Monday, June 28, Lectionary # 377

Scripture: Lectionary 377. Amos 2:6-10.13-16. Psalm 103: 1-2.3-4.8-9.11.
Matthew 8:18-22:

Even today Amos, the prophet of the 8th century B.C., can stir us up to do
something about the injustices through out the world. His prophesies deal
with the political problems of the leadership and the social issues of his
day, but the words are so strong and inspired that we know God is at work
through the prophet today in our global thinking and more informational
world. He lays it on the line with all of the Israelites whether from the
Northern Kingdom or the Kingdom of Judah. All have fallen short of what
God expected of them in their part of the covenant made with their
ancestors. The message is clear and unambiguous . Liberation minded
theologians and peoples take this as one of their great prophets just as
they do the Virgin Mary in what she sings out loud to God in her
Magnificat. This sycamore trimmer and shepherd is not afraid to speak out
against all malfactors of the law and the covenant.

It is the opening chapter that we have a verse that gives us a motto and
guide for the whole work: "The Lord roars from Zion, shouts aloud from
Jerusalem and the pastures of the shepherds shall languish, and the summit
of Carmel shall wither." (Amos 1:2). Basically, the issues come down to
social misbehavior and injustice toward the poor and sexual and cultual
misbehvior in following the trend of the peoples surrounding them and
worshipping the idols of sexuality and fertility. No wonder the prophet is
speaking also to our times.

Psalm 50 is written in the spirit of Deuteronomy and the prophetic concern
of Amos. God is a holy and righteous judge who holds court with his people,
both with those who are faithful and with those who are not. Those who
have failed in keeping alive the spirit of their covenantal commitment are
arraigned before all of creation and all of the holy ones. "The point of
the whole psalm is the powerful experience of our encounter with God and
the conclusions to be drawn therefrom." (Weiser, Psalms, p.394).

We too are covenant people through Jesus. The excerpt from Matthew's Gospel
is calling us to renew our commitment to him. His words urge us to accept
our vocation and call as discipleship with him that leads to intimate
friendship. We are to restart our commitment by severing the attachments
we have to things and possessions and to an inordinate attachment to family
over God. Jesus' two examples seem to call us to give up some of our
comfort zones and our deep attachments to certain people over our
attachment to God. It reminds us of another saying of Jesus that tells us
not to be servants of two masters, but of God alone. Amen.