Journl of Hispnic / Ltino Theology Volume 4 Number 4 Article 3 5-1-1997 Amos 5:21-24: Religion, Politics, nd the Ltino Experience C. Gilbero Romero Cliforni Stte University, Los Angeles Follow this nd dditionl works t: http://repository.usfc.edu/jhlt Prt of the Biblicl Studies Commons, nd the Ltin/o Studies Commons Recommended Cittion C. Gilbert Romero, Amos 5:21-24: Religion, Politics, nd the Ltino Experience, Journl of Hispnic / Ltino Theology 4:4 (My 1997) 21-41. This Article is brought to you for free nd open ccess by USF Scholrship: digitl repository @ Gleeson Librry Geschke Center. It hs been ccepted for inclusion in Journl of Hispnic / Ltino Theology by n uthorized editor of USF Scholrship: digitl repository @ Gleeson Librry Geschke Center. For more informtion, plese contct repository@usfc.edu.
[HLT Vol, 4:4 (1997) Amos 521424: Religion, Politics, nd the Ltino Experience C. Gilbert Romero Cliforni Stte University, Los Angeles I hte, I repudite your festivls, nd I do not enjoy the odor of your festive ssemblies, Even though you rise up to me your burnt offerings nd tributes, I will not be delighted, And thethnk offerings oi your {ired nimls I will not iook upon. Tke wy from me the gittion of your songs; I will not listen to the music of your hrps, But let justice roll down like wters, nd righteousness like n overflowing strem (Amos 512124, trnsltion mine). Introduction No mtter how some things chnge, other things remin the sme Certin ptterns of humn behvior re constnt throughout history, One of those constnt ptterns is the unesy mix between politics nd religion. Prdoxiclly, the mix becomes more complicted nd problemtic the more the mbiguity in the reltionship between them is clrified. Tht is to sy, whoever defines the reltionship nd structures the definition controls the dynmics of the reltionship. Thus only in mbiguity with ongoing redefinition nd repproprition of men ing cn the reltionship between religion nd politics mke ny rel sense,1 The llince between religion nd politics hs tken mny forms throughout history, The metmorphic cpbility of the llince depends primrily on the vilble culturl expressions of givensociopoliti cl, economic relity, With the prophet Amos s our guide in this dis» cussion, we see tht Be. eighth-century Isrel ws mix of rich nd poor, with n ever widening gp between them. The ws gp cused principlly, though not exclusively, by economic exploittion The rich nd powerful tended to legitimize the disprity through religious resoning. For exmple, prominent belief current t the time ws tht This is so given the perspective of the one doing the defining. Admittedly, in this scenrio I m proposing tht the defining nd reppropriting be done by the common people. This will become clerer below,
22 C. Gilbert Romero welth signled God s blessing. Apprently, the mens towrd chiev ing tht welth were not s importnt s the ends of possessing the welth itself. Into this morss of eighth-century 5.01;: injustice jumped the prophet Amos.2 Awre of the historicl nd economic relities of northern Isrel, especilly of the levels of injustice nd the hypocrisy ofreli gious ctivity, he mde wht I consider one of the strongest sttements on the reltion between religion nd politics. He did this by relting cult with public life. Amos stted emphticlly tht the cult, nd therefore religion, is meningless unless it is rooted in the doing of justice. Amos theologicl commentry on the mixture of politics nd religion is most ptly expressed in his tretment of justice nd the cult s found in 5:21-24. In order to understnd Amos prophetic messge regrding politics nd religion, this essy will focus on 5:21-24, where justice, becuse of its socil nture, represents politics, nd the cult (ritulized interction between deity nd its people) represents religion. The first prt of the discussion dels with the cult nd memory s its ctlyst, nd with the Between Time s the frmework for the doing of justice. The second prt discusses the Ltino experience of religiosiddpopulr nd its reltionship to Amos nd justice. Amos 5:21-24 While forming distinct unit of