From Darkness to Light
God's Call and Responsibilities
Not Many Elite Called
Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) Amos 5:7-15 New International Version 7 There are those who turn justice into bitterness
and cast righteousness to the ground. 8 He who made the Pleiades and Orion,
who turns midnight into dawn
and darkens day into night,
who calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out over the face of the land—
the Lord is his name.
9 With a blinding flash, he destroys the stronghold
and brings the fortified city to ruin. 10 There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in court
and detest the one who tells the truth. 11 You levy a straw tax on the poor
and impose a tax on their grain.
Therefore, though you have built stone mansions,
you will not live in them;
though you have planted lush vineyards,
you will not drink their wine.
12 For I know how many are your offenses
and how great your sins. There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes
and deprive the poor of justice in the courts.
13 Therefore the prudent keep quiet in such times,
for the times are evil. 14 Seek good, not evil,
that you may live.
Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you,
just as you say he is.
15 Hate evil, love good;
maintain justice in the courts.
Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy
on the remnant of Joseph.
For Reflection
Many churches lost membership during the covid pandemic. Some of those members may or may not return. In addition, congregations are growing older, with fewer and fewer younger folks picking up the slack. Amos addresses the issue of dying religious affiliation.
"Bo Lim, professor of religion at Seattle Pacific University, comments, "God's desire is for people to work actively for a healthy society. When society makes a turn for the worse and the privileged can manipulate the systems of the public and private sector for their own selfish gain at the expense of the poor and marginalized, 'seeking God' involves publically rejecting these forms of evil and working towards the establishment of justice."
"Should God's people be saved, it will require human repentance and divine grace."
Bo Lim https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-28-2/commentary-on-amos-56-7-10-15-4 PrayPray prayers of lamentation for the Church universal. Pray for the grace of God, God's forgiveness, and God's mercy on the Church. Finally, pray and meditate on the need for the Church to admit its sin and turn itself outward into the world as God has intended it to serve.
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