The Lion Has Roared
Ordinary Time
Today's reading · Amos 3:1-8
Do two walk together unless they have made an appointment? Does a lion roar in the forest, when it has no prey? Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken; who can but prophesy?
Amos argues like someone pointing at the obvious until you can't unsee it. He fires off a string of cause-and-effect questions, the kind nobody disputes. Do two people walk together unless they agreed to meet? Does a lion roar when it has caught nothing? Does a bird fall into a snare when there's no trap? Does a trumpet sound an alarm in a city without everyone's stomach dropping? Each one builds toward a single point: effects have causes, and certain causes demand a response whether you like it or not.
Then he lands it.
Today's intention
The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken; who can but prophesy?