119:1-24; 12, 13, 14
Amos 3:12-4:5 2 Pet. 3:1-10 Matt. 21:23-32
It’s difficult to not look ahead. We all know what it’s like to live in expectation of something that is coming a little further down the road. Sometimes waiting can be exciting, especially as we anticipate things that we believe will improve our lives, but waiting can also be cruel. Sometimes we wait for deliverance from circumstances that have brought us and those we love great pain, and we ask ourselves, “Will our suffering last forever?”
In our reading from Amos we encounter two groups who are waiting. The prophet makes a declaration that puts them on notice that their lives are about to drastically change. He warns the entitled elites who have oppressed the poor and crushed the needy that the tables will soon be turned on them, and the ones they have abused will not only be liberated but they will be the ones who “take [their oppressors] away with hooks.”
Today we can find comfort in knowing that injustice and oppression are not forever. There is an end to our waiting. Liberation is part of the promise of the Kingdom of God that is both now and not yet. Our calling is to join God in the liberation of the world, by repenting of our own participation in oppression and joining those who are oppressed in doing the work necessary to fully realize their liberation.
Loving God, who waits with us: Deliver and liberate all the peoples of the world and help us to join you in this work. Amen.
Listen to Joshua read his Advent meditation and prayer:
