The Prophets
Day 18
“I will wipe it off the face of the earth! I will not wipe off completely the house of Jacob declares the Lord…I will restore my people Israel, they shall rebuild ruined cities and inhabit them…And I will plant them upon their soil, nevermore to be uprooted from the soil I have given them says Adonai, your God.”(Amos 9:8,14,15)
Amos has been telling Israel what they are doing wrong and that God is disappointed and the logical consequences of their behaviors is destruction. Earlier Amos spoke of God wanting to wipe them out and God repented. Yet, Israel did not change their ways, if anything, they got worse because they were spared.
As we finish the Book of Amos the last words are not everyone is engaging in these reprehensible behaviors so a remnant will survive. Israel is called a “sinful kingdom”, because of it’s breaking the Covenant with God to treat the people on the bottom of the Totem Pole as well as those at the top. Yet, God repents again at the end, God gives Israel hope and God again shows love and care for Israel in God’s promise.
Rabbi Heschel reminds us Amos ends with a message of hope. Yet, Israel became the “10 lost tribes” because they were scattered among the Assyrian Kingdom. They had become so full of themselves and so broken that they must have bought into the Assyrian way of life and there was no one to return.
This passage also demonstrates Rabbi Heschel’s belief that the Prophet held God and Human in one moment, at all moments. Amos was able to be with both God and Israel at the same time. The disappointment God felt, Amos felt and conveyed. The message and belief that Israel could change is apparent in the words of Amos. The consequences of Israel’s behavior which pains both God and Amos as well as the hope and promise of the future which they all can hold onto burst through in the end of the Book of Amos.
Our country has some reckoning to do. We will not do it if partisan politics, lies, and bullying continues. The parallels between what Amos accuses Israel of and what has/is happening in the United States are striking. Worrying about the deficit after the trillions they gave in tax cuts to the wealthy and corporations and spent in the past year is ludicrous on the part of the Republicans. Allowing people who engaged in and supported treasonous actions on Jan.6 while calling out others for standing up to bullies and cowards is sad and disappointing. The Democrats who need it to be their way or the highway are not fulfilling God’s call either. I pray that the Chaplains of the House and Senate read Amos to their chambers and engage members in productive discussions of how to fulfill God’s call instead of the call of their egos.
In recovery we have to hit a bottom. As Harriet Rossetto says: “we are either in recovery or denial” and “you don’t have to be an addict to be in recovery”. All of us need to be aware of our bottoms and make a decision to change. For some of us the destruction that we experience is obvious and harsh. For many of us, the destruction is subtle and slow and it is our inner life that erodes and we are bewildered by this. There are logical consequences for our behaviors, positive and negative. Most of us don’t think that we will or should suffer them! Amos is telling us, just as recovery teaches us that we will.
Recovery gives us the practice of inventory and amends, Judaism gives us T’Shuvah, an accounting of how/when we miss the mark and when we hit the mark. Living a life of Recovery and Judaism is not about being perfect, it is about constantly knowing what we are doing, what we have done, checking the path we are on and making the proper course corrections. In order to do this, we have to hear the call of the prophets in our lives, we have to hear the call of God to us. We do this a little more each day by continuing to look inside and discern our strengths and where we need to do more learning and exercising to mature our souls.
As I read these words this morning, I was brought back to the destructions I have brought onto myself. I have been saved by God and others, I have lost the illusions that I held before about me and a lot of other people and I am stronger for it. While destruction, ie, loss of a business, financial setback, loss of a position/job, being demeaned and have your vulnerabilities used against you all, etc. all hurt and feel like it is too hard to climb up from the hole; I know that this is a lie we tell ourselves because I have emerged from the darkness, disappointment and sadness stronger, more whole, less angry and more determined, more joyous. The ‘secret’ is to see/hear our part, be in the solution of repair self and harm, let go of resentments and join with God/Higher Power to do one grain of sand better today than yesterday. Stay safe and God Bless, Rabbi Mark