'Then Amaziah said to Amos, "Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there. Don't prophesy anymore at Bethel, because this is the king's sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom." Amos answered Amaziah, "I was neither a prophet nor the disciple of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. But the Lord took me from tending the flock and said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.' "'
These few sentences record a classic confrontation between the power structures of the day and those who dare to challenge their official message and policy. The prophet Amos had no formal place within the courts and corridors of power; the kingdom had long since divided and Amos belonged to the people of Judah, not Israel.
As these political neighbours struggled to work out their fragmented relationship, Amaziah was not ready to listen to someone from what he saw as the opposing camp. As far as he was concerned, if there was any moral message or judgment to be declared, it was his job to do it. The court official preferred to play to public opinion and offer a perspective that allayed the people's fears. Amos felt compelled to reveal a more difficult reality that God had burned into his consciousness.
We are no strangers to conflicting narratives, particularly as the future relationship of our own nations and our neighbours remains so uncertain. Many voices fill the public square, each maintaining that their version of reality is the one that should prevail; each making their claim on the expectations and implications of events as they unfold.
And in this season of Advent, we hold fast to our belief that in and through every circumstance, God has something to say. We are called to resist the temptation to be simply enticed by the most compelling argument, or drawn into the narrative that best serves our self-interest. Instead, we give our attention to those voices who are seeking to make God's eternal truth known.
Amos made no claim on the positions of power. He had no aspiration to be anything other than God's mouthpiece. His message was not driven by expediency, popularity or contempt for his opponents; he simply sought to echo the truths that God had whispered. We have no reason to ignore those voices whose insights have been shaped by their knowledge and position, but nor should we allow them to silence what God might be saying.
Living God, when you choose to speak through others, grant me the grace to listen; when you choose to speak through me, give me the courage to answer your call.
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