This week, our first reading is an excerpt from the prophet Amos. The Book of Amos, together with that of Hosea, focuses on life in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Living in the 8th century BC, the author of the prophetic book of Amos was a farmer and herder from the Southern Kingdom who happened to travel to the Northern Kingdom during its most prosperous era. There, he witnessed social, economic, and religious corruption.
His prophecy is a desperate call for a more just society. He denounces the heartless and corrupt actions of those in positions of privilege and wealth, who exploit the lowly for excessive gain. These leaders are well-versed in religious observance but show no mercy to the people they deal with:
“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 buy the lowly for silver,
and the poor for a pair of sandals.’” (Amos 8:4-7)
Amos proclaims that such dishonest and heartless deeds toward the underprivileged will not go unnoticed by God and calls for repentance to restore justice in society.
From the time of the prophet Amos to our own – spanning twenty-nine centuries – we are left to ask: do corruption, social injustice, the gap between rich and poor, and the divide between the privileged and the underprivileged still exist?
This year’s Social Justice Statement highlights that over 270,000 people sought homelessness services in 2022–23; one-third of them were experiencing mental health issues. In the foreword of the Statement, Archbishop Tim Costelloe emphasises that Australia has been facing a cost-of-living crisis in recent years. The cost of many goods and services – including housing, mortgages, and rent – has increased dramatically. What does this mean?
“Many have struggled to cope under the pressure; and one of the worrying results of this crisis is an increasing number of Australians finding themselves relying on friends or family to give them a roof over their head – or even worse, sleeping on the streets. Homelessness services are not able to offer help to everyone in this predicament. Without help, more and more Australians are being pushed to the edge of society. It is a lonely and frightening place to be.”
The Statement shares heart-breaking stories – just a few among many – of the struggles faced by our brothers and sisters living right around us.
“Let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” (Amos 5:24)
These words from Amos never grow old; they always need to be echoed in every era of human society. In the words of this year’s Social Justice Statement, we as Christians are called:
“[to] go to the edge of society to befriend our fellow Australians who are living on the streets, who are often struggling with serious mental ill-health, to be signs of hope, to be the good news that God’s unfailing love embraces everyone.”
If the children of this world know how to be astute in preparing for the future, then we – the children of light – as Jesus urges in today’s Gospel, must learn to be astute for eternity, through acts of justice, love, and hope toward one another.
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Mary Barbuto says:
Thank you Father Sang for your thought provoking reflection of Readings.