So this past Thursday — July 11th — marked the fourth anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood. And even though in those four years I’ve been through A LOT and have seen A LOT… a world-wide pandemic, division and confusion both inside and outside the Church, the tragic death of a pastor, several of my brother priests struggling big time or even sadly leaving ministry for whatever reason… even though somehow the Lord in His grace and mercy has brought me… and sometimes DRAGGED ME kicking and screaming through ALL of that over the past four years… the reality is this:

I still don’t know what I’m doing.

I still feel so incredibly underprepared and unqualified to be your priest.

And yet, I am not afraid.

In fact… I’m so excited and so grateful.

Because if you read the Bible, you’ll find that salvation history is filled to the brim with all sorts of folks who were completely under-prepared and totally unqualified for the task God called them to. 

In our first reading this weekend, we meet one of them:

The prophet Amos.

Amos was a nobody. He was by no means a professional religious person. He had no pedigree, no ancestral claim to be a certified prophet! He says it himself: “I was no prophet, nor have I belonged to a company of prophets. I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores!”  

In other words… He didn’t know what he was doing!

And yet — despite all that — God called him and then equipped him with supernatural power in order to go and speak to the people of Israel — to walk straight into the kings sanctuary even — and call them to repentance…

“The LORD took me from following the flock, and said to me, Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”

God made Amos into something He was not: 

A prophet.

And that’s why I even dare to get up in front of you all at this pulpit:

The Lord took me and said to me, through the voice of the bishop of our Diocese: “Go, prophesy to my people over there in Christiansburg.”

Go and preach. Go and teach. Go and equip My people at Holy Spirit. At Holy Family.

“Go!”

For some reason, even though I don’t really know what I’m doing — the Lord sent me here to you! Right to your doorstep! 

And because I believe that, I also trust that the Lord will equip me and fill me with the gifts and graces I need to provide for you as a priest and a spiritual father. 

I trust and pray that the Lord will speak to me and shape my mind and heart so that He is the one speaking through me… so that whatever He lays on my heart, I can then effectively communicate to you.

That’s what a prophet does: 

He hears the Voice of God, and then communicates it — declares it!

I’m sure that I will have to say things that some people may not like. 

Ok…so be it. 

I’m not here to impress anybody. I’m not here to win any human applause. I’m not here just to earn my bread and get a paycheck…

I’m here to offer the Gospel free of charge. I’m here to preach Christ crucified. I’m here to demonstrate the Kingdom for God’s glory, not my own. I’m here to present the rock-solid truths that the Church has always and will always teach. I’m here to lead all of us higher — to call all of us… including myself…to deeper repentance. 

Sometimes “repentance” sounds like a bad word to us.

What is repentance? 

Repentance can be defined as a radical reorientation of our lives to Jesus Christ. To make everything about Him. Centered on Him… So that He really truly is our Way, our Truth, and our Life!

That was the message Jesus sent the apostles out, two by two, to preach — “They went off and preached repentance,” we heard in the gospel passage today.

“Repent! The Kingdom is at hand!” 

Repent! Because…Jesus is here!

Well, that’s my basic message too.

Repent!

Change your life!

Center it totally, radically, completely on Jesus.

Be converted…

Because here’s the Good News that saves our souls: 

The Lord created us to know and love and serve Him… He created us out of pure love. Then… we unfortunately chose to fall into darkness. We were ensnared by sin, and we were captured by an enemy who hates us. We were lost and everything was wrecked. But then God, in His infinite mercy, sent His Son on a rescue mission to pull us back up out of the pit and give us brand new freedom in His Name. He forgave us through the Blood of Jesus shed on the Cross. Jesus paid the ransom. He saved us — rising from the grave and giving us HOPE.

And now — Jesus knocks at the door. He is offering each of us salvation. He loves us, and eagerly desires to have a deep, personal, intimate relationship with each one of us. A friendship far deeper and more loyal than we could ever possibly hope for or imagine…

Will you say “yes” to Him? …Will you let Him in? 

And if you’ve already allowed Him in — will you let Him in deeper? Farther up and further in?

That’s my message. That’s THE message that the Lord has given me to preach, and I believe it with all my heart. And I believe the Holy Spirit will change lives through the truth of this message.

I myself am terribly unqualified and unprepared. …But the Lord is all-powerful. And He has called me: “Go, prophesy to my people.”

But that’s not all. And here’s where things get interesting:

Because I’m here to EQUIP you all to go and prophesy, as well!

YOU are prophets!!!! Did you know that?

Wait… what? “Me? No… there must be some sort of mistake, Father. I’m no prophet!!!!”

Well, sorry. Hate to break it to you, but yes you are! 

Let me explain…

Jesus is the ULTIMATE and the PERFECT Prophet.

Earlier in this homily, I defined a prophet as one who hears God’s Voice and then communicates… declares… the Lord’s Word. Well, Jesus always hears the Father’s Voice perfectly, and He is Himself the message that the Father communicates. He is the Word…. The Word made flesh!!!! He spoke, “Little girl, get up” …And she got up! He spoke the words, “Lazarus… Come out.” …And he came out of the tomb! He said: “This is my body” …And the bread became his body. The cup became the cup of His Blood. 

Jesus, the Prophet is powerful. His are not empty words. They change the world. They transform reality around Him.

You have been baptized into… PLUNGED into…. THAT Jesus! 

Jesus the PROPHET!

Our identity is now rooted in His identity. And so — we are baptized into His identity as PROPHET as well! You’ve been chosen in Him “from the foundation of the world,” as St Paul put it in our second reading. He goes on to say that God “has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens!!!”

Let that sink in! You’ve been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavens! And among those countless blessings is this amazing share in the prophetic office of Christ.

What that means here and now is this: 

However unprepared and unqualified you might feel: You have been hand-chosen and hand-selected from all eternity to be a prophet.

The Lord is calling you to listen to His Voice — to hear His Word… today, here and now. Jesus told us: “My sheep hear and know My Voice!” That’s you. You are His sheep! You’re being invited to hear His Voice for yourself and for the other people in your life… To share and declare that word to them — to share the message of the Gospel boldly and with love and humility. 

…Jesus is sending you out — maybe even two-by-two — to be witnesses… to be holy. To be salt and light for this polarized and often confused world. To talk the talk AND walk the walk. To call other people to repentance by both word and deed.

We may not know what we’re doing…

That’s ok. 

In fact, it’s better that way!

Because God DOES know what He’s doing.

And for some reason, by His free grace… He intends to do it through us.

So as the prophetic people of God — as the Church — let’s listen to the Voice of the Lord, and then communicate it …declare it boldly and powerfully… for the salvation of the entire world.