Homilies

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 16, 2006

(For the Homilies Archive, click here.)

What’s the Meaning?

Today’s readings for the Mass for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time prompt us to consider whether we are really interested in imitating Christ or whether we are using the Church so that we can live the easy life.

In the first reading, we see an ugly example of a high–ranking priest choosing to protect his comfort level instead of heeding the warnings of a messenger of God.

The reading opens with a priest insulting a prophet. Amaziah is the highest–ranking priest in the wealthy town of Bethel (of the northern tribe of Israel). Amos is a simple herdsman from the southern tribe of Judah. Amos recently left his happy life on the farm in order to do what God asked of him: to deliver warnings the unfaithful of Israel. Bethel, which at this point is the wealthiest and most important city in Israel, is on the list of unfaithful.

Let’s listen to part of Amos’ message to Amaziah and the people of Israel:

This is what the LORD God Almighty, says: “I despise the pride and false glory of Israel, and I hate their beautiful homes. I will give this city and everything in it to their enemies.” (Am. 6:8)
“How terrible it will be for you who sprawl on ivory beds surrounded with luxury, eating the meat of tender lambs and choice calves. You sing idle songs to the sound of the harp, and you fancy yourselves to be great musicians, as King David was. You drink wine by the bowlful, and you perfume yourselves with exotic fragrances, caring nothing at all that your nation is going to ruin. Therefore, you will be the first to be led away as captives. Suddenly, all your revelry will end.” (Am. 6:4–7)

Now, Amaziah is a rich man with an important priestly office in Bethel (something to the equivalent of a bishop in one of our big cities). Amaziah is quite comfortable and therefore does not respond well to Amos’ call for change. When Amaziah hears Amos prophesy, he immediately runs to the civil authorities (the evil King Jeroboam) in order to get Amos thrown out of the country. Jeroboam assents and Amaziah returns to Amos with these insulting words: “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there; but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.” (Am. 7:12–13)

Notice what the words of Amaziah reveal:

“O seer”—In Amaziah’s disbelief he mocks Amos’ role as a messenger of God.

“Earn your bread there”—Amaziah is assuming that Amos is like him, i.e., that he is in it for the money.

“Bethel is the king’s sanctuary”—Not God’s sanctuary but the king’s! In Amaziah’s mind, the state has final authority over religion.

With this in mind, Amos’ response to Amaziah begins to make sense. He says: “I am no prophet, nor a prophet’s son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’” (Am. 7:14–16)

In short, “I am not a fat bureaucrat like you. I am not doing this in order to live the easy life. I am simply an instrument of God, speaking his words of warning.”

This is why he continues:

Now then, listen to this message from the Lord! You say, “Don't prophesy against Israel. Stop preaching against my people.” But this is what the Lord says: “Because you have refused to listen, your wife will become a prostitute in this city, and your sons and daughters will be killed. Your land will be divided up, and you yourself will die in a foreign land. And the people of Israel will certainly become captives in exile, far from their homeland.” (Am. 7:16–17)

Powerful words. Especially considering that they are words of a simple herdsman directed toward a high priest. Amos has a real strength, coming from the fact that he allowing himself to be an instrument of God.

We too, says Saint Paul in the Epistle for today’s Mass, are to be like Amos in submitting to God’s will. For, as Saint Paul says, God, “destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will.” (Eph. 1:5) And we have been destined for a very particular purpose: that we “might live for the praise of his glory.” (Eph. 1:12)

So what we are supposed to do is quite clear: “live for the praise of God’s glory.” But, concretely speaking, what does this mean for us in our day–to–day lives?

In Amos we have seen a clear example of someone who is living for God’s glory. And we have a further insight given to us in the Gospel for today’s Mass. In the Gospel today, Jesus tells the Apostles exactly how to act in order to live for God’s glory.

Jesus tells the Twelve that they are to live like he lives. They are: to go out to the world (actively looking for people in need), to take no provisions (trusting that God will provide), to stay where first welcomed (not looking for a nicer situation [like Amaziah would]), to preach the Gospel, to anoint the sick, and to cast out demons.

What’s the Message?

Is this is what God is telling us to do as well, to act as if we were Francis of Assisi? Very literally did Saint Francis take the words of Scripture: “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." (Luke 18:22)

God isn’t really expecting this of us in our day and age, is he? Are we too supposed to go on a journey preaching the Good News, taking no provisions? Yes. Definitely. This is what this life is supposed to be: a journey, an adventure in search of our true home with God in Heaven. We might be dimly aware of this but we don’t act accordingly. Instead, we act like the selfish and short–sited Amaziah: “refusing to listen” and “caring nothing at all that our nation is going to ruin.”

Ask anyone in their 80’s or more and they will tell you that our nation was more God–fearing in the past. It doesn’t take a statistician to tell you that things are getting a lot worse. A lot of examples could be given as evidence to the level of morality to which our country has fallen, but it finally comes down to a lack of belief in God. Why is this? Because for too many generations we’ve acted more like Amaziah than Amos.

Now God desires that his children return to the Light. And he is giving each of us the grace to help make the Light shine in our world. But we tend to “refuse to listen” and “care nothing that our nation is going to ruin.” Our concerns tend to be with those of Amaziah. At bottom, what we care about is maintaining our comfort level. We even try to stymie anyone who might rock the boat upon which we are so comfortably cruising.

How stupid we are! Our short–sited thinking is leading us further and further away from the very thing we want—true happiness. In the end, our poor decisions will lead to the same results as those of Amaziah’s. We will be “lead away as captives.” And “die in a foreign land… far from our homeland.”

If we ever hope to return to the Light, we have to imitate Amos. We have care. We have to be like Saint Francis and preach the Kingdom to our nation, to our neighborhood, and in our home. We have to care.

What’s the Message?

What’s the Response?

Pray, and help others pray. To pray for an increase in faith and then to be a willing instrument so that others can advance in faith. And not to settle for naïve or sentimental prayer, but prayer truly informed by the Holy Spirit: “For the Holy Spirit will teach you what you ought to pray.” (Luke 12:12)

I can listen to the Holy Spirit by pondering the words of Sacred Scripture. I can lend my voice to the Holy Spirit by saying (or singing) Vespers or Compline every Sunday. And then I can even promote serious prayer at my parish, helping others develop a healthy fear of the Lord… like that of Amos.

And I can begin with the Psalmist in today’s Mass:

Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people,
Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.

Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
and righteousness will look down from the sky.

The Lord will give what is good,
and our land will yield its increase.
Righteousness will go before him,
and will make a path for his steps.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be.
Amen.

Contribution by Brother Anthony Myers
© SACROS 2006 {www.sacros.com}
To read homilies from other Sundays, click here.