"The God Pause Daily Devotional" from The Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Monday, 12 September 2016 with Scripture Amos 8:4-7

"The God Pause Daily Devotional" from The Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Monday, 12 September 2016 with Scripture Amos 8:4-7
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Amos 8:4 Listen, you who swallow the needy
and destroy the poor of the land!
5 You say, “When will Rosh-Hodesh be over,
so we can market our grain?
and Shabbat, so we can sell wheat?”
You measure the grain in a small eifah,
but the silver in heavy shekels,
fixing the scales, so that you can cheat,
6 buying the needy for money
and the poor for a pair of shoes,
and sweeping up the refuse of the wheat to sell!”
7 Adonai swears by Ya‘akov’s pride,
“I will forget none of their deeds, ever.[Complete Jewish Bible]
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The message of the prophets always packs a wallop. I'm sure I had listened to readings from Amos and other prophets in worship growing up, but it wasn't until I went to seminary that I really heard what they had to say. I distinctly remember feeling like I had been punched in the gut as we unpacked the texts in my Amos and Hosea class--thanks Professor Diane Jacobson! And to be honest that "punch" is probably the point.
In this reading, Amos condemns practices that "trample the needy" and "ruin the poor." The contemporary language of The Message translation makes it clear these words are for us today--not just for "them" way back when. The prophet's call for justice, not just as individuals but a just society--and his critique of religion disconnected from daily life--is just as important for us to hear now as it was in Amos' day.
Holy God, take away our complacency. Shake us up. Continue to open our ears and our hearts to the word and challenge of the prophets. Amen.
Sandy Van Zyl, '88
ELCA Pastor serving United Congregational Church, Butte, Mont. 
Amos 8:4-7 Listen to this, you who walk all over the weak,
   you who treat poor people as less than nothing,
Who say, "When's my next paycheck coming
   so I can go out and live it up?
How long till the weekend
   when I can go out and have a good time?"
Who give little and take much,
   and never do an honest day's work.
You exploit the poor, using them--
   and then, when they're used up, you discard them.
GOD swears against the arrogance of Jacob:
   "I'm keeping track of their every last sin."[The Message]
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