The first reading for mass today from the book of Amos is a little different from the other prophets we have been reading about so far this year. The prophet Amos is warning God’s people of the imminent destruction that is about to befall them. Actually, the gospel today is about that as well. The disciples were caught in a bad storm and afraid the boat could sink at any moment and they would all drown. At least the disciples had the good sense to go to Jesus and ask for his help. The Israelites didn’t. In the first reading God said, “Yet you returned not to me, says the Lord.”
It sounds like it hurt God deeply, that his people never got back with Him, they were never reconciled with Him. God told His people that, “You alone have I favored, more than all the families of the earth.” It is because God loved His people, that God was hurt, and He decided to punish His people because they ignored Him.
However the scriptures said, “Indeed the Lord God does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants, the prophets.” True prophets speak to God’s people. They are not silent, because they have agreed to speak to the people on God’s behalf.
The first reading said, “Do two walk together unless they have agreed?” The prophets agreed to speak for God, especially to warn people about their serious sins. Modern prophets like us should do the same too. We shouldn’t try to correct every little venial sin a person has though, unless we would like other people to examine our own lives under a microscope too. (Remember the second great commandment Christ gave us to love others as much as we love ourselves? That applies to our judgements about their sins too.)
When the prophets spoke, they spoke of the mortal sins that God’s people were committing. They warned God’s people about their deadly sins. The first reading mentions Sodom and Gomorrah as an example of the serious nature of mortal sins, that we as prophets should bring to the attention of sinners, because their soul is in jeopardy. Their eternal salvation is in jeopardy. Hell is one thing, but purgatory is another. Purgatory is where almost all of us will go to work out the venial sins we committed in our lives. The Israelites ignored the state of mortal sins they were committing, so God threatened to destroy them because of it.
The storm that threatened to sink the boat the disciples were in, in today’s gospel, was not a punishment from God though. Many times people view destructive acts of nature as a punishment from God, but that’s not true. The universe was formed, and continues to be formed, through powerful destructive forces. When the universe settled down though, our world became quite peaceful and our planet is safe from many hazards in the rest of the universe. It was the same with the storm that Jesus calmed in today’s gospel.
Jesus asked them, why they were terrified? And remarked that they had little faith. All the turmoil, powerful forces, and worry about their lives, was averted with a mere word from Jesus Christ. One word can make all the difference in a person’s life and bring them much peace and healing. A kind word. A touch. A smile. A moment. A moment of our undivided attention and concern for another’s well being can sometimes make a tremendous difference in their life. It can change a person’s outlook for the rest of the day, and turn the course of the day around into something more positive. Rather than complain about the turmoil, drama, negativity and maybe the small sins that we see in the lives of others, perhaps we could try to become more like Jesus, with words of peace, of trust, and of healing. To imitate Christ, is to bring Christ into the world. It transforms the world around us into a better place to be.
Daily Mass Readings:
Amos 3: 1-8; 4: 11-12 / Psalm 5 / Matthew 8: 23-22
