Rumor has it that every month, the Department of Transportation gives an award to a distinct class of its employees across the nation. This award is not prestigious, rather it highlights an employee who manages to follow the letter of the law perfectly and refuses to employ common sense. The award I am referring to is the “It’s Not My Job Award” and it always goes to the employee nationwide who best proves to be unwilling to go outside the the scope of their assigned task. My favorite photo of this award took place on a road in Litchfield Park, Arizona. Here a road crew was repainting lane markings when they came across something that was not in their job description; it was roadkill! Since they were assigned to paint the center line of the road, not to remove dead animals, they simply painted the road...and the dead opossum! The picture, worth a thousand words, gives us a pretty good idea of the literal approach these fellows took to their job.
Now I mention this, because, as ridiculous as this “It’s Not My Job Award” is, there are many people who could win this award if it were offered for the way Christians proclaim their faith. By virtue of our baptism, we are all anointed priest, prophet, and king. In our readings today, the Church asks us to reflect most especially on the role of the prophet, the messenger of God’s Word. Oftentimes, when we hear the word “prophet”, we think of someone who can predict the future or see things that others can’t. While it is true that some prophets did predict future happenings, that was not their main task. No, the prophet is someone who is called to share God’s Word and message with the people around him. Even if we understand what a prophet truly is, most of us probably have the thought it is a role best suited for a priest or religious or at least someone who has specialized training.
It might help us understand what a often prophet looks like by looking at the one who comes to us in the first reading today. His name was Amos and he was a normal, everyday, working man. He was a shepherd and an arborist, of sycamore trees in fact! He lived just south of the border between the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, on the Judea side. How easy it would have been for Amos to tell the Lord, “prophecy is not my job, that’s not what I signed up for!” But instead, he crossed the border into the North and proclaimed God’s truth to those in the City of Bethel. The people there were not fully living their faith. They were part-time their devotion to the Lord. Amos told them to change their lives and be committed to the Lord; to go back to what their faith demanded of them. The priest, Amaziah, told Amos to stop confronting the people and go back to Judah. Amos responded: “I am not a professional prophet. I am an arborist, a dresser of trees. But I cannot refuse to proclaim the Lord.”
Nor can any of us. We have to “proclaim the word, in season and out of season” as St. Paul wrote. By nature of our baptism, we have to proclaim the truth we experience within us whether it is a time others want to hear it, or whether it is a time they would rather we just keep quiet. We are all called to be prophetic voices, no matter what our training or vocation. This isn’t just the work of the priests and sisters and religious brothers; it is the work of all the baptized. We cannot simply tell the Lord, “It’s not my job.”
While He was still with us on earth, Jesus sent his disciples to proclaim the Kingdom of Heaven. These disciples were ordinary, everyday men entrusted with an extraordinary task. Like Amos, they were not trained missionaries but fisherman. Jesus doesn’t seem too concerned about that. He told them that the mission was urgent. They shouldn’t be bogged down with the cares and concerns of luggage. But they should wear sandals because they had a lot of ground to cover. They needed to proclaim to all. Some would listen, and others would reject them, but the message had to be proclaimed to as many people as possible. And, as we know from the gospel, these unqualified missionaries had tremendous success, success that came from God and changed the world, even our own lives!
It is the same for all of us. We need to bring the message, the experience, the very presence of Jesus Christ to the world. This is our call, no matter who we are, no matter what our state in life. Some will listen to you who will not listen to me as a priest. Perhaps it is people your age, be it senior citizen or child, who will say, “I want to be happy with life as he or she is happy.” Perhaps it will be people who look to you for guidance, such as your own children or grandchildren. Perhaps it will be people who respect and love you, such as your parents and brothers and sisters. Many of these people will hear the message clearer when it comes from you rather than from me or any priest. So proclaim the message.
And yes, there will be people who will reject the message. You may indeed have to move on and proclaim the truth of Jesus Christ to others. But don’t stop praying for them. And be patient. Joy, happiness and the Presence of the Lord are contagious, but sometimes it takes time for the peace of Christ to win over a person.
May we embrace the role of prophet and apostle in own lives as they are modeled to us today in the example of Amos and the twelve apostles. Let us not be afraid of the uncertainties or difficulties that will come our way in fulfilling our call, given to each of us at our baptism. Most importantly, each of us, in our own way, has something to share with the world about the Good News of Jesus Christ. Let us not act in a way that would win us the “It’s Not My Job Award” and let us trust that God wants to use our witness to bring others closer to him.
