Proper 10 Year B 2024: Amos 7:7-15

 My husband and I have a running joke. Whenever he says something particularly nerdy, I tell him I'm going to shut him in a locker. If you've seen my husband, he's got a good 10 inches on me, which is really what makes the joke work. It’d take some real effort to get him in a locker. But then I saw the lessons for today and thought, “Amos is my favorite minor prophet” and then I thought, “Oh no, that’s such a nerdy thing to say that now I have to shut myself in a locker.” 

But Amos is my favorite minor prophet. What makes Amos a “minor” prophet isn’t the importance of what he wrote, just the length. The Book of Amos is only nine chapters long, but those nine chapters appear seven times in our lectionary, so I feel very affirmed in my choice.

One reason why Amos appears so often is that he is so direct. Amos’ words here are hardly the first time he has warned of the coming judgment. The first two chapters in the book contain seven similar prophecies against foreign nations followed by a prophecy against Israel. The foreigners are not judged because they are Israel’s enemies but because of moral violations against other neighbors. The sequence of condemning foreigners, then Judah, and finally Israel would have been rhetorically powerful before an Israelite audience.

Scholars are split about why Amaziah kicks Amos out of the temple. Some suggest Amaziah isn’t challenging Amos as a prophet, just that he technically doesn’t have a right to do so at the royal sanctuary. But I don't know if I'm on board with that. The king is acknowledging Amos is a prophet, which is defined by his ability to speak on behalf of God. So, turning away a prophet regardless of his pedigree isn't a great decision. Another suggestion for Amos’ expulsion is that the king is doing the equivalent of putting his fingers in his ears. A royal “if I can't hear you it's not real”, akin to what I used to do as a small child when I was in trouble - just close my eyes up real tight. The problem with that, as we all know, is that it doesn't make the problem go away. But throughout most of Israel’s history, their response to the prophets is typically just that: eyes closed, fingers in the ears, I can’t hear you.

Throughout the entirety of the Book of Amos, the prophet is focused on social justice and religious arrogance. Truly a timeless message. As is true with all scripture, the themes were written for a particular people in a particular time that then transcends time and space. I could write a modern language paraphrase of Amos and it would be hard to tell that it's a paraphrase from ancient text instead of something written for today. But these are not themes unique to Amos or just the Hebrew Bible.

Throughout Jesus’ ministry there are many examples of Jesus’ focus on the hypocrisy of religious leaders and justice for the powerless. Jesus argues against religious legalism by healing on the sabbath, stating in the Gospel of Mark, “The sabbath is made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath,” reminiscent of Isaiah 58 where the prophet reminds the people that the purpose of the sabbath is to delight in the Lord by following the Lord’s interests rather than one’s own.

In the Gospel of Luke, there’s the story of Zacchaeus - the tax collector who climbed a tree to see Jesus. Jesus broke bread with Zacchaeus, who was so changed by his encounter with Jesus that Zacchaeus said, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay him back four times as much.” (Luke 19:8) An example of active social justice and repentance.

In Acts 2, the early church “had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:44-47) The just nature of the community of believers and the absence of religious arrogance led to a community that was growing in number and in ability to serve those around them.

In Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth, Paul interprets the state of that church through the words of the book of Exodus when he wrote, “...it is a question of a fair balance between your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may also supply your need, in order that there may be a fair balance. As it is written, ‘The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little.’” (2 Cor 8:13-15, quoting Ex 16:18)

In addition to the timelessness of his message, one of the most powerful things about the book of Amos is Amos himself. Amos is qualified because God says so. Amos doesn't have the right pedigree, he doesn't have the credentials of those who have been raised to be priests. He says so himself: "I am no prophet, nor a prophet’s son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.'” (7:15) Amos didn't set out to do this of his own volition or because of family or social pressures. If anything, all of those things would have discouraged him from his prophetic task. But Amos knows that this is what he is being called to do, to communicate with the kingdom on behalf of God, and that God doesn't call the qualified, God qualifies the called.

So often when we think of ways we can be of service in our own parish, we limit ourselves to things we already know how to do. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing - oftentimes we do those things because we know we can do them and do them well and they bring us joy. But when we limit ourselves to things we already know how to do, or maybe the things we do in our day jobs, we’re also limiting the way in which the Holy Spirit can work in us - a Spirit who thrives moving in new and unexpected ways. The herdsman and dresser of sycamore trees Amos took on prophecy. Amos invites us to look broader than where we may think our abilities lie. To be open to whisperings that might encourage us to look at our own potential in different ways. We can ask ourselves, “how is God calling me, qualifying me, to try something new in service and in joy? Amen.