Amos

Amos was a mere sheep herder and a sycamore fig farmer. He described himself, “I am not a prophet nor a son of a prophet”. However, God changed his life totally. For instance, he is the first of the prophets to write down the messages that he received. He is admired for the purity of his language, his beauty of diction, and his poetic art. The name of Amos in Hebrew means “to carry; borne by God”. Indeed, he was a pure vessel of God’s words. He announced the fall of the reigning dynasty and of the northern kingdom, and was not afraid of being denounced by the head priest Amaziah to King Jeroboam II. Even when he was advised to leave the kingdom, Amos was focused on God’s omnipotence.

From his story, we learn that God’s word is given to change us, starting from giving us perspective of the Gospel, so that everything around would draw our attention to Him. God’s word must penetrate us and bear fruit of conversion. When our faith is weak, however, we tend to fall into a trap thinking that God is not interested in what happens to us, and we live in a spirit of bitterness and accusation of God. We also live in a self- created image of God which imitates a background in our life, living as if God had not had any real power over us.

It needs to be changed. God is God. The Word of God contains the power of God’s Will to change our daily life as it happened in the life of Amos.

Fr Stan