Prophets, Kings and Kingdoms

After King Solomon died, Israel was divided into two kingdoms: Israel in the north, and Judah in the south. The two kingdoms competed with each other for more than 200 years, with much hostility between the two. Tekoa, the hometown of the prophet Amos, was in the Southern Kingdom, but he traveled up to the Northern Kingdom and shared God's message about the destruction to come of the Northern Kingdom. Assyria did, in fact, destroy the Northern Kingdom about 30 years after Amos’s ministry. The historical setting of the Gospel of Mark is very close to Amos’s situation: about 30 years after the death of John the Baptizer, the Jerusalem Temple was destroyed. 

Amos was not killed by the king of the Northern Kingdom as John was killed by King Herod. Amaziah, the temple priest with religious royal power, opposed Amos and ordered him to leave. Why were Amos and John opposed or killed by the religious and royal authorities? Because they were the messengers of God and the kings feared them. King Herod and Amaziah called both men prophets, but neither Amos nor John describe themselves as prophets. Amos said to Amaziah, “I am no prophet, nor a prophet’s son; but I am a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore trees.” John said of himself, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness.” So, while other people identify these two as prophets, Amos and John identify themselves as messengers being called by God. 

Prophets in the Bible are people who foretell the future using Hebrew or Greek. Amos and John understand themselves as messengers, ones who speak on behalf of God. Amaziah called Amos a “seer.” As a prophet, Amos saw something and named what he saw. More precisely, prophets “see” something God shows them. Put another way, if God does not show anything to them, prophets can’t “see” anything. Therefore, the source of the message is not themselves but God. They are totally dependent on the Word of God. Prophets are not special people of high rank; they are simply messengers of anything God shows them and orders them to say. Prophets were already called and chosen by God, as St. Paul says, before the foundation of the world and they were destined to be the adopted children of God. They are not chosen according to their intelligence or career, but by their humbleness and faithfulness to God. 

Prophets (the messengers of the Word of God) fear God alone. Kings and authoritarian leaders, on the other hand, feared the prophets. Jeroboam and Amaziah feared Amos, and King Herod feared John. The Herod in today’s reading is Herod Antipas. His father, Herod the Great, was the Herod who feared baby Jesus and ordered the slaughter of the innocents - all Hebrew boys under the age of two. Both Herod generations were cowards. Secondly, the messengers of God are the witnesses to what they see and hear about the truth of God. Christians are the witnesses to the risen Lord Jesus Christ. The Jewish leaders tried to keep them from speaking about the resurrection of Jesus, but they didn’t stop. Thirdly, the messengers of God are waiting for God to show them and speak to them. It’s a “Show & Tell.” If you want to be the messengers of the gospel you should wait until, as St. Paul says, “God has made known to us the mystery of his will with all wisdom and insight.” 

Having seen the cross of Christ and heard the gospel of salvation, we are called to be witnesses of God’s life-giving message and to share that message with others. We carry this treasure within ordinary bodies and minds, but God sends us with confidence into the world. Years ago, Amos and John followed God’s calling. Now it’s our turn. The invitation is to remain in Christ and become the messenger of his love. 

Amen.

Deacon Jae Wan Chung

8^th Pentecost Proper 10