Father Henryk Slawinski, a Roman Catholic
priest: not all preaching is prophetic preaching, but “all good
preaching is prophetic preaching.”
This month's reflection comes from the book,
Preaching Hosea, Amos, & Micah, by Dr. Charles L. Aaron, Jr.,
pastor of Farmersville United Methodist Church. Active in the
Academy of Homiletics, Rev. Aaron has taught courses in preaching at
Austin Seminary, Perkins School of Theology, and Duke Divinity
School. He has a PhD in Old Testament from Union Theological
Seminary in Richmond, Virginia.
Preaching Hosea, Amos & Micah is available on Amazon.com.
The Prophets
and Social Justice
Prophetic
preaching! The very term brings to mind the bold proclamation of the
prophets on social issues. Perhaps the image of the prophet as a
courageous champion of social justice is rooted in the ministries of
the eighth-century B.C.E. prophets. Isaiah, Hosea, Amos, and Micah
delivered fiery, confrontational oracles to the leaders of Israel
and Judah. They denounced economic stratification and the ill
treatment of the poor and powerless. Typical of such oracles is
Isaiah 1:17, “learn to do good, / seek justice, / rescue the
oppressed, / defend the orphan, / plead for the widow.” This
sentence exhorts the leaders of Israel to take concrete action to
protect the most vulnerable members of the society. These actions
were at the heart of the prophets’ understanding of justice as a
theological and ethical imperative.
The oracles that
can reasonably be raced to the eighth-century prophets themselves
contain a preponderance of this kind of preaching. They offer a
theological critique of the problems of society. One function of a
prophet is to diagnose the spiritual health of the community. In the
eighth century, social and economic rifts marked Israelite society
and revealed a spiritual sickness.*
We can admire
the courage of the prophets and their attention to the poor and
powerless, but we must admit that their rhetoric was often
undiplomatic. Even though the prophets wrote in gripping and poetic
language, they sometimes were downright insulting. Amos announced
the YHWH did not accept the people’s worship (5:21-23). Some of the
prophets compared Israel and Judah to prostitutes (see, for example,
Hos 1-3; Isa. 1:21; Ezek. 16). They threatened the people with God’s
anger and severe punishment, including total destruction of the
kingdom itself (e.g., Amos 4:1-3, which contains the famous “cows of
Bashan” remark.)
Although
powerful and dramatic language from the pulpit is admirable and in
short supply, contemporary preachers must be careful when emulating
the prophets’ rhetoric. We have no mandate (at least in the United
States) to threaten our congregations with military defeat. The real
secret might be to capture the power and vividness of the prophets’
rhetoric without sounding insulting or arrogant. Of course, some
preachers may decide that such forceful and undiplomatic language is
just what is needed in certain situations.
Despite that
caveat, the theological and ethical substance of the prophets’ call
for justice has continuing significance for today. The prophets
understood the great disparities in wealth between the rich and the
poor in Israelite society as a sign of unfaithfulness to God. God
has a right to expect Israel to form a just society, because of
God’s actions in forming and establishing Israel as a community.
Amos spoke for God when he wrote, “Did I not bring Israel up from
the land of Egypt?” (9:7). Because of God’s mighty and gracious
actions on behalf of Israel, the people had a responsibility to
practice justice, understood as fairness in the court system,
equitable distribution of goods and resources, and adequate
protection for the vulnerable members of society.
That problems of
justice with similarities to those of 8th century Israel
exist in North America today is a proposition that hardly needs to
be defended. The United States’ business culture and tax system have
created unconscionable concentrations of wealth in the hands of a
few. Our court system, although it strives mightily to be fair,
often produces unfair results. We may have a significant social
safety net, but too many people fall through the tears in that net.
A ministry that
emulates the ministry of the Old Testament prophets will interpret
these social problems in the light of God’s grace through Israel and
of the Christ-event with its goal to redeem the creation. Preachers
have a responsibility to minister to the needs of the poor and the
disenfranchised, forthrightly calling attention to systemic issues
of justice.
In this regard,
the prophets offer a critique of the often highly individualized
religious expression of the North American church. The individual
and family problems of church members can be painful and difficult.
They deserve the attention of the church, but the church must never
forget that the prophets raise our sights to see larger issues of
how society treats its most vulnerable members.
The role of the
prophetic preacher is not necessarily to advocate for a particular
political party or to champion any particular economic theory. The
role of the prophetic preacher is to proclaim that because God has
shown grace in creating us as a community, we have a responsibility
to show justice to all members of society. The prophetic preacher is
the persistent drumbeat, impossible to ignore, calling the church
and society to seek justice. The prophetic preacher also preaches in
hope, proclaiming that even if society’s problems seem intractable,
God is working to create and sustain justice.
*See John Bright, A
History of Israel (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1981), 260:
“Israelite society, as Amos lets us see it, was marked by egregious
injustices and a shocking contrast between extremes of wealth and
poverty. The small farmer whose economic status was marginal at
best, found himself often at the mercy at the moneylender and, at
the slightest calamity—a drought, a crop failure—liable to
foreclosure and eviction, if not bond service. The system, which
itself was harsh, as made harsher by the greed of the wealthy, who
took unmerciful advantage of the plight of the poor in order to
enlarge their holdings, often resorting to the sharpest practices,
the falsification of weights and measures and various legal dodges
to achieve their ends.”
