Speak Up for Justice - Week Six

Read: Amos 5:7-24.

Dear Fellow Justice Traveler,

The Old Testament prophet Amos was a shepherd and a farmer of sycamore-fig trees in southern Judah. God called him to leave his quiet, country life and travel to Bethel, a city where a temple was constructed as a place to both worship Yahweh and pagan gods. God called and said, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel” (Amos 7:15) and he did. Amos minced no words as he declared to the privileged Israelites of the day, “You trample the poor and force him to give you grain. . . . You oppress the righteous and take bribes and you deprive the poor of justice in the courts. Therefore, the prudent man keeps quiet in such times, for the times are evil” (Amos 5:11-13).

During the time of Amos the times were defined by the status quo of injustice, and the smart thing to do was to allow it to happen and not speak up. Even when people knew they should speak up, it was not prudent or safe to do so! Sounds familiar to what I think we are seeing today. I wonder if people back then saw injustice and chose to keep quiet because they wanted to avoid conflict too? I wonder if there was polarization between people who shared an origin, but drifted far away from each other? When they heard or saw injustice, did they figure someone else would speak up? Did they think it was someone else’s problem?

 I wonder if people back then saw injustice and chose to keep quiet because they wanted to avoid conflict too?

Today we too gather in our houses of worship neglecting the cries of a broken and burning world. We excuse ourselves away as though Amos’ metaphor of justice and righteousness flowing easily downstream is too hard to accomplish - as though it was ever able to be achieved by human effort alone. We too keep quiet and hope God will raise someone else’s voice to speak prophetically to our community and church.

Prayer:

Lord, we see injustice all around and sometimes we become immobile. We wonder if and when we should speak up. We worry about what others might think, and we worry about rejection. Please help and strengthen us to not remain silent in the face of injustice. Help us to be bold and stand up for the rights of all who are oppressed. Give us courage Jesus. We need you. Amen.

Praying for Strength to Endure,
~Michelle

This devotional series was written by Michelle Ferrigno Warren. Excerpts and themes are from Join the Resistance, Chapter 6, Leverage What You Have.