A Look in the Mirror from 750 BCE
Parchment of Amos 2, Wikimedia Commons.
Amos was a Jewish prophet who admonished the rulers in Judah and Israel about their complacency. His words are chronicled in the book by his name in the Old Testament. The prophet was active during the reigns of Jeroboam II and Uzziah in the mid-700s BCE.
Amos mentioned a wide-spread earthquake in chapter 1 that has been verified and dated by archeological digs in the region, and appears to have occurred around 750-760 BCE.
This prophetic passage was written for the wealthy Jews of Jerusalem.
Thus says the LORD the God of hosts:
Woe to the complacent in Zion!
Lying upon beds of ivory,
stretched comfortably on their couches,
they eat lambs taken from the flock,
and calves from the stall!
Improvising to the music of the harp,
like David, they devise their own accompaniment.
They drink wine from bowls
and anoint themselves with the best oils;
yet they are not made ill by the collapse of Joseph!
Why do I dig into this particular part of scripture? Well, doesn’t this seem a bit suggestive of those of us who are comfortably well off?
We don’t have beds of ivory but we have beds more comfortable than any ever before.
And I’ll bet a lot of us stretched comfortably on our couches watching football today.
We eat chicken, steak, and pork chops fairly often (excluding vegans and vegetarians). In most of the world, meat is rarely on the menu.
Most of us may not compose music, but we have access to a world of music through our phones.
Wine from bowls may be taken as a metaphor for overconsumption. And as for oils, our culture seems obsessed with finding just the right skin care product to keep us looking youthful for as long as possible.
Ouch!
So what does being made ill by the collapse of Joseph mean?
The northern kingdom of Israel (called Joseph here) was in a state of moral and spiritual collapse after an extended period of prosperity. Amos foresaw they were soon to be attacked by foreign invaders (the Assyrians, starting about 740 BCE). Joseph was separate from Judah due to past disagreements, but they were still brothers. Amos foresaw that Joseph would be invaded, but that Judah would sit on couches eating rich food and drinking large amounts of wine, taking their ease.
Amos challenged their complacency.
I don’t mean to make this a political or historical lesson. I want this to be a metaphor that resonates, that motivates. We are the rich Jews in Jerusalem to many, many Josephs in the world. Joseph represents our brothers and sisters in the world who need our help. Take your pick. They can be found just about everywhere. Choose some individual you know or some group. Find some way to help, to get involved. A little less couch time or less pork and wine will do us good, I am sure. Use the time and resources to aid our brothers and sisters, and we can be restored from our complacency.
Hat tip to Bishop Robert Barron.