Amos 7:1-9
The Daily Office
Yes Virginia, we also read from the Old Testament. True, the style of writing in the Old Testament can seem odd, even incomprehensible, and the historical context obscure at best. But when Jesus says in Matthew that he did not come to abolish the law and prophets, but to complete them, he means the Old Testament (Matt 5:17). If we are to truly understand the "Good News," or Gospel of Jesus Christ, we need to understand the world that He brought the Good News to. And perhaps find ourselves in that world, equally in need of Good News today.
Today we pick up the Prophet Amos. About 700 years before Jesus, The 12 tribes of Israel, whom Moses had led out of slavery in Egypt, had divided into two kingdoms. In the north was Israel, which included 10 of those tribes. In the south was Judah, named for the tribe that had produced King David, and whose heirs continued to rule the southern kingdom from Jerusalem. Israel seemed the more prosperous and powerful of the two. But Amos had been given a vision from God that saw deeper than Israel's wealth and military prowess.
The "plumb line" had a weight at the end of it, and was hung from the top of a wall. If that weight leaned left or right, then the wall was exposed as uneven, from its very foundation at the bottom, and was likely to fall if pushed hard enough. God is "setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel," and Israel's foundation has been exposed. What is the weakness? It is not the lack of proper worship. "I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies," the Lord tells Amos (5:21). For all the pretense of holiness, the leaders of Israel "afflict the righteous…take a bribe and push aside the needy in the gate" (5:12).
The disaster that is predicted in today's reading came about 40 years later, when Assyria wiped Israel off the maps, and dispersed the 10 tribes of Israel, now known tragically as the "Lost Tribes." But Amos does not look on this prospect with self-satisfied glee, but with horror and intercession for his people. In our nation today, there are no doubt those who think that our current woes are the just reward of eight years of George W. Bush. Many others predict disaster if President Obama's agenda is enacted. But can those who scorn this or that politician with a mixture of outrage and glee muster up the courage of the Prophet Amos, and pray for those with whom they disagree so strongly?
The Good News speaks to the political, economic and social conditions of the times, ancient and modern. To speak "prophetically" is to speak with both righteous anger, and righteous love. In this Advent season of preparing for Jesus Christ, where do you see the need for both?
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