Summer Amos, Summer Fruit, & Telling the Truth

This is what the Lord GOD showed me-a basket of summer fruit. He said, "Amos, what do you see?" And I said, "A basket of summer fruit." Then the LORD said to me, The end has come upon my people Israel; I will never again pass them by. The songs of the temple shall become wailings in that day," says the Lord GOD; "the dead bodies shall be many, cast out in every place. Be silent!" 

Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land, saying, "When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain; and the sabbath, so that we may offer wheat for sale? 

We will make the ephah small and the shekel great, and practice deceit with false balances, buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and selling the sweepings of the wheat."

Amos 8:1-6 NRSV

Spirit, Spirit of gentleness, blow thro' the wilderness calling and free,

Spirit, Spirit of restlessness, stir me from placidness,

Wind, Wind on the sea.

4 You call from tomorrow, you break ancient schemes,

from the bondage of sorrow the captives dream dreams,

our women see visions, our men clear their eyes,

with bold new decisions your people arise.  

                            Voices United 375

 It's unfortunate that lectionary readings from the prophet Amos get buried in the lazy, hazy days of summer when church attendance falls off and there is less inclination to listen to a challenging word from scripture. The biblical prophets were not predicters of the future, although their pronouncements had implications for both the present the days to come. They told the unvarnished truth about false religion, empty worship, and indifference to the gap between rich and poor. Often they paid a personal price, including ostracization and even threats to their lives. 

Tomorrow's reading starts off cheerily enough -- we're all enjoying summer fruit these days, even if we have to take out a mortgage to pay for it. Then the image of the fruit basket seems to rot before the prophet's eyes, as God condemns those trample on the needy and can hardly wait for worship to be over before returning to cheating those around them. 

Who are the prophets of our time? 

Many of the scientific experts who are calling on governments and world agencies to bring about the difficult but vital change regarding climate change are dismissed as alarmists or vilified. Others are trying to get our attention about the risks of another wave of COVID and even suggesting that we now live in a new pandemic era, and the same is happening for them. It's disturbing that those who shine the light on the abuses and inequities for Indigenous peoples receive the brunt of anger from those who don't want to hear about them. In the United States leaders who are shining a harsh light on the sedition of January 6th, 2021, which undermined democracy, are dealing with death threats. For some this resolve may result in the end of their political careers.

There is still a place for prophets, religious and secular, to tell the truth when no one wants to hear it. We can be grateful for those whose courage and conviction is exactly what we need, even if it isn't what we want. 

The time is surely coming, says the Lord GOD, when I will send a famine on the land; not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the LORD, but they shall not find it.

Amos 8:11-12