Emily Nelson Amos 2:11-12, 3:7-8 “And I raised up some of your children to be prophets and some of your youths to be Nazarites. Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel? says the Lord. But you made the Nazirites drink wine, and commanded the prophets, saying, ‘You shall not prophesy.’… Surely the Lord God does nothing, without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken; who can but prophesy?” I’ve felt drawn to the prophets lately. Maybe it’s because the last year and a half has been so strange, and I feel a visceral connection to the dramatic pictures they paint with their words. Maybe it’s because the Spirit has drawn me to their words for this moment. Maybe I am looking for a sense of camaraderie because it feels lonely right now to be in pastoral ministry. I’m going to believe it’s all three, if I’m reading the signs of the times and my own heart accurately. I’ve been reading the book of Amos this week. I remember being struck by the tour de force a seminary professor gave through this book. The way God warns his people, reminds them of their history with him, reasons with them to listen before it’s too late. The striking way he sends just enough disaster to arrest their attention, with an obvious intention of leading them to repentance. And yet, his people didn’t want to hear the real words God had to say. They had gotten comfortable, and didn’t want him to disturb that. So they blunted the clarity of the Nazirites’ mission; they tried to silence the words of the prophets. The strange thing about trying to find comfort in the prophets - they always end up both comforting and deeply unsettling to me. I care now, more than ever maybe, about the state of the church in the United States. I think God called me to be part of pastoral ministry, and I keep asking him to affirm it and to help me be faithful. I want to do what we all want to do - build up people’s faith and build up his kingdom in our churches and communities, as it is in Heaven. The prophets have challenged me. So I’ve been asking myself: · What are the ways I have blunted the message of the Lord? · Do I rationalize my way out of testifying? That discomfort might be meant to arrest our attention. “The Lord God has spoken; who can but prophesy?” May we hear what the Lord God is speaking. May we faithfully interpret what he is revealing. I recommit myself to life as one compelled to preach Christ, and him crucified. God raises up, he reveals, he speaks. The comfort of Christ, and him crucified means God knows we blunt his word at times, and struggle to be faithful. May God equip us, as we seek to interpret this discomfort.…