How often have you over-packed for a trip—taking much more than you actually needed—only to return with many unused stuff? Some people cannot part with the pleasures of life for a second. A dear friend recently traded-in their Motor-home for a fully air-conditioned one with built-in dishwasher, stereo, two 65-inch color TVs, two queen-size beds, and a Jacuzzi; so whenever they go camping, they’ll have with them all the comforts of home. She argued that she deserves that because she has worked hard to earn the money. In fact, she is entitled to that because she hails from the U.S., which is the greatest and richest nation on earth, with 6% of the world’s population, but consuming 50% of the its resources. I said “Bravo” to her but pointed her to Jesus, the friend of the poor.
In today’s first reading, we heard Amaziah bashing Amos the prophet for prophesying doom instead of “love” and “tolerance” and “equality.” There we find a prototype of contemporary evangelism: what St. John Paul II called “the super-market of religion.” Like Amaziah, modern evangelists are in the business of manipulation of the Word of God and flattery of their hearers. They contrive, construct and emplace a pseudo-reality of the love of God, and by means of accompanying slogans pulled from isolated verses of the Bible, their sweet tongue and exploitative power, they weaken the ability of their hearers to exercise rational judgment. Often, the aim is that their listeners dig deep into their pockets for tithes and donations that would support the unrestrained comforts of the so-called women and men of God. If it means encouraging worshippers to have no sense of guilt about their sinful lives, they’ll go with it. Often followers are assured that Jesus would always certainly wash their sins away—even if they remained unrepentant and persisted in their evil ways.
This was the prevailing situation in Israel when Amos was called to prophecy to the people whose hearts have turned against God. They have been thoroughly led to false worship and to persist in pagan debauchery by Amaziah and his company of bread-and-butter prophets. Surely, this is the prevailing situation in modern society, especially among the so-called civilized. Many have surrendered their hold upon the real; truth has become a matter of individual opinion; the conscience is dulled, numbed and killed. A new form of paganism has been installed under different names as rights, equality, non-discrimination, alternate life-style, and so on. Christianity has become a minority view and the true practice of the Christian faith has become, for modern society, an intolerant position even punishable by the new laws of the state.
Yet, we are free to rebel against the Divine order, but cannot escape the effects of such rebellion. As Shakespeare said in Macbeth: “Unnatural deeds do breed unnatural troubles; infected minds to their deaf pillows must discharge their secrets.” Defiance of morality manifests itself in depressions, boredom, suicides, lives wrecked by addiction to drugs, alcohol and pornography, the highest rate of divorce in history, etc. As a broken bone hurts because it is not where it ought to be, so a conscience too, is painful when it’s not where it ought to be—namely, in a right relationship with God” (Sheen).
St. Paul reveals in the second reading that God chose us in Christ to be holy and blameless, and to live in his presence (Eph 1:4). We cannot find true happiness outside God. While sending them out, Jesus warned his disciple to beware of excessive adornments and love of material comfort as these are rather proof of inner nakedness and excess luggage that drowns the ship of evangelism. Truly, the richer a soul is on the inside, the less need it has of luxuries on the outside. When material possession gives way to spiritual possession, there comes a “vacancy” sign on our heart for the Lord to enter and possess.
Fr. Chukwudi Jo Okonkwo