Wednesday of the 13th
Week in Ordinary Time
July 2, 2014 6:30am
Consistency is not easy.
Maybe that is one way to
summarize what the prophet Amos is saying in today’s first reading.
For example, we may hear the
parable of the good stewards and yet be wasteful of the resources of the earth,
such as electricity and food and water.
We may believe in Matthew chapter
25 about giving to Jesus when we give to the poor and yet be insensitive to the
percentage of people living in poverty.
We may know that we are to be
forgiving and yet be unwilling to talk to that relative or neighbor who
offended us.
The prophet Amos is making the
point that our religion and worship and prayer is to be a spur to action.
It is to affect our life and
lifestyle.
There is to be a consistency
between the two.
Is this always the case for us?
Probably not.
That does not argue against
worship and prayer.
But it does point out that there
is no quick and easy way to make us persons of full spiritual or moral
integrity – persons whose lifestyle matches our worship, persons whose prayer
permeates what we do and how we live.
So Amos leaves us, you and me
both, with the challenge not to rest from this calling to consistency.
We are to allow our celebration
of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross to lead us little by little to be
sacrificing of ourselves in daily life.
We are to allow our reception of
the sacramental Body of Christ to lead us little by little to become the living
Body of Christ on this earth.
