Don't be an Amaziah

A Reflection on the First Reading for July 11th, 2021:
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time​

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Amos
7.12-15

Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away 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.”

Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I am no Prophet, nor a Prophet’s son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’”
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Pause. Pray.

And then read more...

Stay in your lane.


That’s what I hear King Amaziah saying to the prophet Amos. It’s like he’s saying: “You do you — but not on my turf!” The king did not look kindly on Amos telling him what he should and shouldn’t do — he’s the king! Why should he listen to a foreign prophet?


We all know people who won’t listen. And I think I can safely say that we’ve all been the person who won’t listen. There have been times when I have been an Amaziah to another thinking: “Stop telling me what to do, I got this. Just stay in your lane, dude!” Sometimes this is a knee jerk reaction because of fear. I am fearful that somehow others will discover that this person or persons butting into my lane knows more than me or is better than me.


However, the case more often than not is that I’m not Amaziah-ing someone else, but rather I am Amaziah-ing myself. I will choose to stay in my own lane because I am fearful that others are better than me and will take my place. It’s a similar reason, but a slightly different perspective. The distinction: rather than making someone the speed bump (if you will) in my lane, I am the speed bump. In becoming my own Amaziah, I stunt, if not all together stop my own growth, and forget that God calls me beyond one narrow lane. Amos knows this so clearly. He knows who he is, and is just as certain of God’s call on Him; a call to not stay in his lane.


Years ago, a mentor and friend encouraged me out of my comfort zone. During a search for a keynote speaker for a youth event, our potential speakers list was dwindling. My friend says to me, “You could do it.” I laughed. She listed reasons why I could do it. I countered with a list of reasons why I could not do it. Yet, God gifted her with a way of planting a seed in someone then watering and feeding it to help it grow. I couldn't get her voice, nor what I later discerned as God’s voice, out of my head. In the end, I gave the keynote. And it was… not great. Not horrible, but not the most inspiring keynote ever in my humble opinion. But I did it. I stepped out of my lane. And I grew.


Sometimes when we change lanes we find a better or even more interesting route. But when we get in our own way — or let others get in our way — we can miss an encounter with God that can transform us. As God’s creations we are meant to do things that change us and in turn change our world. As Pope Emeritus Benedict has been quoted as saying, “[Y]ou were not made for comfort, you were made for greatness.”


Don’t be an Amaziah to others… or yourself. And don’t stay in your lane.




Aurea Sadi

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