20240704 BEING A PROPHET OF DOOM IN GOOD TIMES
04 July 2024, Thursday, 13th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | Amos 7:10-17 |
The Lord took me from herding the flock and sent me to prophesy
Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel as follows. ‘Amos is plotting against you in the heart of the House of Israel; the country can no longer tolerate what he keeps saying. For this is what he says, “Jeroboam is going to die by the sword, and Israel go into exile far from its country.”’ To Amos, Amaziah said, ‘Go away, seer;’ get back to the land of Judah; earn your bread there, do your prophesying there. We want no more prophesying in Bethel; this is the royal sanctuary, the national temple.’ ‘I was no prophet, neither did I belong to any of the brotherhoods of prophets,’ Amos replied to Amaziah ‘I was a shepherd, and looked after sycamores: but it was the Lord who took me from herding the flock, and the Lord who said, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.” So listen to the word of the Lord.
‘You say:
‘“Do not prophesy against Israel,
utter no oracles against the House of Isaac.”
‘Very well, this is what the Lord says,
‘“Your wife will be forced to go on the streets,
your sons and daughters will fall by the sword,
your land be parcelled out by measuring line,
and you yourself die on unclean soil
and Israel will go into exile far distant from its own land.”’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 18(19):8-11 |
The decrees of the Lord are truth and all of them just.
The law of the Lord is perfect,
it revives the soul.
The rule of the Lord is to be trusted,
it gives wisdom to the simple.
The decrees of the Lord are truth and all of them just.
The precepts of the Lord are right,
they gladden the heart.
The command of the Lord is clear,
it gives light to the eyes.
The decrees of the Lord are truth and all of them just.
The fear of the Lord is holy,
abiding for ever.
The decrees of the Lord are truth
and all of them just.
The decrees of the Lord are truth and all of them just.
They are more to be desired than gold,
than the purest of gold
and sweeter are they than honey,
than honey from the comb.
The decrees of the Lord are truth and all of them just.
Gospel Acclamation | Mt11:25 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children.
Alleluia!
Or: | 2Co5:19 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself,
and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 9:1-8 |
'Your sins are forgiven; get up and walk'
Jesus got in the boat, crossed the water and came to his own town. Then some people appeared, bringing him a paralytic stretched out on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, ‘Courage, my child, your sins are forgiven.’ And at this some scribes said to themselves, ‘This man is blaspheming.’ Knowing what was in their minds Jesus said, ‘Why do you have such wicked thoughts in your hearts? Now, which of these is easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven,” or to say, “Get up and walk”? But to prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,’ – he said to the paralytic – ‘get up, and pick up your bed and go off home.’ And the man got up and went home. A feeling of awe came over the crowd when they saw this, and they praised God for giving such power to men.
BEING A PROPHET OF DOOM IN GOOD TIMES
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [EPH 2:19-22; JN 20:24-29]
In the first reading from the Prophet Amos, we read how the prophet remained true to his calling in spite of rejections and slanders from Amaziah, the priest of Bethel. He was accused of treason because he sought to discourage the people of Israel by warning them of the fall of the Kingdom. We can appreciate why the people, the officials and the religious institution of the day could not accept the prophecy of Amos because he was preaching to the people at a time when Israel was still relatively peaceful and prosperous. Perhaps, if the country were going through a crisis and some poverty, people might take his prophecy seriously. But not in good times. Indeed, this is true even in our days. Today, when we warn world of the catastrophe that lies ahead because of changing lifestyles, an amoral approach towards life, self-centeredness, the disintegration of family life and marriage, the confusion of gender, and the lack of moral leadership among the political leaders, people accuse us of being narrow-minded and out of touch with life. This is true of the warnings about global warming. It is only now, when we are experiencing the increasing backlash of weather-inducing extreme heat, cold, rain, flood, and drought, that more and more people are beginning to pay attention to the need for climate sustainability.
But not only was the message of the prophet rejected, he was also persecuted. Amaziah saw Amos as a threat to the unity of the country. He was afraid that Amos might sow discouragement, breed fear and division among the people. His prophecy was perceived as potentially demoralizing for the people. Hence, he accused Amos of seeking to destroy the Northern Kingdom, since he came from the Southern Kingdom of Judah. He twisted and exaggerated the warnings of Amos, suggesting that he went beyond merely prophesying that Israel would suffer and the people banished, but that the king would die in the battle. Again, that is what our opponents today do as well, when the Church proclaims the truth of the human person as male or female, the true meaning of marriage between a man and a woman, the sanctity of marriage and life. We are denounced as homophobic, sowing division among the peoples, imposing our values on others.
