Amos 8:1-12 NRSV
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.” The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Surely I will never forget any of their deeds. Shall not the land tremble on this account, and everyone mourn who lives in it, and all of it rise like the Nile, and be tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt? On that day, says the Lord God, I will make the sun go down at noon, and darken the earth in broad daylight. I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on all loins, and baldness on every head; I will make it like the mourning for an only son, and the end of it like a bitter day.
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.
What Do We See?( a basket of summer fruit was displayed)
Amos was shown a basket overflowing with fruit.
It was, for him, and for me—most likely for you— a symbol of abundance and plenty.
Makes your mouth water… right?
When asked what he saw, Amos stated the obvious.
God then uses the basket of abundance as a symbol of deprivation.
"This abundance you see? It will disappear, God says.
You see a basket of fruit, but you do not see the needy and the poor."
The prophet is shown an ordinary object from everyday life whose significance is anything but ordinary.
Instead of the bounty, security and prosperity symbolized by a basket of fruit —— the object actually is a warning of neediness, violence and want— in other words, the end of all of its common associations.
The reason for these pending disasters of loss and mourning is the presence of social injustice.
I shared a version of this meditation with the Craigville Colloquy on The Bible, Faith & Economic Justice last Monday
I struggled with this passage… in the end I have more questions than answers—- pause
Now I know that many of you do not want to hear anything political on Sunday.
Most of you want worship to be joyful— you don’t want to hear about any divisions
But this is one of the lectionary passages for today.
As a congregation most of you feel the emphasis of the church should be on worship…
You are not alone…I am in the search process and for so many of our UCC congregations their emphasis is on worship
according to—Marcus Borg and JD Crossan In their book The Last Week—
“[t]here was an ancient prophetic tradition in which God insisted not just on justice and worship, but on justice over worship. God had repeatedly said, ‘I reject your worship because of your lack of justice,’ but never, ever, ever, ‘I reject your justice because of your lack of worship’”
And in the end of our passage from the prophet Amos we are told…
The word will be gone— there will be a famine of the Word of God
what will we do as believers?
There will be no worship as a result of neglecting justice
there will be no more comfort from God’s word
If an image other than a basket of fruit were shown to us today, what would it be?
A barbecue with a smoker, a two-car garage, a desk laden with technological gadgets, a spacious home, a chance to go to Cape Cod for the week?
Does God have something to say to us?
What do we see?
Are the poor and needy in our line of sight? Who do we see?
How can I help inspire you to pray for, to work for change? For justice?
It is overwhelming…
We are trampling the poor and needy as a country
Here in Rochester, NY, more than 51% of the children live in poverty— a large percentage of these children have brown and black skin…
the working poor are being crushed by low wages
I learned this week while the income of the 99% has stayed the same the income of the top 1% of the 1% has increased by unbelievable amounts
we know the gap between the wealthy and poor continues to widen
That too many have little to no access to healthcare—I recently learned there are 24 states without the Affordable Care Act
I wanted to ask some experts about how they feel we trample the poor today— in what way does the USA levi a poor tax on the needy
I asked 2 young women—about to turn 30
I wanted to hear their perspective from where they live and work
Shaina Brassard—Program Manager at Redesign- a private non-profit doing community development and policy advocacy — in Minneapolis MN
"I would say the war on drugs is a poor tax and trampling the needy.
Studies show that white, black and brown people use marijuana at similar rates, yet brown communities are much more likely (in MN it is 8 times) to be arrested for possession, and face high levels of policing and police brutality as well as incarceration. In practice the laws don't apply the same to everyone.
The fact that guns are more accessible than healthcare and jobs in certain neighborhoods leaves people with very constrained choices and ongoing trauma."
