The first reading is taken from the book of Amos. He was a shepherd and a fig tree farmer and lived near the border between Northern Israel and Southern Judah. The North was ruled by Jeroboam II, who had won lots of battles and territories for Israel that got him a lot of wealth. But he was one of the worst kings. Amos constantly exposed the religious hypocrisy of Israel’s wealthy and their leaders. Jeroboam’s wealth led to neglect of the poor and he allowed debt slavery. He also permitted idol worship. When the Northern Kingdom broke away from Southern Judah, two new temples were built and a golden calf was placed in each (1 Kings 12).

God called Amos to go up to Bethel – an important city that had a large temple and start announcing His word to the people. The book of is a collection of his sermons, poems and visions and were complied to give the Israelites His divine message to the Northern Kingdom. And it’s a message we still need to hear today. Israel was greatly blessed and their blessings came with great responsibility and so their sin and rebellion brought grave consequences.

We too are greatly blessed but continuously sin against God and his people. The rich are getting richer while the poor are suffering. Social injustices are being committed, there is social unrest and the pandemic is making an already bad situation even worse. People are losing their livelihood, not knowing how they will survive another day. It seems as if God is calmly sleeping while the wind is howling and the waves are threatening to break us. Truly Lord, we are perishing! Save us! But God is looking at each one of us with great love and compassion and saying, “Be still and know that I am God. I will not forget you. I have carved you in the palm of my hand.”