18 September 2022 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Hear this, you that trample on the needy,
   and bring to ruin the poor of the land,
saying, ‘When will the new moon be over
   so that we may sell grain;
and the sabbath,
   so that we may offer wheat for sale?
We will make the ephah small and the shekel great,
   and practise deceit with false balances,
buying the poor for silver
   and the needy for a pair of sandals,
   and selling the sweepings of the wheat.’

From Amos 8:4-7, NRSV

In today’s reading, we hear the prophet Amos setting out in explicit detail the ways in which the people had failed in their observance of the Law and specifically in their duty to the poor. They had not abided by the rules so clearly set out for them with regard to the ways in which they should have traded goods. This had led to discrimination against the poor and needy and an overemphasis on making profit at any cost. Even the Sabbath and other religious festivals were seen as an interruption to the process of making money. Amos reminds them that the Lord will not forget a single thing that they had done and warns that there will be consequences to their actions.

• • Why do you think the people had failed to live by the Law they had been given?
  • How can we help to achieve fair treatment of the poor in our own communities and in the wider world?

Pray today for all who are exploited by others and for a more fair sharing of the earth’s resources.