.

The bottom line is God has a plan for each of us and calls on us to complete His plan. And, if I or any of the crazy mix of Bible characters are an example, God does not seek the qualified. Instead, in His wisdom, through the Holy Spirit, God directs us in the love of His Son to do what seems unlikely, if even possible–to proclaim the Gospel in how we live our lives. Doing so, we can change the world itself. We are called to be “visionaries” and seed planters, not always with words, but more so with our life’s journey. 

My Lord God, I am often strong willed and obstinate, selfish and misbehaved, yet You have called me to follow Your will and set aside my own. May Your strength be with me in my attempts to answer Your call. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done. Amen