Prophet-ting with God

 

As we continue to lean in and listen to the prophets this month, we can review where we have been so far.  We swam in Amos in the waters of justice.  Pause, where have you felt refreshed and renewed by God’s realm recently?  Be specific.  We also heard Micah remind us that God isn’t interested in a transaction, but transformation.  The prophets not only pointed out the brokenness, but they also invited people back into their belovedness.  The prophets bravely, boldly, brashly painted a vision of how we treat others and creation is how we treat God.  We named the tension because culture likes the status quo.  The powerful prefer the way things are, which is to say, with them having power.  The rich cling to wealth.  This isn’t just a reflection on 2025, but the past two thousand years of human life.  Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel in his book on The Prophets writes this:

 

“The opposite of good, is not evil; the opposite of good is indifference.  There is nothing we forget as eagerly, as quickly, as the wickedness of (humans). The earth holds such a terrifying secret. Ruins are removed, the dead are buried, and the crimes forgotten. Bland complacency, splendid mansions, fortresses of cruel oblivion”.

 

It is easy to feel pulled by the multitude of injustices, inequities, and rights being revoked.  I can feel overwhelmed.  It is easy to shrug our shoulders in defeat, believing there is nothing we can do.  In a world where the media cycle lasts only a few days before they are on to the next outrage that has flooded the zone, we can’t keep up.  The opposite of good is our own waving the white flag as we sit on the couch binge-watching the next recommended video.

 

I can also be prone to cycles of cynicism.  The Prophets remind us of the goodness of God.  Grace is not just some commodity we consume, but how we are consumed by the Divine to live another way.  What would grace sound like today in your meetings?  What would grace feel like in a phone call or conversation?  What would grace compel you and energize you to share with others?  May these questions infuse and inspire our living this day and this week, as Micah said, “to embody/enflesh justice (in your life) to be brave and brash in showing loving kindness, and to remember your humanness/humility”.  May it be so for you and me. Amen.