God’s Plan of Salvation
Fifteenth Sunday - Year B
Amos 7:12-15; Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark 6:7-13
In the 19th century, St. Anthony Mary Claret wrote that "societies have become weak and are starving because they have ceased to receive the daily bread of God's Word" (Autobiography 450). Today God’s word is proclaimed to us by Amos, the Twelve, and the Apostle Paul. The subject of this proclamation is God's plan of salvation.
Amos and the Twelve were called to proclaim the message of conversion. The core of the prophet’s message is: "Seek the Lord and live" (Amos 5:6). The disciples of Jesus "went off and preached repentance" (Mark 6:12). This call to conversion contains the mystery of God's plan of salvation. "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way" (Is. 53:6), but God wants to unite all things in Christ (Eph. 1:10).
The second reading from the letter to the Ephesians comprises one long sentence in Greek. In three sections, we are presented with the development of God's plan of salvation as the work of the Holy Trinity. It all began in eternity - before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4-6), it was realized in history on the hill of Golgotha, where the Son of God offered his life for our redemption (Eph. 1:7-12), and it came to fruition in our personal life, when in faith we have accepted the message of the Gospel and in the sacrament of baptism were sealed with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13-14).
Knowing God's plan of salvation we are sent to preach "the word of truth" (Ephesians 1:13). Until now, the disciples were always with Jesus who preached and performed miracles. Now the time arrived for them to experience the proclamation of the Gospel. That first training mission covered a limited area. Jesus sent them out two by two. According to the biblical tradition, two witnesses validated the truthfulness of a testimony (cf. Num. 35:30; Deut. 17:6). They were equipped with the appropriate authority to fulfill their mission - driving out demons and healing (Mk 6:13). At the same time, they had to learn to trust in Divine Providence - no bread, no travel bag, and no money (Mark 6:8).
Our Lord also prepared them for a possible failure. Not everyone accepts the word of truth. Amos was told to “flee to the land of Judah" (Amos 7:12). Not everyone will also receive the Gospel of salvation. The sign of shaking the dust off of the feet meant that the disciples were not responsible for the consequences of rejecting the Good News. St. Paul performed this sign when his preaching was rejected by the Jews in Corinth. The Apostle shook his robes and said: "Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles" (Acts 18:6).
“Every plan of salvation will be sterile unless there is a return to the fullness of the great, catholic Word", wrote Saint Anthony Mary Claret (Autobiography 450). How prophetic these words sound at the beginning of the 21st century. God has revealed to us the secret of His will to unite everything in Christ. We praise Him for the grace of adoption, of becoming His children in Christ. But there are still many people who await the Gospel, who have gone astray and wander in the darkness of sin. Let us then announce God's plan of salvation that all humankind may experience "in Christ every spiritual blessing in the heavens" (Eph. 1:3).