their own, these verses closely relte to the rest of the book nd my even be sid to be the center of the book theologiclly nd textully. From the theologicl perspective, the erly prt of the book pronounces divine judgment ginst Isrel's neighbors primrily for sins committed ginst other ntions in wrtime. Subsequently, judgment is proclimed ginst Judh nd Isrel, primrily for sins ginst their own people (considered fr more serious thn sins ginst other ntions).3 2For historicl nd socioeconomic reding of Isrel during Amos time, see John Bright, A History of Isrel, 3d ed. (Phildelphi: Westminster, 1981); Philip 1. King, Amos, Hose, Mich: Au ArcheologiclCommentry(Phildelphi: WestmjnA ster, 1988) gives good summry of the rcheologicl evidence of the period, evidence tht substntites Amos critique of the extensive economic disprities between rich nd poor. See lso Theodore H. Robinson, Prophecy nd the Prophets in Ancient Isrel (London: Gerld Duckworth, 1960) 60 71. 3T his is so becuse of the sense of community nd of oneness s God s people tht mde every miscrrige of justice ginst fellow Isrelite crime ginst imin member. Amos 5:21.24: Religion, Politics, nd the llimi Expurimcv 23 The indictments re like n ever noose tightening round Isrel s neck, Punishment is promised first toisrel s neighbors nd then to Isrel, The esclting grvity of sins finds its culmintion in the sin of injustice, which hs severl rmifictions. The crime of injustice is compounded by its pprent justifiction through the cult. I sy "pprent justifiction" becuse the very performnce of cult by one who is guilty of n unresolved injustice is mockery of the cult itself, Amos 5:21 24 seeks to redress tht wrong, Punishments ginst Isrel for unrepentnt injustice re spelled out in the ensuing chpters of the book, especilly through the literry genre of vision. The link between justice nd cult is not unique to Amos, In fct, it is theme not uncommon mong thepre exilicprophets, Perhps the closest prllel to Amos 5:21-24 is found in Isih til-15.5 This prllel indictes certin constncy of concern bout the significnce of the justicecult issue emerging in the prophetic messge. Wht stnds out bove ll in Amos 5:21-24 is the notion tht the rejection stted in verses 21-23 is not of the cult itself, but of its buse. It is n orcle in the first person where Yhweh, in no uncertin terms, spells out for Isrel the rel nture of the reltionship between politics nd religion, or, in other words, the distinct correltion between the with wht nd how one believes. tretment of people The verbs used in verses 21-23 very emphticlly stte disstisfction with the cult s rendered" In fct,yhweh s rejection of the cult to the senses tht under- is expressed in terms of its uncceptbility scores, in somewht nthropomorphic fshion, the grvity of cult buse. For exmple, in verse 21 the verb trnslted s tke delightin generlly pplies of the sin to the sense of smell.7 In verses 2223 the The vrious commentries re quick to point out prllel pssges, But one must exmine these prllels with criticl eye becuse of the specific Sit: im Mien of ech prophet. Worship nd cult will be used interchngebly becuse, for ll prcticl purposes, Isrel's worship ws through the cult. In prticulr the vocbulry prllels re highlighted by Shlom Pul, Amos (Minnepolis: Augsburg Fortress Press, 1991) 189. This work hs very usetul nd extensive bibliogrphy(299 367). 6Most likely s celebrted t Bethel, key northern snctury. ln verse 21 the verbs trnslted s hte (or) nd "despise" or "reject" (ms) hve cogntes in Ugritic nd Akkdin tht n convey equl intensity of feeling. See Pul, Amos, 189, mm 8, 9. This notion ofyhweh s rejection (m'sl of nything is, s rule, the rection of Yhweh hving been rejected by the people (l Sm [5:23; Hos 426;). See Hns Wlter Wolff, Mel nd Amos (Phildelphi: Fortress Press, 1977) 262. A more technicl tretment of Amos 5:2'1 24 from prosodic cn perspective be found in F, 1. Andersen nd D. N. Freedmn, Amos (New York: Doubledy, 1989) 523 ), 7Here it is the first person singulr of the verb nh. See lso Gen 8:2l; Exod 30:38; Lev 26:31; 1 Sm 26:19.
