Amos 2:6-10, 13-16 / Matthew 8:18-22
In this world where materialism and consumerism are so rampant we may wonder what is influence of religion.
Even secularism has crept into religion although it has not gone to the extent that it has replaced the sacred.
Yet the question remains - how effective or influential is religion in this materialistic world?
In the Old Testament, the covenantal relationship between God and Israel was sealed with blood.
God will protect His people but if His people should turn away or be unfaithful to Him then He was not obligated to protect them, and furthermore disaster will befall upon them.
Such was the gravity of the covenant then. But do we see it as such now? Would we ever fear the consequences of being unfaithful or turning away from God?
Yet when disaster befall upon us, we would still want to rely on our own strength and resources.
But the 1st reading reminds us: flight will not save even the swift, the strong man will find his strength useless, the mighty man will be powerless to save himself.
Yes we have to realize that we cannot save ourselves, yet that realization can slowly come about in the process of denying ourselves and following Jesus wholeheartedly.
Turning our backs on the ways of the world may seem to be painful. Yet it will be painfully crushing to turn our backs on God and to finally realize that nothing in this world could ever save us.