Word to the Wise
Monday, June 28, 2010 - St. Irenaeus, bishop and martyr
[Amos 2:6-10, 13-16 and Matthew 8:18-22]Thus says the Lord: For three crimes of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke my word; because they sel the just man for silver, and the poor man for a pair of sandals. They trample the heads of the weak into the dust of the earth, and force the lowly out of the way.
For the next couple of weeks or so, the first scripture for daily liturgy will come from the prophetic literature of the Old Testament. We begin with what I think everybody's stereotypical idea of a biblical prophet might be: Amos! Here is the quintessential country boy (a shepherd and "dresser of sycamores") who "gets religion" and comes to the shrine at Bethel in the Northern Kingdom (before the Assyrians destroy it long before the Babylonians destroy the "southern" kingdom of Judah). There he begins to thunder against the injustice he sees taking place, especially by the rich against the poor. "Thunder" is not too strong a word to use to describe his message! He is anything but subtle or gentle! His message could be summed up as follows: Things are rotten. Repent or Else! Folks like this can be very threatening! The God they preach seems harsh and vengeful! But one wonders if it is God who is harsh and vengeful in the long run because the harsh and vengeful behavior of the powerful may require harsh measures to correct! Consider the kinds of punishments that many are calling for against British Petroleum or against those elements of the financial world that contributed to the market collapse that has cost so many their homes and jobs! The issue in Amos is not the image of God but the terrible injustice being committed against the poor and the lowly. When injustice becomes institutionalized in the fundamental moral, political or economic way of life of a people, the entire system has to be cleaned out before it can begin to serve everyone justly. If we are looking for inspiration to handle our own contemporary "systemic" injustices, Amos will be glad to "tell it like it is" for us! AMEN
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