.. Worship.. These 24 C. Gilbert Romero verbs to lookfvorbly nd listen/"l round out the sensory bsis for the ssult. Even the list of worship modes mentionedlo indictes the totlity of the worship experience, nd thus reltionship, between Yhweh nd the people tht is jeoprdized by cult buse. The buse of the cult is no periodic peccdillo: it is serious business with serious consequences. However, it is in verse 24 where redemption for this trnsgression trnspires. In one of the most potent of prophetic imges, Amos pints with fine brush on the cnvs of his udience s imgintion picture of justice s it ought to be relted to the cult. Cult It is truism to stte tht the need to celebrte is one of the most humn of needs. This need for celebrtion expresses itself in mny wys, nd worship is common wy in which perceived reltionship between people nd its god is celebrted. Worship is the mesured humn response to the sense of the scred tht people experience in their lives in reltionship with deity. Cult is the specific ritulized form tht the response often tkes. In the cse of Isrel the two becme indistinguishble becuse cultic worship ws constitutive ofisrel s identity. Isrel ws worship ingcommunity. Civiliztions other thn Isrel in the ncient Ner Est often celebrted culticlly their erthly institutions s hving hevenly rchetypes, for exmple kingship nd temple. But for Isrel, the cult celebrted personl reltionship with Yhweh s its god. This reltionship ws forged principlly by historicl deeds of slvtion tht elicited response from Isrel to honor the covennt terms of the rel' tionshlp. This, together with n pprecition for cretion, proved to be the ongoing mesure of cceptnce or rejection of Isrel sgod s people. The indelible chrcter of tht reltionship is found in the no«4:45. 8Here the Hiphil first person form of nbl, to behold,regrd. See lso Gen 9i ierc the verb is ém, which is often used in solemn speech between Yhweh nd the people, s in the fmous pryer of Ben! 614K, Her, OIsrel. 1"For discussion of their mening nd significnce see Pul, Amos,189 92;Wolff, 1081nd Amos,261 4; nd Jmes L. Mys, Amos (Phildelphi: Westminster, 1969) 10643. Both Pul nd Mys emphsize the significnce of reltionship in cult, which cn hve disstrous results when severed. For n incisive interprettion of the nture nd significnce of Cult inisrel s history see Hns Jochim Krus, Worship in Isrel (Richmond, V: John Knox Press, 1966); Wlter Hrrelson, me Fertility Cult to Worship(New York: Doubledy Anchor, 1970). Of the two, Hrrelson s work is the more helpful overll not only for its historicl perspective, but lso for its theologicl insight. Amns 5:21-24: Religion, Politics, nd the Ltino Experience 25 tion of covennt s codified t Sini. The Sini covennt demnded responsibility for the other. This ment tht in Isrel every expression of cultic worship ws to hve n ethicl dimension, even if it were merely the ritulized reffirmtion of the covennt reltionship itself with implied loylty to tht reltionship. While the Sini covennt estblished sense of responsibility for the other (nother wy of sying justice ) s the primry dynmic of Isrel's reltionship with God, the reffirmtion of tht reltionship becme kind of mntr in her cult}2 It cn be sid tht Covennt renewl ws n ongoing concern of Isrel's cultic celebrtions. Even the importnt fests of Weeks (Pentecost) nd Ingthering (Booths) my be sid to be celebrtions of covennt renewl.13 In fct, the ceremony of covennt renewl my well hve been celebrted more regulrly in North Isrel thn iniudh. If this ws the cse, then Amos struggle with Amzih within cultic frmework tkes on prticulr significnce (Amos7:104 7). Amos, by his cll to proclim justice within the cult, proved to be thret to Amzih, the priest ofbethel. For Amos there ws no doubt