July 18, 2010 - Proper 11, Year C (RCL)
Sometimes
when we read scripture,
we just don’t get it.
What we read
makes no sense.
We don’t have a clue
what it’s on about.
That’s how it was
when I first read
the Old Testament reading for today.
And I got stuck in the first sentence.
There Amos is, reporting yet another vision.
But this vision
is of a bowl of summer fruit,
a bowl of figs, pomegranates, grapes, dates, apples, peaches, and plums.
A wonderful sign of the season.
And what you expect from a vision like that
is some sort of oracle
of abundance,
of celebration,
of blessing.
So it makes no sense at all
when the next words we hear
are about judgement and destruction.
So I went looking in my commentaries
to try to make sense of it
- and discovered that this is one of those times
when it becomes really obvious
that the bible
wasn’t originally written
in English.
In English
we read about an innocuous vision
of summer fruit
that seems totally unconnected
from what follows.
But go back to the Hebrew
that these prophecies were first written in,
and we discover a pun
a play on words
that speaks not just of summer abundance
but of dire threat.
And that makes
a whole lot more sense,
especially when
you get to the next few verses.
Because here we find
the content of the vision,
a vision
that is far more confronting
than the one we read last week. Last week, you remember,
Amos saw a plumb line,
something to measure
how close something is
to vertical,
how close we are
to God’s way of living.
This week
there is no measuring needed.
We don’t need the plumb line
to see how close the people of Israel are
to God’s standards.
It’s obvious.
They are not close at all.
To continue the analogy of the plumb line,
they’re crooked and jagged and tilted on an angle.
No wonder the vision
is one that speaks
of threat.
The people of Israel
have abandoned the ways of living
that God called them to.
They still show up at the temple, still keep the religious observances,
but the rest of the time
they’re doing
whatever they want,
whatever makes them
the most money.
Regardless
of who it hurts.
So when the merchants in the market
weigh grain,
they use a weight
marked a pound, but that really only weighs
fifteen ounces.
And then when it comes to getting paid, they insist on weighing the money - because silver coins could vary in weight,
and therefore in value,
but this time the pound weight they use,
weighed seventeen ounces.
So the people buying from them
get less and pay more.
And then when people get into debt, even for a small amount,
instead of offering them a payment plan,
their debtors take them as slaves, their lives a payment for the debt.
Which you might understand, understand if not approve of, if the debt were the equivalent of a lifetime’s savings.
But the debts were not.
A pair of sandals
to protect their feet while they worked in the fields.
Just
a day or two’s wages.
Condemned to slavery for that?
And then there’s the grain.
The law says
that whatever is left in the field at the end of the harvest,
the grain that falls to the ground,
that is to be left
for the poor to collect.
But instead, the owners of the field
tell their servants
to make sure every last piece of grain is picked up,
and stored for sale.
And then, when the silos are getting low,
to sweep up every last piece of grain,
even if that means getting a bit of dirt and dust and chaff
mixed in.
And continuing to sell it
for full price.
Of course,
all that works out very well
if you happen to be one of those landowners or business people.
And it doesn’t really affect those who we would today call
middle class, at least, not directly.
The burden
is on the poor. Those who have any other way
to get hold of grain.
Those who have no choice
but to take what is offered to them
and pay
whatever is demanded.
Injustice
has become
an ordinary
accepted
part of life.
And God
is not happy.
Because God
is a God of justice.
I’ve heard it said
that God has a bias
toward the poor.
I’m not sure that
that
is exactly true.
It’s not so much that God is biased towards the poor,
as that God demands justice
for everyone, rich and poor alike.
but most times, the rich get justice anyway,
because they are typically the ones
making the rules,
rues
that benefit them.
While the poor, the powerless,
they become the victims.
And that’s why so often
God has to speak up
on their behalf.
And so here, God, through Amos,
declares judgement, declares judgement
not just
on the people doing the cheating
but on the whole society.
Because everyone knows
what is going on.
But they prefer
no to know,
they prefer
not to do anything
about it.
It reminds me of the saying attributed to Edmund Burke, the Irish philosopher who is often regarded as the father of modern conservatism:
“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”
And God won’t stand for it.
God sees the injustice in Israel
and through Amos declares
that it is time for justice.
Time for the people of Israel
to be called to account.
And what that calling to account will look like
is earthquake and flood
and unexpected darkness.
And even more than that
a famine,
a famine
not of bread
but of access to God.
For people used
to having prophets declare the word of God,
suddenly
God will fall silent.
Because, it seems
that’s the only way
that they will learn
to listen.
Amos’ words
are an indictment
on a society.
And it forces us to ask
what would God’s verdict be
on our society today?
And what would be God’s response?
We don’t often have the problem
of short pounds
and overcharging,
or at least, not as blatantly
as Amos describes.
But our society faces other problems
of injustice.
Just this week, I heard the story of a relative of one of my friends. This relative has some long term health issues, but was working until January, when he had a heart attack. He recovered okay, but the doctor told him that unless he gave up work and looked after himself, he had less than a year to live.
This week he had to have some exploratory tests, with a possible diagnosis of cancer. And got a letter, denying him long term disability, and another one, canceling his health insurance.
Yes he can fight it,
but what if
he doesn’t have the resources
to do that?
Another person I know had a brain tumor. It was removed, but she needed ongoing medication to deal with the side effects. She had a job, but there were no benefits. One of her children had medical problems,
and she ended up being forced to choose between medication
for her child, medication for herself, and paying the modest mortgage.
No one
should be forced to make those choices.
No one
should go bankrupt over a medical expense.
Those are both health related forms of injustice.
I’m sure you can think
of plenty more around us.
And if we go by Amos,
our task
is to root out injustice.
To do whatever we can
to work for justice,
to work for change
so that no one in this society of ours
goes hungry, or homeless, or in need of health care.
And the risk, the risk if we don’t,
is not just
that we might fall victim to the injustice ourselves.
It’s that we might fall victim
to the same consequences as Israel did.
I’m not entirely sure
whether God will stop speaking,
or simply that we will stop hearing.
In the end
the result is the same.
The silence
of God.
God calls us all
to account.
“Am I my brother’s keeper?”
asked Cain.
And the answer of scripture,
the resounding answer,
is yes.
We are our brothers’ keepers.
We are called
to hold one another
to account.
That’s why our parish not only supports
the Smithtown food pantry,
but also supports
Bread for the World,
advocating with our politicians
for food for the hungry,
for justice.
That’s why each time election day comes around
I urge you to vote.
Because your vote is one way of calling our politicians to account
and demanding that they make justice for all
a priority.
God calls us
to justice.
In our individual lives, the ways we live, the decisions we make, day to day.
And in our society as a whole.
God calls us.
Don’t be deaf
to God’s calling.
© Raewynne J. Whiteley 2010