Fruit Baskets!

It's still lectionary month!

That's right people, a whole month of me being told what scripture to write about!

And today's scripture does not disappoint. 

The gospel reading for the day is the story of Mary and Martha, which is worthy of a deep dive. But when I opened the website I use for the lectionary I immediately realized that I needed to write about the Amos passage.

Not because I knew it well, or even at all. 

But!

Look at how insane these first three verses are:

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 on that day,’

says the Lord God;
‘the dead bodies shall be many,
   cast out in every place. Be silent!’

This is why the prophets are so fun to read. I don't know what the basket of fruit is about. I feel like learning more about it would make it less of a non-sequitur, so I'm going to leave that alone because it's really crazy on its own.

God: "What is this?" Amos: "A fruit basket" God: "Everyone will die!" Amos: "Ok...?"

But regardless of the Harry and David fruit delivery, God is mad.

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.’

This is also why the prophets are so fun to read. Because God calls to account all of the cruel ways in which wealth accumulation abuses those in poverty. Because God tells those who take advantage of the poor that God will "turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on all loins, and baldness on every head".

Every. Head.

God does not mess around when speaking through the prophets. God doesn't mess around when speaking in the person of Jesus.

But our culture, our systems, our very lifeblood moves against this. The current of our world is hyper-individualistic, survival of the fittest, strongest survive. And to say that this is sinful is to be constantly paddling upstream. 

But God says it. The pursuit of wealth is a sin. Accumulation at the cost of others is abetting evil. Gaining at the expense of the vulnerable mars the image of God.

And we're all guilty of it. To participate in our systems and culture is to commit egregious acts against our siblings. Where we get our clothing, our food, our technology, our everything, originates in systems that oppress and impoverish. We seek the cheapest goods because we don't want to lose our status, but forget that the real cost is in human lives. 

To say that we're guilty of this is not to say that we're irredeemable, but rather that we're once again given grace to try again. We need to confess, as individuals and as a people, that we benefit from the pain of others. And in acknowledging this sinfulness that we will try to do better. 

We ignore the prophets at our peril. The suffering of our neighbor is our own suffering. The suffering of our neighbor is God suffering. 

I am a sinner, seeking my own gain at the expense of others, whether I do this consciously or not. I pray that I can do better in the future. 

Peace,

Jeff Fox-Kline