tht the cult ws frmed in covennt terms, which involved the doing of justice.16 This prticulr ttitude did not sit well with Amzih, who 12In ddition to responsibility forone s fellow humn beings nd responsibility to Yhweh through the Sini covennt, the cult lso expressed, t yet nother level, prticulr reltion to Cretion-e Nochic remnnt. Worship clerly represents response to the Holy tht is designed, mong other things, to wrd off the powers oi chos nd destruction, of. God, then, offers mens of evoking God s power to forgive, to restore, to hel broken humnity nd wounded erth, And fidelity togod s will in dily life offers the mens for the erth s continuing fruitfulness nd forgod s continuing blessing upon ills people" (Hrrelv son, From Fertilin Cull, 13). See Hrrelson, From Fertility Cult, 21. In ddition, Pssover, lter combined. with the fest of Unlevened Bred, my be sid to celebrte God s covennt reltionship with the people becuse of its slvific origins. With the introduction of the Dvidic covennt promises through Nthn (2 Smuel 7), the cultic referent of the chosen one" for specil tretment shifted from the people to the monrchy. This hd severe politicl s well s theologicl nd ethicl consequences. Ibid., 63. Bethel ws n importnt cultic shrine since the time of the ptrirchs (Gen 28:10-22), nd its significnce perdured throughout the period of the northern kingdom. u R. E. Clements rgues persusively for direct linkge between cult nd covennl in Prophecy nd Covennt (London: SCM, 1965)86 107, especilly 94ft. Regrding Amos he sys, "The very foundtion of Isrelite life ws its covennt reltionship to Yhweh, which ws ffirmed through certin cultic rites. prophets lamos nd Hose], by rejecting the scrificil worship of the shrines did so on ccount of the filure of such cult to ccord with the nture nd demnds of the covennt. The prophets, nd not the cult of the sncturies, mde known the true
26 C, Gilbert Romero ws strict preserver of institutions.17 In this mentlity, preservtion of the institution took priority over justice for the individul whenever there ws con ict between the two. A ltent motif in this sitution of conflict ws the perceived nd prcticed polrity between the Sini covennt (which focused on the community of individuls in reltionship to Yhweh) nd the Dvidic covennt (which focused on the institution of the monrchy in reltionship to Yhweh). Memory Memory is nother crucil element in understnding the reltionv ship between cult nd justice. It hd n importnt function in the cult when viewed s expressive of the Sini covennt reltionship. Tht function is the remembering, the mking present, of thedeity s sl vific ction, forged in reltionship, on behlf of the community. The key process of mking present in cult through memory is clled re premerittion. H This process of representtion combines the dimenv sions of pst, present, nd future in unitry experience. The collec tive memory of the fith community, exercised in the context of the cult, served s the ctlyst for the colescence of pst, present, nd future. The experience becomes kind oi eternl now/ 1" The cse of Isrel serves s model for us. InIsrel s perspective there ws only one redemptive history: it ws the ongoing cre nd will ofyhweh (87, 99). The condemntion ot the cult ly not in the tct of its existence, but in the fct tht it hd bndoned the covennt trdition oflsrel s pst (100). On the sme subject see Arvid S. Kpelrucl, Centrl Ides in Amos (Oslo: Oslo University, 1961) esp. 48ft, "Such s temple nd monrchy, which Amos did not support without some qulifictions. For n insightful tretment of the pol'ticl nd religious implictions ol the Amos»Amzih confronttion, see Frncisco GrciTreto, A Reder Response Approch to Prophetic Conflict; The Cse of Amos 7:10.17, The New Literry