Day 180: Giving Time to God

Amos 7:1-17 The five visions of Amos present a unified message: true conversion is the only way for Israel to be reconciled fully with God. Shrine offerings and worship were meaningless without a change of heart. (CCC 1435)

Ch 7:2-5 The special relationship between the true prophets of Israel and the Lord involved a dialogue of petition and response. The prophets drew strength and illumination from these dialogues as they transmitted the Word of God and interceded on behalf of the people of Israel. (CCC 2584)

Ch 8:1-14 The image of a basket of fruit carries apocalyptic overtones. Amos used a play on the Hebrew words for “summer fruit” and “the end”; the fruit basket, therefore, is a portent of the last days. The time for Israel’s repentance was running out. (CCC 1427, 2612)

Ch 8:4-10 Injustice against the poor is a sin of particular gravity in the eyes of God. Land confiscation, usury, unfair wages, and fraudulent deception of the needy are among the many sins that violate the Seventh Commandment (THOU SHALT NOT STEAL). SInce injustice toward the poor contributes to their physical harm and even death, those responsible are also in violation of the Fifth Commandment (THOU SHALL NOT KILL). Active concern and care for the poor must be motivated by the New Commandment to love our neighbor and to see Christ especially in the poor and suffering. (CCC 2269, 2409, 2449)

Ch 8:11 The necessity of preaching the Gospel to the entire world arises out of Christ’s final instructions to his Apostles and his desire to draw all of humanity to salvation and knowledge of the Gospel. The innate desire for happiness is an implicit clamor for union with God who alone can satisfy the yearnings of the human heart. (CCC 2835)

Ch 9:1-6 In the final vision, the Lord appeared and ordered Amos to destroy the altars, which likely referred to the desecrated shines at Gilgal and Bethel.

Ch 9:7-15 This final condemnation of Israel is followed immediately by a promise of restoration. In the midst of their repentance, Israel could look to the future with the hope of a restored and unified people. 

Psalm 124 This hymn of praise recognizes God’s deliverance and protection of his people as if from aggressive predators. This analogy extends to the power of prayer as a means to overcome temptation to sin and the deceptions of the Devil. St. Augustine developed this even more by teaching that the snares of evil and persecution here on earth should not be feared if we trust in God’s never-ending love for us. This confidence eventually leads to eternal life. (Cf. Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience, June 22, 2005) (CCC 287)

(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)

• So we have concluded the Book of the Prophet Amos

• Remember, Amos is preaching to ALL THE NATIONS

• He preaches to Israel (NORTHERN KINGDOM) and Judah (SOUTHERN KINGDOM)

• He preaches against Judah (SOUTHERN KINGDOM) that they need to COME BACK TO THE LORD

• But here he is preaching specifically to Israel (NORTHERN KINGDOM) 

• Amos is saying what’s going to happen ultimately that there will be DESTRUCTION and CAPTIVITY

• That is EXACTLY what happens

• Unless they turn back to the Lord, they will not experience GRACE or MERCY

• What are some of the ways in which the people were dealing deceitfully with each other and with God?

• Amos Ch 8:4, “Hear this, you who trample upon the needy, and bring the poor of the land to an end…”

• VIOLENCE

• DESTRUCTION

• INJUSTICE

• UNRIGHTEOUSNESS

• Against those who are NEEDY and those who are POOR

• Amos 8:5 continues, “‘When will the new moon be over, that we may sell grain? And the sabbath, that we may offer wheat for sale?’”

• Basically it’s one of those situations that happens to a lot of Christians

• We realize that here is the Commandment to KEEP HOLY THE LORD’S DAY by RESTING

• Sometimes we think, “Gosh, when is this going to be over? Because I want to get back to work.” 

• That is so interesting that we do this to ourselves

•  We think, “This time is for the LORD. I can’t wait to get back to the time that is JUST FOR ME.”

