| Today’s Scriptures: Lectionary selections from the Revised Common Lectionary Year C Isaiah 12:2-6 Amos 8:4-12 2 Corinthians 9:1-15 |
| Today’s Reflection: “Imagine” by John Lennon Imagine there's no heaven It isn't hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion too Imagine all the people living life in peace
The passage from Amos brings us close to the world in John Lennon’s “Imagine.” Lennon, though, believed it would lead to a world of peace and prosperity for all involved. Unfortunately, history shows us something different. The Hebrews, for whom Amos prophesied, thrived on greed and manipulation of the most needy. They cheated with the weights and manipulated the currency to take advantage of those who did business with them. They cursed religious rules that forbid them to sell on religious holidays and on the Sabbath.
Beyond natural disasters, God promises a famine like no other: he will remove himself from the land revealing that such a famine would be worse than hunger or thirst. The absence of the word of God in the land removes all joy and hope. Those who seek such removal from God do not understand exactly what such a removal mean. God’s law, his presence, does much more than we imagine.
Whenever doing the right thing interferes with what we want to do, we may wish we did not have religious obligations standing in the way of what we want to do. However, we likely challenge the actions of others that impact us in a negative way. The absence of God does not accomplish our desires or bring the world closer to peace. Instead, were God to remove himself, we would find just the opposite. There will be no peace and no hope for joy. |
| Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, copyright © 2005 Consultation on Common Texts. www.commontexts.org |
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