Criticism nd the Hebrew Bible, ed, ]. Cheryl Exurn nd Dvid Clines (Vlley Forge, Pn Trinity Press Interntionl, 1993)114 24, mor wht in the technicl literture of genertion go ws clled Vergegenuwlirligung Ṣec Mrtin Noth, The Re-i resenttion' of the Old Testment in Proclmtion, Essys on Old Testmnmi Hermeneutics, ed. Clus Westermnn (Richmond, V: John Knox Press, 1966) 76-88. For Noth, representtion occurred in the context of the cult. See lso Trdition nd Theology ii the Old Testment, ed. Dougls Knight (Phildelphi: Fortress Press, 1977). The ide is to mke present for the current genertion the "relity" tht is usully the slvific experience of the origi» nl community by the god in covennt reltionship, nd mde new by ech subsequent genertion through the prticiptory experience of cult. Much long the sme lines s discussed by Mirce Elide, The Scred nd the Profne (New York: Hrcourt, Brce nd World, 1959) 68413, esp. 88-94, Amos 5:21.24; Religion, Politics, nd the lttlim) Experienw 27 concern of God performing slvific deeds on behlf of the people. Sving events tht occurred long go, such s the Exodus, continued to tke plce with ech succeedinggenertion, And it is the memory, usully in cult nd lwys in wreness of covenntl reltionship, tht served s ctlyst for the ongoing process.21 Concerning the text from Amos under discussion, verses 21-23 remember the time when cultic ritul nd scrifice were completely cceptble to Yhweh. The fctor of injustice s rtionlized through the cult (63, 2:8) elicits the intense negtive rection from Yhweh described erlier. Within the cultic frmework, the memory of the good is mrred by the doing of the bd. The doing of injustice is incomptible with the rendering of cult, especilly if the former tends to be legitimted by the ltter, s seems to be the cse in Amos 52210.3. There is lso the issue of the reltion between chronologicl time nd redemptive history nd the role of memory in both. Chronologiv cl time for lsrel is the lived experience of relity t certin point long temporl continuum, nd it becomes redemptive time through genertionl cceptnce of the chllenge to be obedient to her trdia tions, principlly the Sini covennt, This is prticulrly evident in 3:1ff., where ppel is mde to the people s memory of the formtive nd sving events of Exodus nd the Sini covennt. But becuse of injustices the people re promised punishment. This chllenge to respond cn be expressed intentionlly through the cult even when done through the literry genre of irony nd hyperbole, s in Amos 4:4 5 where the invittion to the BethellGilgl sncturies is mde. Memory ctivtes the ctuliztion process, which is the process by which pst event is contemporized for genertion removed in time nd spce from the originlevent. 22 The contemporiztion occurs when possibilities for decision mking re presented For exmple, Amos hs Yhweh presenting to lsrel the consequences of its behvior nd some lterntives to those consequences in chpters 4 nd 5. Amos 4:7-11 underscores Isrel s hrdness of hert. in spite ofvri» ous punishments by Yhweh in chronologicl time, lsrel refused to W The chronologicl position of the Exodus in lsrel's history remined fixed 0250 B,c,E,?), but its qulity s redemptive event-moot iust mening econtinued to rcverberte in the life of thepeople. Brevrd Childs, Memory nd Trdition in lsmvl, Studies in Biblicl Theology 37 (London: SCM, 1962) 84. 2" Mcmory plys centrl role in mking Isrel constntly wre of the nture ofgod s benevolent cts s well s of her own covenntl pledge (Childs, Memory nd Trdition, 51). Also see ll. Eising, zukm, TheologiclDictionry Gillie Old Testment, ed, H. Ringgren (Grnd Rpids, Mich : Eerdmns, 1980)4;64«82. 22Childs, Memory nd Trdition, 85. From cultic perspective, this is the principl function of memory.