• That makes sense

• We are all like that

• AND YET…

• Here is Amos speaking to Israel (NORTHERN KINGDOM) and he is able to call out in THEIR LIVES things that are so present in OUR LIVES

• Things that belong to GOD, we can’t wait for them to be OVER with

• BUT…

• Stuff that is about US, stuff that we like doing, stuff that is about our own entertainment, WE CAN’T WAIT TO GET BACK TO THOSE THINGS

• It reveals to us WHERE OUR HEARTS ARE

• It reveals to the LORD (He already knows, don’t worry 😉) and to the people around us WHERE OUR HEARTS ARE

• Because of that…

• Amos 8:9-10, “‘And on that day,’ says the Lord God…’I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation…”

• If you can’t wait to LEAVE PRAYER….

• John Henry Cardinal Newman (Fr. Mike works at the Newman Center at the University of Minnesota-Duluth) was an Anglican priest for 40 years and became a Catholic priest and later a Cardinal

• He talked about how if we don’t pray IN THIS LIFE, it makes sense that we aren’t preparing our hearts FOR HEAVEN

• BECAUSE…

• If Heaven is going to be ETERNAL UNION with God, communion with each other…

• If Heaven is going to be this ETERNAL OUTPOURING OF LOVE AND WORSHIP TO THE LORD…

• BUT…

• We don’t spend time this life WORSHIPING THE LORD

• We don’t spend this life SEEKING OUT UNION WITH THE LORD IN PRAYER

• Then how will Heaven POSSIBLY be Heaven for the heart, for the soul that DREADS hearing the words, “Let us pray.”??

• Because THOSE ARE THE WORDS OF HEAVEN!

• LET US PRAY

• LET US WORSHIP

• LET US ADORE

• SO…

• Those hearts that DREAD the words, “LET US PRAY” on Earth, how will that same kind of heart REJOICE when it hears the words,  “LET US PRAY” FOR ETERNITY?

• What do we do?

• We need to let our hearts BE CHANGED

• Just like the people of Israel (NORTHERN KINGDOM) NEEDED to let their hearts be CHANGED

• BUT THEY DIDN’T

• And guess what happened?

• Assyria comes in and UTTERLY DESTROYS THEM

• DESTRUCTION

• CAPTIVITY

• RESTORATION

• All of that happened in Amos Ch 9

• AND YET…

• Destruction and Captivity are NOT THE LAST WORD

• The LAST WORD is RESTORATION

• Amos 9:14, “I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant them upon their land, and they shall never be again plucked up out of the land which I have given them…”

• That is the Lord’s PROMISE

• This PROMISE is fulfilled in JESUS

• Those TEN TRIBES OF ISRAEL (NORTHERN KINGDOM) are SCATTERED

• They are DECIMATED

• They are OBLITERATED off the face of the Earth

• They are only gathered again BECAUSE of the fact that CHRISTIANITY HAS SPREAD THROUGHOUT ALL THE WORLD

• That is the ONLY WAY that those TEN TRIBES are in any sense of the word, RESTORED

• THAT IS US

• WE GET TO BE PART OF THAT

• We are, as St. Paul said, those GENTILES (if you are raised Gentile instead of Jewish) that are GRAFTED ONTO THE TREE OF JESUS

• So we give God THANKS

• THANK GOD FOR RESTORING US

• THANK GOD FOR CALLING US BACK

• THANK GOD FOR GIVING US TIME TO BE ABLE TO COME BACK TO HIM RIGHT NOW THIS DAY AND EVERY DAY

• THIS DAY, DAY 180, is once again a chance to return to the Lord with OUR WHOLE HEART, MIND, SOUL, AND STRENGTH

• KEEP PRAYING FOR EACH OTHER

• PRAY FOR FR. MIKE

Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven we give you praise. We thank you so much. Gosh, if it had not been you, if it had not been for you, the Psalmist David says in the Psalm of Ascent here, if it had not been for you then we would have died in our affliction. If it had not been for you, Lord God, we would have perished long ago, if it had not been for you and what you have done. But Lord God, you have helped us escape. You have helped us to this day and we ask you to continue. Continue to help us be yours this day and every day of our lives in Jesus’ name. Amen.”