Not today maybe later

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary strike at least two chords among commentators. The continuation of the condemnation of the northern kingdom of Israel by the Prophet Amos is the consequence of the decision of the people to fall into practices of relating to God which amounted to surface observance of rituals with sacrifices which were conveniently assembled sometimes through taking advantage of the poor and dispossessed to pacify God while they continued to let the lifestyle of prosperity and self service rule their behaviour. Google identifies many books which use the passage from Amos today to explore topics of faith and social justice. The second chord, which is commented by Joe Zaborowski, involves reflection on how inconvenient we often find Jesus appearance in our lives which is related to the reaction of the people described in the Gospel from Matthew who witness Jesus release of demons into the swineherd. The disruption of our lives by action to achieve peace, nonviolence and social justice is too often rejected because it comes at a bad time and it is something we can get to later. Amos and our commentator from Creighton University recognize that we need to reassess our commitment as His disciple when our timetable and convenience is an obstacle to our acceptance of the invitation today to follow Him.