Amos 8:1-12

Pentecost +8 - Year C

Amos 8:1-12

The shelf life of fresh, ripe fruit is not long - maybe a tenth of a generation of fruit flies (and that's pretty short).

It is within this length of time that we are to consider the decisions we have made and to measure them against community well-being - internal hospitality. Often we limit an hospitable welcome to a stranger and forget how to love one another. G*D says, "Trust me, you are starving one another - you have lost the SOWF (Substance of We Feeling - from Shikasta by Doris Lessing) - and this will lead to a famine of meaning and dissolution of the community."

So set a ripe fruit out on the counter and start considering where you need to engage the community with an internal welcome - basic hospitality - love of one another - kindness - simple civility. If you do not begin to act on your thoughtful evaluation before the fruit rots, you've not only lost a fruit but you are that much closer to meaninglessness.

Here's the equation we are looking for GM = RM where GM=GivingMuch and RM=ReceivingMuch. This is not just about produce, but relationships.

Amos reveals ourselves to us. We begin to change now or we begin to practice a dirge for what we missed. Enough missed opportunities and we are addicted to missing them so we won't even see the next one.

If you are not going to take the authority you already have to offer a hospitality seminar, I hope you will take your precious time and resources and sign up for one.