As the years went by, however, I noticed that more and more of these one-time Herculean giants gradually turned to other modes of transportation: Professional horse packers, llama packers, even spot packing by small airplane. Twelve-mile hikes with 75 pounds of stuff on your back were now a thing of the past.

Interestingly, of course, it took these folks years to get over their hubris and find ways to back pack and have fun doing it. If they had had the good sense to do a little research (This was before the days of Google, of course) they could have learned from the Native American Tribes or even done a bit of research on life in the Middle East where, for thousands of years, nomadic people have made their way across the desert. They learned to go lightly the hard way. All nomadic tribes have learned that your very life can be in jeopardy if you cannot take your house (tent) and household belongings with you on the way. Experience can often be a cruel schoolmaster.

Two of our scripture lessons for this Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time speak rather interestingly about the necessity of going lightly through life.

Our first lesson comes from the book of the prophet Amos. Being the good and observant Jew that he was, he decided to take on the false prophets of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. But, you see, the king of that area already had his own coterie of prophets with all their paraphernalia. So, he did not take kindly to this outsider coming into his territory and outfoxing his own prophets.

Amos, of course, has a ready answer: “I am no court prophet, he says. I am a simple shepherd and a tree trimmer, nothing more.” So, he brushed off the king’s objections and proceeded to preach to the people in his own simple manner.

The implication we can gather from this is that the work of prophecy does not work well with people if you represent the king or the local ruling interests. Ordinary folks will seldom pay you heed. In other words, the more encumbrances you have, the less effective will your ministries. (As I think of it also, pastors owning a new Cadillac each year will not attract much cooperation at the time of the Annual Fund.)

As you might expect, the gospel follows the same theme. Jesus sends his disciples out to preach the good news of the kingdom to all who would listen. Mainly, of course, their listeners would be poor desert dwellers. Therefore, these itinerant preachers were instructed to travel in such a way that their very manner of living would attract people rather than dispel them. No walking stick, no food, no backpack, no money in their purses. The point of all this being that your very way of life will speak your message. St. Francis of Assisi told his friars much the same: Proclaim the gospel; use words if necessary.

Perhaps few of you folks who read this are planning either on backpacking or going on the road to bring the good news to your neighbors. There are already worthy preachers who carry on that task. There are also retreat centers in most cities.

Nonetheless, it is the everyday demeanor that we carry in our community that makes the difference in our Christian effectiveness. The Jesus image, the St. Francis image, the Mother Theresa image will win you more followers than all your well-tuned homilies. Of course, preachers do not necessarily need to travel like paupers, but people should be able so notice a certain restraint in the way you dress or the way you deport yourselves. This applies especially to priests and religious who travel in public. Their very humble presence should attract a ready following and an open mind among their listeners.

Now, finally, if you are a messenger of the good news, you’d also better have something convincing to say, dressing shabbily will only make you appear odd

The scriptures: Amos 7: 12-15; Ephesians 1: 3-14; Mark 6: 7-13