Once upon a time, I enjoyed air travel. Now it seems a hassle. Are the seats getting smaller? My flight is cancelled? Now what?
I miss the intercom humor in the old days. I remember a captain with People Express announcing, “We have reached our cruising altitude. Feel free to move about the aircraft, but please stay inside. If you walk on the wings, it affects the flight pattern.” Or “There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only four ways out of this plane.” I say, bring back humor along with the safety reminders.
The Word of God takes us to the 8th century before Jesus, to Israel’s divided kingdom of the north. Amos is told to go back home to the kingdom of the south and serve as a prophet there. Amos replies he never wanted to be a prophet, only a sheepherder. But God called him to speak against social injustice and preach he did: about fairness, honesty and compassion.
Amos may be asking us to examine how we treat our fellow human beings.
Paul’s letter to the community at Ephesus begins with a prayer about the blessings God has bestowed upon us through Jesus Christ. Through Christ we are sons and daughters of God, heirs to God’s kingdom. Paul challenges us to live a holy life, to reflect the presence of God in our daily activities.
In the Gospel, Jesus sends his disciples out to proclaim that the kingdom of God is at hand. Therefore, repent; orient our lives to God; recognize our absolute dependency upon God; live simply; be hospitable; be healers and peacemakers.
Today I would like to take up a major theme of Amos: how do we treat our fellow human beings. Do we treat them fairly, honestly and compassionately? And why do I take up this theme?
Because Jesus connects our love of God to our love for one another: when I was hungry, when I was thirsty, you did something. We can’t say we love God and neglect our fellow human beings.
Moreover, Jesus makes some radical demands upon us, his disciples. Read carefully Matthew, Chapter 5. Jesus says: “give to everyone who asks.” That doesn't seem possible. But here Jesus indicates the direction or thrust of our lives: to be generous with what we have.
Jesus also says in the same chapter: “To the person who strikes you on one side of the face, offer the other side as well.” But sometimes we may have to stand up against wrongs. Again, Jesus indicates the principle: be slow to anger, do our best to be peacemakers, healers, bridge builders.
These radical demands are linked to the mission of Jesus, who proclaims that the kingdom of God is at hand. Yes, the kingdom is here but not fully. You and I live in between the historical coming of Jesus and His final coming.
Often, we fall short of Jesus's ethical ideals. We have a tendency to not always choose the good. We call this tendency original sin.
But the power of God within us can overcome this “pull” or tendency; and this power enables us to have a good relationship with God and good relationships with one another.
How? By seeing the image of God in every human being, no matter how murky the image appears on the outside.
You may have seen the classic film “A Raisin in the Sun.” It was also a Broadway play. And I think you still can find it on Netflix. The story line is straightforward: a family in a Chicago tenement in the 1950s inherits $10,000. The mother wants to make a down payment on a small house for the family. The daughter wants to go to medical school. But the son pleads to open a store with a friend; he wants to be an entrepreneur. The mother gives the money to her son. The so-called “friend” skips town with the money.
The son can barely bring himself to tell his family. When he does, his sister launches into a tirade. Her mother interrupts and says: “I thought I taught you to love your brother.” “Love him!” the daughter says. “There’s nothing left to love!”
But the mother replies: “There is always something left to love … When do you think it’s time to love your brother the most: when he’s done something good and made things easy for us? No! It's when he's at his lowest and can't believe in himself because the world has whipped him badly.”
The mother had it right. Her simple truth, and this Monday's feast day of St. Bonaventure, remind me of one of Bonaventure's welcoming insights:
“Approach (God) with confidence, for the greater your infirmity the more you stand in need of a physician.”
Love doesn’t depend upon what others can do for us. Jesus assures us of his unconditional love and forgiveness and acceptance of us. Jesus asks us to be as ready as he was to lift up one another with a word of encouragement and a helping hand.
All of us have the potential to do great things for God. It begins with small, ordinary things. And so, I pray that the Word of God will inspire us to seek a better relationship with God and better relationships with one another. The kingdom of God is at hand. Travel light. Let go of those grudges and resentments and disappointments and worries and seek first the kingdom of God.
