+ Yesterday we saw how Amos became a reluctant prophet of the Lord. He made it clear that it was not his idea to become a prophet. He neither was a member of a prophet's family, nor did he attend a prophet's school. He was a shepherd who God handpicked to go and warn the people of Israel that sure punishment and exile from their nativeland would be their lot unless they changed their hearts and minds and turned once again completely to God and his will and ways. As we see in our reading this morning the people still did not repent, and in fact they became worse than ever. They lied to and they cheated their own fellows. They extorted money and caused all kinds of ill things to happen among themselves. And the Lord did begin his punishment by sending causing all kind of disasters to befall them, bringing famine upon the land, and a draught. They shall then search for the word of God's encouragement and not find it; and finally they shall be exiled from their own land! But as we heard yesterday, so it applies today: the judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just: God gives fair warning before he does anything drastic or far reaching, but then he follows through with it!
The gospel passage shows Jesus associating with sinners and tax collectors, many of whom were notorious for the very things we heard about in the first reading from Amos. They cheated people and extorted money; they dealt unkindly with one another and were not worthy of God's favor – but the difference here is that Jesus sees this crowd now as teachable, malleable, redeemable. He sees them as ignorant and errant potential children of God his Father and he treats them with mercy. Mercy is the great manifestation of the reality of God and the expression of his divine heart! God would much rather show compassion and grant forgiveness than show a father's hand in discipline and dole out just punishment. It is when we acknowledge ourselves as teachable, malleable, redeemable sinners that God can shower us with the grace of mercy and forgiveness. We are all sick in the eyes of God and in need of the healing ministrations of Jesus the Divine Physician. May we accept the treatment that Jesus prescribes today: a little dose of mercy, followed by a day of loving service to our fellows because we all exist in the heart of God! This will make us different from the hard-hearted people of the time of Amos the Prophet!
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened; and I will give you rest, says the Lord!
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