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Twenty-sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C, September 30, 2007

First reading, Amos 6:1a, 4-7

The Historical Situation: For a long time, the territory we call the Holy Land was divided between a northern kingdom called Israel and a southern kingdom known as Judah. The city Jerusalem was in Judah. In the northern kingdom, at Bethel (Hebrew for "House of God") there was a very ancient shrine. Its priesthood was older than that established by Moses' brother Aaron. Israel was prosperous, at least for the upper classes, in the 8th century B.C.E., and the Bethel priests were comfortable cronies of the king.

In this milieu lived a man named Amos, street-smart and a savvy observer of the human condition. He knew his tradition. Amos remembered how his people's God had chosen a rag-tag band of slaves in Egypt, made them his own, and led them to freedom. Amos knew that this God of the poor was not happy with the current neglect and exploitation of the poor by the powerful. So he spoke up.

(We met Amos on last Sunday and on The Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B. The introduction above appears in Lector's Notes for those Sundays, too.)

What is, in verse 6, the "collapse of Joseph" that should disturb the complacent but does not? As we saw in last week's first reading, Amos uses the name of a patriarch to represent the nation itself. The people's founder was Abraham, whose son Isaac had a son Jacob (also known as Israel). Jacob's twelve sons became the patriarchs of the twelve tribes of the people Israel. Of the twelve sons, Joseph had a pivotal role in preserving the people as a whole (see Genesis, chapters 37-50).

Preparing your Proclamation: Be sure to read today's gospel before studying the first reading. It will put you in a proper outrage for the proclamation of this prophecy. Just as in last week's selection Amos mocked the secret thoughts of the wicked, today he mocks their luxurious lifestyles. And just as he turned last week from mockery to thunderous judgment in the last sentence, he does it again this time.

So proclaim this like Amos would, with derision in your voice through verse 6, then a slight pause, then with a deep, dark tone as you condemn them to exile in the final verse.

Second Reading, 1 Timothy 6:11-16

The "noble confession in the presence of many witnesses" probably refers to Timothy's baptism or his ordination. The "commandment" may mean the law of God imposed on all, or a special commission given Timothy alone.

Why does the passage begin with "But?" Well, this is the prior verse, 1 Timothy 6:10, source of an often (mis)quoted proverb: "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains."

Last week's Lector's Notes stated that this was a late letter, composed when the early Christians no longer expected the speedy return of Jesus. This passage shows they still held that expectation ("until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ"), but its timing is in the hands of God depicted somewhat remotely ("who dwells in unapproachable light, and whom no human being has seen or can see."), as if God is unmoved by our prayers that Jesus come again soon.

(While the verses in the Catholic lectionary do form a coherent whole, it seems the editors missed a chance to tie the second reading to the first and third, with their warnings about the danger of riches. The next three verses of 1 Timothy 6 say "As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.")

Preparing your Proclamation: The N.A.B. translators of the Lectionary did you no favors this week. There's a monstrously long sentence you must study carefully, breaking it into fragments and getting the relations between the fragments straight in your mind. In the USCCB web page of the text associated with these notes, the clauses are delimited wisely. You might want to print that frame and mark it up. (If you're studying the text from a missallette, it's hopelessly compressed on the page; go to church and make a photocopy of the Lectionary page as soon as you can. That's a good idea any week, especially if your eyesight is declining.) You might compare this to another translation, like the New International Version (or any of the dozen other translations available on that web page), or the same N.A.B. translation arranged in distinct verses, or The New Revised Standard Version, courtesy of Vanderbilt University's Divinity School.

Several other commentaries on these passages. All are thoughtful, all quite readable, from the scholarly to the popular. Links may be incomplete more than a few weeks before the "due date."
Father Roger Karban's column about these readings from 2001, and his 1998 reflection on the same readings.	Saint Louis University's excellent new liturgy site	Lutheran pastor and college teacher Dan Nelson's notes for a study group
The Text This Week; links to homilies, art works, movies and other resources on the week's scripture themes	Father Frank Cleary's 2001 column on today's first reading and gospel.

The Lectionary selections in the frame at the left, if any, are there for your convenience. The publishers of the page in that frame have no connection, except for membership in the one Body of Christ, with the publisher of this page. Likewise the publishers of the pages on the links above.