Justice and the Prophets
God Requires Justice
Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5)
Called to Accountability
Amos 5:1-3, 15-17 The Message (MSG)
All Show, No Substance
5 Listen to this, family of Israel,
this Message I’m sending in bold print, this tragic warning:
2 “Virgin Israel has fallen flat on her face.
She’ll never stand up again.
She’s been left where she’s fallen.
No one offers to help her up.”
3 This is the Message, God’s Word:
“The city that marches out with a thousand
will end up with a hundred.
The city that marches out with a hundred
will end up with ten. Oh, family of Israel!”
Hate evil and love good,
then work it out in the public square.
Maybe God, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
will notice your remnant and be gracious.
16-17 Now again, my Master’s Message, God, God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
“Go out into the streets and lament loudly!
Fill the malls and shops with cries of doom!
Weep loudly, ‘Not me! Not us, Not now!’
Empty offices, stores, factories, workplaces.
Enlist everyone in the general lament.
I want to hear it loud and clear when I make my visit.”
God’s Decree.
For Reflection
Today, Amos would condemn those who guided by self-interest, provide little for the alien, the poor, the disenfranchised, the marginalized, and the stigmatized. We enact laws to shunt people to the darkness of the less-traveled areas of our cities, but we do little to affect the causes of impoverishment and stigmatization. We ignore the needs of those who suffer on the margins of our societies. We are among the wealthiest people in the world, and our economy is strong. Could Amos be speaking to us?
Are we not called to be champions of justice and fairness? Does our society work best only when we are all motivated by self-interest?
What is your lament?
Pray
Pray and contemplate Matthew 25:42-45, “42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
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