‘Go away, seer, flee to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and prophesy there’.

A bleak response to Amos in today’s first reading, from Amaziah the priest of Bethel, in the blessed land of Israel all those years ago. Amos was a tender of sycamore trees – although why sycamore trees needed tending, we do not know, it is thought that maybe some kind of alcoholic beverage could be made from the sap – but as he undertook this most oblique and unusual of jobs, God called him to be a prophet and so off he went, filled with a message given him by God and filled, no doubt, with trepidation. Maybe he took some of his sycamore schnapps with him for Dutch, or Judean, courage.

Amos went off to undertake this great work as a second-class citizen. The people were split into two parts, the rich Northern Kingdom of Israel ruled from Bethel, and the poor South, ruled from Jerusalem and governed by priests of the line of King David and Amos was from the South, and went to the North, who clearly did not want to hear him, but God had called him, and so he spoke. God has called him, the lion of Judah has roared from the midst of Jerusalem, and in that noise of battle and inequality, Amos walks into the centre of Bethel and speaks of social justice and the downfall of the royal dynasty of that Kingdom. The Sycamore dresser speaks to Kings and denounces the false weights and measures in the marketplace, denounces the contempt the courts have for the poor and weak and denounces the way that refugees were treated. And nobody wishes to hear his voice, but God has sent him, and as long as there is injustice on this earth, God will continue to send people to denounce it, and to live in a way and fashion which denounces it more eloquently than the words even of Amos could.

In the Gospel today, Jesus, that same God who called Amos, sends out his disciples to do what Amos was sent to do – to preach and practice repentance, living a simple life and taking not even a spare tunic with them for the journey. This simplicity of life is a sign of the message of the love of God and the spirit of conversion we are called to- and that is to drive out evil, heal the sick and form a new community of believers, changing continually to accommodate as many as will hear the message and join.

This new community is of course us. We have got so many things wrong, even to the point of owning many, many tunics, you might think, but not so. These tunics are those worn by our forebears, who we honour and remember by wearing them now, a sign of continuity and faith. These buildings are built to house the community they built – and can be abandoned just as easily if God sends us elsewhere, as He sent Amos and the Twelve.

Today we celebrate the beginning of this new phase in the ministry of Fr Josh, a Priest now and forever. Someone whose calling has been recognised by the Church of God who has seen the mark of God within him. This sets him apart for one specific aspect of the work that Christ Himself left us, which is the celebration of the Holy Mass.

We are commanded to love and to do this in memory of me, and love brings us to this table and we are fed by the love that flows from it. Priests are called to give themselves to God. Our hands must be open to allow whatever He gives us to fall from them, and they are there to hold Christ Himself and let Him fall, like heavy raindrops after the drought, into the furrows which He has already ploughed. We are called to speak the words which summon the deity – in complete faith that in sacramental signs which may be invisible, but in physical signs of love which are overwhelming – that He hears and answers. For this is my body, here on the altar, here in the church, and more importantly, outside the Church, waiting to be enfolded into this love and this hope.

We are called to lead. There is no doubt about that. But we are called to travel in community, as something of an outsider because we never truly belong anywhere, our home is not here, but love will tie us to the people we are sent to serve, and serve we must, because every tidal wave of arrogance and self-importance, every torrent of hatred and division, every wall of injustice and oppression will be torn down by the simple proclamation of the word of God and by the testimony of His Holy Church – which needs priests who will also purge it of abuse, angst, uncertainty and the demons of pride and self-importance. We rely on Christ alone, and so we will often fail in the eyes of the world but each failure will be an opportunity to love, and to become even more a child of God, to allow Him in His eternal love to teach us our true worth as His adopted children. All of us are equal in the sight of God, and all of us have different callings in that equal love, and it is a hard calling. Do not be afraid to rest, to seek for help, to shake off the dust from under your feet if need be – for the dignity of the message we bring is such as demands respect, lest it be tainted by the evils of this world, lest we be tainted by the evils of this world. And know, dear brother, that the devil knows your name with the same familiarity that God Himself does, and that the ancient enemy will also wish to call you, because at the altar we stand between chaos and eternity, between light and darkness and as you believe in the light, so also you know that there is the darkness. The devil can only lie, but his lies sound so much like the world that it can be confusing to differentiate the two. But you are no longer your own man, you are God’s, and His love will keep you safe if you trust in Him alone. He has called you this far, and He will call you home one day.

There are no more sycamores to dress, there are no more taxes to collect, there are no more boats to look after, a new day has come to you, the day you were born to see, and there is new work to be done.

Heal the sick, anoint the dying, announce the Good News of our salvation, live lives acceptable to the great office and trust now given to you, and do so with complete joy and hope in your heart, and may you live the rest of your life according to this new beginning.

‘’Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity’’.