SOCIAL NUMBNESS - C: 26th Sun in OrdTime

First Reading: Amos 6:1a, 4-7 (25 September 2022)

“Woe to the complacent in Zion! Lying upon beds of ivory, stretched comfortably on their couches, they eat lambs taken from the flock, and calves from the stall!”

This remark is part of the series of “woes” that Amos delivered in his prophetic ministry. These “woes” are directed toward those who are rich and powerful. The situation at that time in Israel is that there was a relative economic development due to the military successes of Jeroboam II. However, the downside to it is that the rich became richer and the poor poorer. The worse thing is that the poor were taken advantage of by the latter in their pursuit for greater wealth.

Strictly speaking, the abovementioned remark of Amos does not directly indicate any injustice done against the poor. It just so happened that the rich lived contentedly in their luxurious homes and ate the choicest food of the land (vv. 4-6). However, for Amos, this lavish way of life is by itself scandalous to the poor who were dejected “over the ruin of Joseph!” (v. 6). Accordingly, while the greater populace was suffering in the plains, the affluent and the powerful were safe from all dangers atop Mt. Zion and the Samaritan mountain (v. 1). If they had true concern over the impoverished as their government leaders, they would have allowed the destitute to take refuge in their secured premises or, at least, do some efforts to reach out and aid the miserable.

On the contrary, they ignored the sorrows and pains happening around them and just gratified their own bodies by indulging into food, comfort, and pleasure.

In reprimanding them, Amos used the Hebrew interjection “hoy”, which can be translated as “alas!”, “ah!”, or “woe!”. This expression is normally used as a “grievous threatening cry of the prophets” (cf. HALOT). We find it used in Amos 5:18 and 6:1 as a straightforward warning on those who lived very comfortably. The other prophets employ, too, the same expression in castigating societal abusers. For instance, Isaiah used it to denounce the oppressors of the land (cf. Isa 5:8, 11, 18, 20-22; 10:1; 29:15; 31:1; 45:9). Jeremiah mentioned it to lambast opportunist capitalists who do not pay laborers of their proper wages (cf. Jer 23:1). Ezekiel and Zechariah featured this word to criticize leaders who fail their duty as “shepherds of Israel” by not feeding their so-called allegorical sheep (cf. Ezek 34:2; Zech 2:11; 11:17). Finally, both Zephaniah and Nahum employed this exclamation to reprimand the oppressors of the city (cf. Zeph 3:1; Nah 3:1). By and large, the prophetic books of the Scriptures are one in addressing social injustice against the lowly by their usage of the Hebrew interjection “hoy”.

In every society today, we likewise find many leaders and persons of influence who technically deserve to be reproved by the same strong word to call their immediate attention. They need to be admonished vehemently not to spite them but to awaken them from their social numbness. Indeed, anybody who has slept deeply need, sometimes, to be awaken intensely lest he/she lulls deeply into his/her slumber and neglects, consequently, his/her duties and obligations to the greater population. In this exceptional situation, we, then, need to hit the gong loudly—and even repetitively—to rectify abusers of their evil deeds.

Otherwise, if we only gently whisper in so doing, the poor may suffer badly and even die in the process, making us guilty for not mediating well and for failing to fulfill our prophetic role of fighting for truth and fairness.

- Rex Fortes, CM