Today’s Scripture Reading (November 29, 2016): Amos 6
Whether we are willing to understand it, the Judeo-Christian faith is built around the idea of hospitality. It centers on the practice of welcoming the stranger – the one who is not like us - into our presence. Maybe in the cultural West, we have forgotten this. Every once in a while, someone comes up with the idea that justice means what is right for me. But that was never the biblical concept of justice. Justice, biblically, has always been caring for the needs of the less fortunate among us. Justice is taking care of the widows and welcoming the immigrant and the stranger.
Is it possible that the stranger will violate our sense of justice? Of course. But that doesn’t change what justice means because justice was never about what is right for me. The biblical idea of what is right and hospitality are intrinsically linked – in other words; they are by their very nature tied together. And if you need proof, listen once again to the words of Jesus.
‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous (or the just) will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me’ (Matthew 25:34-40).
There is a way that is right to God which cannot be changed. And this is Amos’ point. To try to change the idea of justice in the mind of God is to make it a poison. Amending the definition of righteousness leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. You might as well tell a horse to run among the rocks on the side of a cliff (something that a horse simply does not do) or try to plow the sea with a team of oxen (this image would fit into the biblical idea of humor because plowing the sea with oxen is ridiculous.)
To believe that you live in a just society that makes no provision for the poor and needy is just as absurd. There is no justice in a culture that rejects the stranger. To say otherwise makes absolutely no sense.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Amos 7
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