“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.” (Ephesians 1:11)

The major theme for this 15th Sunday in ordinary time reminds us of our vocation (divine calling) and adoption as God's children and messenger with mission to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ, bearing witness to God’s merciful love and salvation as revealed through our Lord and Savior.

The readings invite us to examine the quality of our missionary resolve (fortitude, mettle) while evaluating the effectiveness of our evangelization methods in sharing the testimonies of our faith, measured in the virtues and motivations like selflessness, patience, humility, simplicity, faithfulness, courage and perseverance… as keys to success.

There are two different styles of evangelization and mission. One is known as “an institutional missionary” like Amaziah, that people come to him and seek him out. The other one is known as “an itinerant missionary” like Amos, Jesus and disciples who go out to seek the lost and sinful people of God, helping them to come back to God.

 

All missionary evangelizers are called and sent forth by God to confront injustice, inauthenticity and infidelity, to herald the good news of God’s merciful love and divine grace of forgiveness to sinners, and to be as living sacraments of God’s love, to nurture and evoke people’s consciousness, to criticize the world, and to promote the vision of God’s reign with the Gospel values.

 

As dynamic disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to participate actively in our mission of evangelization in our lives. Thus, the major theme of our readings today centers on our personal vocation and mission to evangelize the world for salvation.

 

God does not want us holding a relationship of Transaction but Transformation. Therefore, how can we become dynamic witnessing disciples and evangelizing apostles for the reign of God in our lives, following Jesus Christ, imitating and reflecting Him, radiating His love, mercy, forgiveness and humble service to fulfill our vocation and mission to evangelize the world?

 

Wishing everyone a blessed week in the Lord.