Last week too many died from guns… in MN, LA, TX
that’s only the shootings that made the national news— you can tell the same stories from where you come from…
every day gun violence claims the lives of men and women in the greater Rochester area—
yet at this time, in our country, talk about guns is more divisive than any other subject—
the other expert I asked for input was— Lydia Brassard—(they are my daughters)
Lydia is completing a PhD in Anthropology from the City University of NY—- she is the Coordinator for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion and a visiting professor at Bennington College in Vermont—
"I wouldn't say that we are biased against the poor, so much as afraid of being poor. Those with political and economic power need alibis -- to explain and naturalize the existing global wealth gap, that emerged from the theft of land and the theft of labor, as inevitable. So as much as we are asking about our treatment of the downtrodden, what about our reverence and protection of the beneficiaries of maleness, whiteness, and the capitalist system?
In terms of daily poor taxes, many of them are based on location -- lead paint affecting all types of developmental processes; environmental racism that results in people drinking poisoned water -- in Flint Michigan (mostly low income black people affected) and in Hoosick Falls, NY/North Bennington, VT (mostly low income white people); no banks, just pay day loan lenders.
Any discussion about a daily poor tax, MUST include an accounting of our daily subsidies that come with wealth and whiteness both in this generation and across generations."
What do I do about my white privilege?
how can I talk about race— ?
How can I inspire you to pray for, to advocate for, to work for change? For justice?
When I coach couples— in marriage preparation or otherwise or I speak to my own children about their relationships I always say “remember you can’t change anyone other than yourself.”
That is where I have to begin…
I think at times I have been trying to change whoever I am talking to instead of changing myself… and then sharing my story of change
I spent a week learning about economic justice— and the lack of it, some of the causes…
In the coming months I want to engage with others in studying "White Privilege – Let's Talk," an adult education curriculum from the UCC designed to invite members to engage in safe, meaningful, substantive and bold conversations on race
Jim F has talked about doing a adult ed class here on Beyond Tolerance, using a series of Ted Talks… I plan to support that in any way I can.
The prophet is speaking to us… speaking to you and me
accusing us as it did Israel… we don't get a pass
the Rev Dr William Barber ll (a Disciples pastor in NC, the originator of Moral Mondays and the president of the NC NAACP) spoke at the NY Conference annual meeting last month— here in Rochester
And he reminded those in attendance that
our calling is to work for justice for the oppressed and the poor
we need a revival of prophetic inquiry
our work is not done
We are the richest nation and the poorest nation at the same time
this is not the time for the church to take a vacation
we can’t be quiet now
While I was on vacation I came across some hope and people making a difference from an unlikely source…. Edible Cape Cod —in between an ad for a surfing day camp and a farm to table Cape Cod wedding.. there is a story about Loving lunches—F4K— food for kids— feeds hunger and minds
a summer lunch program for children
I learned that 10,000 children from the Cape Cod canal to Provincetown are food insecure
Food for Kinds this is a federally funded program… that is underutilized on Cape Cod
These kinds of programs need people to make them happen— the funds are there
F4K are making a difference— but for only a small percentage of the children in need.
Initially sponsored by a church in Orleans, F4K brings together 170 volunteers from ages 5-90— to assist some of the poor and needy children on Cape Cod
they prepare and deliver healthy lunches to 650 children Monday-Friday in the summer months.
There are so many ways we can make a difference— ways we are making a difference… please share them with one another this week… share ideas
my closing words were inspired by commentary by Dr John C. Holbert
As Christians we may feel the worst that can befall us is no longer to hear a word from God.
We make our way to our churches to hear a word from God each week, right?
Some of us read the Bible and intone in chorus, "This is the Word of God" and "thanks be to God."
And the preacher then does their best to interpret, explain, and illuminate that word for the people.
This is the word of God, right?
Sisters and brothers…According to Amos, while the poor are trampled and rejected and forgotten, while the needy are shoved aside in favor of the rich, no amount of reading and preaching and singing and praying can ever lead us into the presence of God.
These claims should haunt us each week as we sing and pray and read and preach and turn our eyes away from those in need.
God help us to see the people God calls us to see.
God help us to not participate in, the famine of the Word! Amen.
Resources:
Borg, Marcus J. and John Dominic Crossan. The Last Week, New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 2006, p. 44.
Turinng the tables—- Edith Rasell
http://www.patheos.com/Progressive-Christian/Famine-Word-John-Holbert-07-15-2013
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