The prophet was accused also of being a professional prophet – wanting to make money for himself. Amaziah said, “Go away, seer; get back to the land of Judah; earn your bread there, do your prophesying there. We want no more prophesying in Bethel; this is the royal sanctuary, the national temple.” Amaziah suggested to Amos that he would be able to make more money in his own Kingdom of Judah than prophesying in the north. Amos replied, “I was no prophet, neither did I belong to any of the brotherhoods of prophets. I was a shepherd, and looked after sycamores: but it was the Lord who took me from herding the flock, and the Lord who said, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.'” We, too, are also accused of all sorts of ulterior motives and of being self-serving in our desire to help our people from falling into disasters. Of course there will be some, including priests and religious, who might make use of religion for profit, as St Paul warned in his letter to Timothy. But of course, those who are more concerned about their own interests than that of others are not true prophets of the Lord.
Who, then, is a true prophet? He is one who is obedient to the Word of God and seeks to carry out the Word of God without fear or favour. Amos was a reluctant prophet sent to the Northern Kingdom. He was good as a shepherd and a farmer looking after the sycamores. But because the Lord called him, even though he never perceived himself as a prophet, in obedience to His Word, he prophesied to the people of Israel in and out of season. He did so without fear, even though he knew how unpopular he was with the people who heard him. He was totally obedient to the Word of the Lord. This is what every true prophet must do. We must always examine ourselves, whether we are doing what the Lord wills of us, or whether we are doing things to satisfy our own interests, for our benefit, our popularity and acceptance by society. If we just want to use politically correct language to satisfy the appeal of everyone, we are not true to the Lord. Even hard truths need to be spoken, although not necessarily in a hostile manner. But to compromise the truths and speak in ambiguous terms does injustice to the Word of God.
Indeed, this is what the psalmist declares. “The law of the Lord is perfect, it revives the soul. The rule of the Lord is to be trusted; it gives wisdom to the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, they gladden the heart. The command of the Lord is clear, it gives light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is holy, abiding for ever. The decrees of the Lord are truth and all of them just. They are more to be desired than gold, than the purest of gold and sweeter are they than honey, than honey from the comb.”
In the gospel, we have Jesus who was true to His divine calling. The proclamation of the Good News is not reducible to doing good, like works of healing and mercy. This is unfortunately what is happening in our churches today. We are working as if we are another humanitarian organization, providing aid to the poor and the suffering but forgetting that the heart of the Good News is the forgiveness of sins, our reconciliation with God and our fellowmen. Today, the Church dare not speak about sin and forgiveness. We hardly remind our people about the sins that cause them misery and, most of all, separation from God. Sin today is reducible to whether we are having a good life here and now. Yet, the truth is that sins cause us to lose salvation in this life and in the next. Jesus came for the forgiveness of sins and not simply to be a healer of the body. He came to heal our souls primarily.
Consequently, when He saw the paralyzed man, His first diagnosis was that this man needed more than physical healing. He went to the heart of his problem. It was his sin that crippled him. He was paralyzed by sin. Hence Jesus, notwithstanding that there were scribes and Pharisees among the audience, said to the man, “Courage, my child, your sins are forgiven.” And at this some scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” Jesus knew that He would be misunderstood and prejudged for imparting forgiveness to the paralyzed man. But He was undeterred because Jesus had to be true to His mission, which was to reconcile man with God and man with man. He came to offer us the forgiveness of God.
And so to confirm His divine power to forgive sins, He said to them, “Why do you have such wicked thoughts in your hearts? Now, which of these is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven’, or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But to prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,’ – he said to the paralytic – ‘get up, pick up your bed and go off home.'” Indeed, the latter appears to be easier, as it is more tangible to see a man restored to physical health than to believe in one’s sins being forgiven. Jesus then commanded the man to pick up his bed and walk. In truth, forgiving sins is more difficult because only God can forgive our sins. This was certainly what was going on in the mind of the scribes and Pharisees. So Jesus justified His action of forgiving the sins of the paralytic – that he was able to walk also signified that his sins have been forgiven, since sickness was seen to be the consequence of our sins.
We, too, are given a great example of courage in standing up for our beliefs by the friends of the paralyzed man. They brought him to Jesus by lowering him down from the roof as the room was overcrowded. This was in St Mark’s account, not in Matthew’s. But we know that it was their act that promoted Jesus to reach out to the paralyzed man to heal him. It is a reminder that our faith in Christ will inspire others to open themselves to our Lord. By failing to stand up for our faith in Christ, we will also lead others away from Him. Let us therefore be courageous witnesses to our Lord like them.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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