Proper 10 / Pentecost 8 / Ordinary Time 15
Devotional
Water From the Rock
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle C
I am no prophet, nor a prophet's son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees....
-- Amos 7:14b
Sometimes we want to stay within the parameters of our profession only to discover that God has other ideas. Many who have found themselves called to a second career in the ministry have experienced just such a disruption of their lives. This can even be truer when people are called to speak out against some grave injustice in their society. It would be far more comfortable to leave that task to someone else. Amos did not seek to be a prophet, but God called him from tending his flock to speak a word to the nation. Not only that but he was also called to speak to the nation in the north when he was really from the south. Sometimes it takes an outsider to help us see what is right before our eyes. The story of the northern country of Israel was the story of the good Samaritan applied to a national scope. At the time of Amos, the northern country was experiencing prosperity and appeared to be quite active in participating in religious activities, as well. Yet in the midst of their economic prosperity and active religious life, there were many wounded and needy people in Israel who were being ignored by both the religious and political authorities in the community.
Amos chose to go to the equivalent of the national cathedral of Israel and declared that God was measuring them by how they treated their neighbors in need. Amos declared that God would not be mocked by such insensitivity in the midst of a time of prosperity. In that blend of church and state that so challenges our own nation, Amos was told that Bethel was the king's sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom and that he was not welcome there. The government did not wish to hear words that challenged the legitimacy of how they were governing, and they wanted the religious symbols of the nation to support rather than challenge what they were doing.
How does one balance the priestly need to minister to the people and support them in their struggles with the prophetic call to challenge the direction of our society? How willing are we to support those who do challenge the temptation of our society to pass by on the other side of the weak and vulnerable of our society?
-- Amos 7:14b
Sometimes we want to stay within the parameters of our profession only to discover that God has other ideas. Many who have found themselves called to a second career in the ministry have experienced just such a disruption of their lives. This can even be truer when people are called to speak out against some grave injustice in their society. It would be far more comfortable to leave that task to someone else. Amos did not seek to be a prophet, but God called him from tending his flock to speak a word to the nation. Not only that but he was also called to speak to the nation in the north when he was really from the south. Sometimes it takes an outsider to help us see what is right before our eyes. The story of the northern country of Israel was the story of the good Samaritan applied to a national scope. At the time of Amos, the northern country was experiencing prosperity and appeared to be quite active in participating in religious activities, as well. Yet in the midst of their economic prosperity and active religious life, there were many wounded and needy people in Israel who were being ignored by both the religious and political authorities in the community.
Amos chose to go to the equivalent of the national cathedral of Israel and declared that God was measuring them by how they treated their neighbors in need. Amos declared that God would not be mocked by such insensitivity in the midst of a time of prosperity. In that blend of church and state that so challenges our own nation, Amos was told that Bethel was the king's sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom and that he was not welcome there. The government did not wish to hear words that challenged the legitimacy of how they were governing, and they wanted the religious symbols of the nation to support rather than challenge what they were doing.
How does one balance the priestly need to minister to the people and support them in their struggles with the prophetic call to challenge the direction of our society? How willing are we to support those who do challenge the temptation of our society to pass by on the other side of the weak and vulnerable of our society?
