First Reading
Amos 7:12-15

1. How do you feel about rejection? Can you think of any prophet who didn’t experience rejection? They chased Amos out of Bethel. What do you do when you think something needs to be done that makes everyone uncomfortable?

2. Amos points out to Amaziah that he was a shepherd and it wasn’t his idea to be a prophet anyway. Are education, occupation, eloquence, talent or intelligence prerequisites for a prophet? Then what is necessary? If you were called to be a prophet, would you be as reluctant as Amos was?

Second Reading
Ephesians 1:3-14 or Ephesians 1:3-10

1. How has God lavished his grace on you this year? This week? Today?

2. Think of ways the Holy Spirit is active in your life, guiding, fixing, enlightening, giving courage. The Holy Spirit is the “first installment of our inheritance,” Saint Paul says. When you make the first payment on your mortgage, do you own a small part of your house? How might this idea relate to St. Paul’s statement about the Holy Spirit being the first installment on our inheritance?

Gospel
Mark 6:7-13

1. Evangelizing means bringing the Good News to all humanity and through its influence to make humanity new, to transform it from within. How can you transform humanity around you in your daily life?

2. Jesus instructs his disciples to be unencumbered. Why is detachment (“no food, no sack, no money….”) so important to evangelization? How cluttered are your heart and mind? If the clutter limits God’s space in your life, what can you dispose of? Do you think the Twelve were given what they needed?