By Jesse Wheeler
Scrolling through my social media feeds this week, I came across the above graphic depicting Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of the prophet Amos’ iconic declaration. I am not a regular reader of Peterson’s The Message, but there is something I absolutely loved about this particular version:
“I can’t stand your religious meetings. I’m fed up with your conferences and conventions.
I want nothing to do with your religion projects, your pretentious slogans and goals.
I’m sick of your fund-raising schemes, your public relations and image making.
I’ve had all I can take of your noisy ego-music. When was the last time you sang to me?
Do you know what I want? I want justice—oceans of it. I want fairness—rivers of it.
That’s what I want. That’s all I want.
(Amos 5:21-24)
To be true, it’s difficult to surpass the translation immortalized so eloquently by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 60 years ago this week as he stood before the Lincoln Memorial and declared: “No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until ‘justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.’”
These words are as urgent and true today as they were then. But, there is something so wonderfully contemporary and “in your face” about Peterson’s version: “Justice and fairness. That’s what I want. That’s all I want.”
For, at the end of the day, this is ultimately our demand as well. Throughout the prophetic books we are presented with a revolutionary understanding of the heart of God and of God’s expectations for us. As revealed by the prophets, we see that God would choose to reject our religious practices, even our very worship, so long as we persist in fomenting violence, perpetuating injustice, and practicing exclusion. And those who do so in the name of God and religion are especially condemned, as would become a recurring theme in the life and ministry of Jesus. As the prophet Isaiah elsewhere declares:
“The multitude of your sacrifices—what are they to me?” says the Lord. “I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals . . . Stop bringing meaningless offerings! . . . I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
“Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood! Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow” (Isaiah 1:11-17).
So much of our religious activity, it might be said, constitutes a giant exercise in missing the point. At times, our misguided religiosity can seem relatively benign. At others, it can reach ever-destructive and unimaginable heights. In either case, we are guilty in our self-obsessed worship of trying to love God while simultaneously ignoring the exploitation and oppression of our neighbors in need. This, the prophets tell us, is impossible.
So, on the one hand, individualized and spiritualized approaches to religion are often the product of intentional attempts to divorce faith from its socio-political context, neutering it of its prophetic power and rendering it impotent in the face of the powers that be. On the other hand, religion has been co-opted and exploited so often by those in power seeking to justify the dispossession, exploitation, and abuse of others. From the Doctrine of Discovery and the vile defenses of slavery, segregation, and apartheid up to contemporary support for “Christian nationalism,” we have seen this time and again.
In the context of Palestine, I can’t help but think of the countless ways in which religious ideologies and institutions have been employed in the service of violent dispossession and oppression. Specifically, I have been reading and thinking this week about the multiplicity of Christian Zionist ministries and organizations that have worked to provide theological justification, financial capital, and political cover for decades of land confiscation, ethnic cleansing, settlement activity, and apartheid.
One such organization raises “around a million dollars annually from Christians, who aim to materially and morally strengthen Jewish settlements.” Over the decades, this group has been unapologetic in its mission to expand the settlements (an international crime involving the theft of land and resources from the indigenous Palestinians) and intentionally derail the (now defunct) peace process. Another organization brings in American Christians, as if they were “missionaries,” to build up the settlements and work the land. Meanwhile, events like the annual International Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem “links millions of Christians across 175 countries annually to lift Israel up in prayer” (over and against the Palestinians). Ultimately, the Palestinian people are held captive in so many ways to the conservative American Christian voting bloc as much as they are the military occupation.
From my perspective, I can’t help but see this as a case of religion gone horribly wrong. In scripture, the prophets remind us time and again of that which truly matters to God: justice for those most vulnerable and at risk. And yet, we find here a situation in which religious devotion is weaponized in the service of profound injustice. As a person of faith who takes the actual content and message of scripture seriously, I say that we must be the first to expose, condemn, and confront injustice wherever it’s found. My prayer is that we might heed the words of the prophets and remain forever unsatisfied until the day comes when “justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
1 September 2023
Source: fosna.org