History is the teacher of life, and it is often said that those who do not know history are destined to repeat the mistakes made in the past. The Bible also contains its historical element, especially in the historical books where we see how God intervenes in the history of the people of Israel to educate and shape them according to His heart, and above all, to prepare them to welcome His Beloved Son.
To understand a passage from the Bible, it is important to have its historical background in mind. In today's first reading, Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, is confronting Amos the prophet. We find ourselves in a time when the kingdom of Israel had already split into two: the northern kingdom, still called Israel with its capital in Samaria, and the southern kingdom called Judah with its capital city Jerusalem. These two kingdoms had their places of worship: the first in Bethel and the one of Judah in the temple of Jerusalem. God sends Amos on a very difficult mission, which is to leave his kingdom of Judah and go to carry out his mission in the northern kingdom. Here, he encounters great resistance, as clearly shown by the words that Amaziah the priest says to him: "Go away, seer, flee to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there; but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom." According to Amaziah, the temple of Bethel belongs to the king and therefore serves him, and thus the priest wants to silence Amos from proclaiming the Word of God, as it was not pleasing to his ears or the king's.
The proclamation of the Word is the most important mission in the entire Bible: within the people of God, this mission was not carried out by the priests, but by the prophets; the priests took care of what had to do with the temple, such as sacrifices and other rites. Therefore, the reality of the temple, separated from the Word of God, often ended up being corrupt and far from what God wanted. This is evident in the preaching of the prophets, but it reaches its peak when Jesus enters the temple one day and drives out the sellers of animals and the money changers, for they had made the temple a house of commerce. Amos the prophet defends himself without fighting by saying to Amaziah: "... the Lord took me from tending the flock, and the Lord said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.'"
Saint Paul, in the beautiful hymn we heard in today's second reading, says: "In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him." No one can meet Jesus and follow him seriously if they do not hear His Word and seek to live it. Hearing the Word is so central to the life of the Church founded by Him that in today's Gospel passage we see Him sending the apostles ahead of Him to proclaim the Word; in this way, they prepare the way for Him and at the same time begin to have the experience that would be at the heart of their mission after His ascension into heaven. "... He charged them to take nothing for their journey...", they had to place all their trust in God and not in what they possessed.
We ask ourselves: how much do I cherish hearing the Word of God, how much do I seek to know and understand it well? Do I truly believe that God speaks to me through His Word? Above all, do I believe that if I listen to and understand the Word of God, He can use me to bring it to others through me?
We pray, Lord, give us the zeal to listen to and understand Your Word, and help us truly believe that among all we hear, nothing compares in importance to what You want to tell us. Make us, we pray, instruments in Your hands so that through us, Your voice continues to be heard in the world today. Amen.
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