Is Amos talking about our time?

Homily

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

25th September 2022

If we consider the words of the first reading, you might think Amos was talking about our time. We see television shows where supposedly ordinary people have accumulated riches one way or another and can now buy homes that are fit for a king, maybe ten times more expensive than what most folk can buy locally. It all seems like a dream. Or young ones wanting to find love on an island, which will make them rich and famous, at the expense of being cheated on, deceived, and having their hearts broken, all to entertain a mass audience. If you were not told that the first reading was from the Bible, you might think it was a scene from the television series Game of Thrones. Many stories from the Bible, especially from the books of Samuel and the two books of Kings show the intrigue and conspiracies that may seem darker than those found in Games of Thrones. David’s general Joab often acted on his own without consulting his King or waiting to see if it was what God wanted. He was ruthless in killing David’s rivals and was not worried about the crimes he had committed, but he was rewarded in the end and Joab, having not supported Solomon to be King, found himself taking refuge in the Tent of Yahweh. He refused to come out when ordered to do so and was put to death where he stood. There seemed to be more Kings who went against God than there were who followed him. Even those who did were conspired against. It was a constant battle to stop the Israelites from following other gods. Even kings sacrificed their sons to gain favours with a god made from human hands. None of this was what God wanted. But still, the Israelites continued in their evil ways. We are often reminded of how Samuel was called by God when he was with Eli. Samuel grew up in the presence of God, but Eli neglected his duties as a father and allowed his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas both officiating priests, to abuse their privileged positions. They took choice meats being offered as a sacrifice and had relations with women serving in the sanctuary. They had no regard for God. So, a man of God announced to Eli that at a future date, his sons would both die on the same day and a more faithful priest would walk in God’s presence. Sometime later, when Eli was an old man, the Philistines attacked Israel and captured the Ark of God, and both Eli’s sons were killed. A messenger brought the news to Eli. Though he was told his sons were dead, it was the shock of hearing the Ark had been captured that sent him reeling and he fell to his death. The rich man in the Gospel followed a similar path as Eli’s two sons. He did not consider Lazarus’ needs, and how his life could have been made better. Both died, Lazarus found himself in heaven and the rich man ended up in Hell. Still being selfish, he wanted Lazarus to do what he would not do for Lazarus. Yet the gulf could not be crossed. Even then, the rich man wanted Lazarus to return to the land of the living to do his bidding to try and save the rich man’s relatives who had taken the wrong path. He wanted a sign to be given to them to get them to change their ways. Abraham reminded the rich man that if they did not listen to Moses and the prophets why would they listen to someone who had risen from the dead? We have enough evidence about us to convince us of the reality of God. Timothy tells us how we should dedicate our lives to God through being saintly and religious, being filled with faith, love, patience, and gentleness. Eternal life can be won by dutifully following what we have been told by speaking about the truth as witnesses to God the Father, his son Jesus Christ and through the Holy Spirit, we can be in God’s presence. What we see around us, in these seemingly strange times, with threats of war escalating beyond Russia and Ukraine, famine in many parts of the world, floods in Pakistan, and rising costs of living here at home in the coming months may make us fearful. But all God is asking us to do is to trust in him and he will save us. He will guide us through, just like he did the Israelites when he took them out of Egypt after the Passover. When we doubt and try to solve the problems ourselves, we end up in greater difficulty. We have our limits, but God is limitless. We just have to trust in God and not listen to those who ignore him. God the Father and Christ Jesus the Son, call to us through the Holy Spirit to be present and not strangers. The sheep that belong to Jesus will listen to his voice and will follow him. Though he was rich he became poor for us, to receive riches through his poverty. We just need to have faith and believe in him. Amen.

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