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| “Amos” by Gustave Doré,1865 |
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Amos 8:4-6, 9-12
Hear this, you who trample upon
the needy
and destroy the poor of the land!
“When will the new moon be over,”
you ask,
“that we may sell our grain,
and the sabbath, that we may
display the wheat?”
We will diminish the containers
for measuring,
add to the weights,
and fix our scales for cheating!
We will buy the lowly man for
silver,
and the poor man for a pair of
sandals;
even the refuse of the wheat we
will sell!”
On that day, says the Lord God,
I will make the sun set at midday
and cover the earth with darkness
in broad daylight.
I will turn your feasts into
mourning
and all your songs into
lamentations.
I will cover the loins of all
with sackcloth
and make every head bald.
I will make them mourn as for an
only son,
and bring their day to a bitter
end.
Yes, days are coming, says the
Lord God,
when I will send famine upon the
land:
Not a famine of bread, or thirst
for water,
but for hearing the word of the
Lord.
Then shall they wander from sea
to sea
and rove from the north to the
east
In search of the word of the
Lord,
but they shall not find it.
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Commentary on Am 8:4-6, 9-12
In his fourth vision, the Prophet Amos’ oracle now turns to God’s response to greed. The Israelites wait impatiently for the end of the Holy Days (“When will the new moon be over” see Numbers 28:11-15) so they can engage in business. Their practices of cheating on the measure of grain (the ephah is slightly more than a bushel) is strictly forbidden by Mosaic Law (Leviticus 19:36 and Deuteronomy 25:13-15).
The response by God is a judgment
against them. Although the original intent was an attack on those who were
dishonest, we see the deeper allusion to God’s response to the rejection of
Christ, and the death of his Son. The total eclipse is always a sign of God’s
impending judgment, and the lamentations that follow (“I will turn your
feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentations”). Finally the
prediction that the Word of the Lord (the sacred name is used in the Hebrew
text) will be gone from them, and they will search for it in vain, can be seen
not only as the loss of the prophet (the original intent), but the loss of the
Logos, the Messiah.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 119:2, 10, 20, 30, 40, 131
R. (Matthew 4:4) One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Blessed are they who observe his
decrees,
who seek him with all their
heart.
R. One does not live by bread
alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
With all my heart I seek you;
let me not stray from your
commands.
R. One does not live by bread
alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
My soul is consumed with longing
for your ordinances at all times.
R. One does not live by bread
alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
The way of truth I have chosen;
I have set your ordinances before
me.
R. One does not live by bread
alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Behold, I long for your precepts;
in your justice give me life.
R. One does not live by bread
alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
I gasp with open mouth
in my yearning for your commands.
R. One does not live by bread
alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
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Commentary on Ps 119:2, 10, 20, 30,
40, 131
Psalm 119 is an individual lament
asking for God’s support in times of difficulty. The strophes selected from
this very long psalm focus on the fidelity of the singer to the “ordinances,
statutes, and decrees” of the Law in reference to the oracle of Amos 8:4-6, 9-12 where
the prophet condemns those who violate God’s Law. It emphasizes that God is
truth and, as his followers, we are called to live in truth.
CCC: Ps119:30 2465
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Gospel: Matthew 9:9-13
As Jesus passed by,
he saw a man named Matthew
sitting at the customs post.
He said to him, “Follow me.”
And he got up and followed him.
While he was at table in his
house,
many tax collectors and sinners
came
and sat with Jesus and his
disciples.
The Pharisees saw this and said
to his disciples,
“Why does your teacher eat with
tax collectors and sinners?”
He heard this and said,
“Those who are well do not need a
physician, but the sick do.
Go and learn the meaning of the
words,
I desire mercy, not sacrifice.
I did not come to call the
righteous but sinners.”
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Commentary on Mt 9:9-13
The journey of Jesus continues
with the Lord’s encounter with Matthew (Levi in St. Mark’s Gospel), the tax
collector. The Pharisees are scandalized because this renowned teacher (Jesus)
has chosen to associate with “sinners,” who clearly violate some of the
numerous laws about ritual purity (Matthew 5:46). Jesus’
response, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice,” makes it clear that interior
faith is more highly prized than purely ritualistic rigor.
This passage is the call of St.
Matthew into discipleship. His profession, as customs worker or tax collector,
would have stimulated controversy among the Scribes and Pharisees, and the
presence of others of the same type at the meal described, would have caused
ritual impurity. However, as with his disciples Peter, Andrew, James, and John,
Jesus calls Matthew as he was engaged in his profession. The question the
Pharisees ask, because such contact would have caused ritual impurity, would
have been construed as a critical remark. The Lord responded with a challenge,
quoting Hosea 6:6, and punctuated his response with the
observation that, those who were critical of his associations did not
understand the scriptures they professed to represent.
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Reflection:
Tradition holds that St. Matthew,
following his call and wanderings with the Lord, “…was also amongst the
Apostles who were present at the Ascension, and afterwards withdrew to an upper
chamber, in Jerusalem, praying in union with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and
with his brethren” (Acts 1:10; Acts 1:14).[4] He was not mentioned
prominently in other parts of the New Testament, even in his own Gospel,
although we do have the account given today of his call and response. Other
historical accounts have him staying around Jerusalem for about 15 years, and
finishing his Gospel then going off to ancient Ethiopia (which is not present
day Ethiopia) where he was martyred. There is no clear record on how this took
place.
What we are given, however, is
that, of the disciples called by the Lord, Matthew (Levi) was the one who gives
hope for those who are marginalized. As a customs agent, he served the civil
government under Herod Antipas, and was not accepted by the Pharisees (that is
an understatement, traditionally these agents [tax collectors] were shunned).
Think of them as you might think of an IRS agent (not that I have anything
against people who work for the IRS, this is just a metaphor (I hope I don’t
get audited)). That is why, when Jesus was invited to dinner following Matthew’s
call, he was eating with “tax collectors
and sinners.” These were probably the friends of Matthew, his colleagues.
Jesus then proclaims his prophetic statement; “I did not come to call the
righteous but sinners.”
Jesus was the great unifier. He
took upon himself the sins of all of us. From some he takes a greater burden,
but all contribute to it. And look where that particular sinner went once he
chose to follow the Lord. He followed the Lord on his journeys through the
region. He was with him in the upper room where he blessed and broke bread,
that was his body, for the first time. He was with him in the garden when they
took him. He was there, in fear, in the locked room, when the Lord came and
said to them: “Peace be with you.” And for all of us, he recorded those
events so we would know, and have faith.
Matthew is a great hope for us
all. If he, who was considered by the religious of the day to be unworthy of a
place in the assembly of the faithful, was one of the first called by the Lord,
then how much more merciful will Jesus be toward us? If Matthew, Levi, the tax
collector, was blessed with the gifts of evangelization, how much more will the
Lord give us if we ask him?
Pax
[1]
The picture is “Amos” by Gustave Doré,1865
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible
with the exception of the Psalm and its response which were developed by the
International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is
not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4]
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume X Copyright © 1911
by Robert Appleton Company Online Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. Knight
