Amos 6:1a, 4-7
1a Woe to those who are at ease in Zion
and for those who feel secure on Mount Samaria.
4 Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory
and lounge on their couches
and eat lambs from the flock
and calves from the stall,
5 who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp
and like David improvise on instruments of music,
6 who drink wine from bowls
and anoint themselves with the finest oils
but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
7 Therefore they shall now be the first to go into exile,
and the revelry of the loungers shall pass away.
7 Therefore they shall now be the first to go into exile, and the revelry of the loungers shall pass away.
This too shall pass. That is the phrase that can make a happy person sad and a sad person happy. It’s also the description of what the ancients called, the wheel of fortune. That longing for a reversal of fortune has sustained poor people in every generation. It also strikes terror into the hearts of the very rich.
God’s warning to the people, through the prophet Amos, seems to be a bit more directive than simply pointing out the capricious nature of fortune. When God says, “the revelry of the loungers shall pass away”, right after a warning about the coming exile, it sounds deliberate.
So this prophesy, along with last Sunday’s and this coming Sunday’s parables, seems to make it clear that God has no problem redistributing wealth. That’s a disturbing message to those of us who are rich! But there is comfort in this message as well. The warning is not about how much or how little wealth we possess. It’s about how we use our resources. “Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory and lounge on their couches…but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph”.
Everything we have comes to us from God’s gracious hand for the sake of the world. Our vocation, as people of faith, is to use what we have to make the world a better place for ourselves and our neighbors.
Prayer: Sovereign and Eternal Lord: My life, and my wealth, are at your disposal. AMEN