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The prophet Amos is met with violent resistance when he tries to do what God has sent him to do: preach God’s word in the sanctuary of Bethel. It is the king’s sanctuary, he is told, “a temple of the kingdom.” The priests and royal court don’t want to hear God’s message unless it is a message that suits them, that ensures their wealth and power.
Contrast this with the humility of Amos. He won’t even claim to be a prophet: he belongs to no prophetic guild, he is not the son of a prophet. He has no status, no power. But he hears God’s word and obeys it.
This humility is what Jesus wants for his followers: “He ordered them to take nothing for their journey,” the Gospel tells us. They are to go out to others in total humility and openness, to share God’s love and mercy.
We have a long, sad history that shows the results of making Church and state temples of power, greed and selfishness: crusades, witch hunts, sex abuse scandals, residential schools, war, slavery, environmental degradation, trampling on the poor and needy. The Eucharist challenges us to change. Imagine what would happen if we followed Jesus’ teaching, took on an attitude of humility and self-giving, and reached out to God and to others with open hands, open minds and open hearts.