Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

I am the good shepherd,
my sheep listen to my voice,
and they become
one flock and one fold.
.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Amos 7,10-17

Amaziah the priest of Bethel then sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel as follows, 'Amos is plotting against you in the heart of the House of Israel; the country cannot tolerate his speeches. For this is what Amos says, "Jeroboam is going to die by the sword, and Israel will go into captivity far from its native land." ' To Amos himself Amaziah said, 'Go away, seer, take yourself off to Judah, earn your living there, and there you can prophesy! But never again will you prophesy at Bethel, for this is a royal sanctuary, a national temple.' 'I am not a prophet,' Amos replied to Amaziah, 'nor do I belong to a prophetic brotherhood. I am merely a herdsman and dresser of sycamore-figs. But Yahweh took me as I followed the flock, and Yahweh said to me, "Go and prophesy to my people Israel." So now listen to what Yahweh says: "You say: Do not prophesy against Israel, do not foretell doom on the House of Isaac!" Very well, this is what Yahweh says, "Your wife will become a prostitute in the streets, your sons and daughters will fall by the sword, your land will be parcelled out by measuring line, and you yourself will die on polluted soil and Israel will go into captivity far from its own land!" '

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

This passage reports the conversation between the priest Amaziah and the prophet Amos. They do discuss their own plans or their individual strategies. Both mention the word of another who is greater than them. Amaziah reports the king's word and Amos that of God. Amos' words report God's "vision" so that His plan of salvation may be fulfilled. This is why the prophetic word is by nature destined to change history, starting with the prophet - even at cost of his own life - and all those who are invited to listen to it. Amaziah, on the opposite, expels the prophet from the temple that is no longer the sanctuary of God, as it has been turned into the sanctuary of the king. It is what will happen in the Temple of Jerusalem when it became more like a marketplace than a house of prayer, which provoked Jesus' violent reaction. The prophet Amos, who let himself be seized by the Lord, announces without fear the Word of God, with the accompanying denunciations of injustice and abuse of power by the rich over the poor. He does not belong to any caste, nor claim a special place that distinguishes him from others. The prophet, who let himself be seized by God, finds in Him all his power. What happens to the prophet is the way of the entire Christian community that is indicated as a prophetical people.