HOMILY, THURSDAY, 13TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A
Amos 7:10-17.21-24, Matthew 9:1-8
No one is worthy to be God’s mouth piece. He chooses whoever he wants irrespective of their social status, and he follows to the letter whatever he has put into the mouth of his chosen one.
“I am no prophet, nor a prophet 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 of Israel.” Amos 7:14-15
Any conspiracy against God’s anointed is against God himself. Many had rebelled against God’s sent and brought curse upon themselves. When we cannot see beyond the man in a servant of God, we fall into the temptation of dealing with him or her on human terms.
In a bid to be in the good book of the king, Amaziah, the priest of the golden calf of Bethel, maliciously conspired against Amos. He roused the sentiments of king Jeroboam against him. He said,
“Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words. For thus Amos said, ‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel must go into exile away from his land.” Amos 7:10-11
Battling with God is very dangerous. Amaziah’s priesthood was not of God. The altar where he ministered was insignificant before God. It is a given that no one can stand on the way of who the Lord has sent.
On our part, we must take caution, lest we share in the fate of people like Amaziah. Even as priests, either ministerial or royal, we must avoid words or actions that seem to stand on the Lord’s way. The Lord has no rival. We need the right mind and pure heart to avoid occasions that will amount to such self-destructive tendencies.
The verdict of God on Amaziah’s actions goes thus.
“Your wife shall be a harlot in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be parcelled out by line; you yourself shall die in an unclean land, and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.” Amos 7: 16-17
Let us guide our actions and purify our intention, so that in all we do, we may not incur the wrath of God upon ourselves. Let us call on God for mercy for the time we have sinned against him.
PRAYER
O Lord! I’m paralyzed by my own sins, because of those moments, when I have chosen my own ways and despised your words. Kindly open my ears to hear your words. Give me the grace to follow your path. Give me the discernment to know when you are talking to me through your servants. Thy kingdom come.