. in., His{God s}.. His 28 C. Gilbert Romero prticipte in redemptive time by rejecting covennt responsibility. The severity of this response my bere ected in the use of the divine wrrior motif in 4:13 ("Lord god of hosts ), which hs distinct cstigtory flvor. In chpter 5, lterntives re provided presenting hope (5:43, 1445). These positive lterntives. re bolstered first by Arnos reversl of the mening of the Dy of Yhweh, from delight to destruction (5:18-20), nd second by the positive imge of justice s owing wter (5:24). The cultic context of 5:2]~24 llows for the ctuliztion process of contemporizing nd decision mking throughmemory s ctive recollection of redemptive history from chronologicl history, providing those decision mking possibilities bsed on covennt rea sponsibilities. Brevrd Childs proposes significnt perspective on memory when he sys tht in the Old Testment there is no "originlevent, merely vrious witnesses to n event. Some witnesses re closer chronology clly to the originl hppening thn others nd so remember it more strongly. In light of this, our question concerning remembered trdi tions should be not how do interpreted events relte to "objective event," but, rther, how do the successive interprettions of n event relte to the primry witness of tht event?23 This posing of the ques~ tion is more n issue of relible memory thn of objective fct. It ppers tht in the Old Testment context witness is the only ccess to the originl event nd is remembered nd reinterpreted by succeeding genertions, which mkes the vlue of memory in interpreting nd reinterpreting the testimony of the vrious series of witnesses exceed» ingly importnt. We my suppose tht Amos sw himself s heir (contemporry witness) to the ongoing testimony of living trdition of the primry witnesses to the originl events of Exodus nd Sini, formtive events in the life of the Isrelite people. Subsequent genertions reclling these events were ctully witnessing to their own commitment to ccept the fidelity of the trdition, tht is, the positive conviction of the erlier witnesses. This commitment ws mde nd ritulized through the cult. So, in the cse of Amos 4 5 we hve sitution where response to the consequences nd lterntives presented by Yhweh to Isrel depended on how the people vlorized erlier witnessing to the sving events (redemptive time) of Exodus nd especilly Sini. Obviously, some would deprecite the erlier witness vlue (consequences) nd choose injustice, while others would tke seriously the erlier witnessing (lterntives). 23lbid. Amos 5:21.24: Religion, Politics, nd the ltino Experience 29 Admittedly, Childs theory could wrek hvoc with the "brute tct school of history, since there is virtully nothing to substntite beyond doubt events tht occurred in the Old Testment. But wht ever direction the discussion goes, this theory does give vlue to witness, reinforced by memory, which, in turn, gives support nd credence to the trditions tht were the bsis of Isrel/s belief. Those trditions deriving from the Sini covennt tht hd ethicl implictions deserved to be remembered from genertion to genertion, since they were so formtive for the people. As preserver of such trditions, the cult thus becme frmework for the renewl of commitment to those covennt trditions. In so doing the ethicl dimension of the covennt becme inexorbly linked to the cult. Deepening our understnding of us memory helps to relize its impct not just on cult, but on other spects of behvior s well. For exmple, Childs underscores the ctive spect of memory with effect on behvior. On higher plne, the nuncing between God s remembering nd Isrel s remembering remins criticl: these were ongoing reciprocl ctivities bsed on mutul commitment. As Childs puts it: terms ofgod s memory Time'sequence plys secondry role.. remembering is not conceived of s n ctuliztion of pst event in history; rther, every event stems from the eternl purpose of God. Only from Isrel s point of view is ech remembrnce pst. God's memory is not rte-creting of the pst, but continution of the seltsme. purpose. [God s] memory includes both the gret deeds of the pst s well s his continued concern for his people in the future.25 On the other hnd, Isrel s memory involves echgenertion s prticiption in the recollection of the trditions tht elicited decision in obedience to the dicttes of the covennt This dynmic functions s the ongoing redemption first experienced by the ncestors. Through the cult, ech new genertion in chronologicl time ws chllenged to enter redemptive time. In other words, scred time nd scred spce (cult) llowed for dynmic qulity in history, which mde the wor- 2 ln the sense tht in Creek the verb to remember" (mimn eskomi) sometimes refers to n ction; for exmple, to "remember" one s prents mens to tke cre of them, nd to remember the ded mens to bury them (Childs, Memory nd Trdition, 25). livid, 42. With regrd to the deity's remembering it is importnt to distinguish here between memory nd myth. Myth is the pst hrmonized to conform to the present, wheres memory is the present relted to the pst. In cult there is often confusion between the two.
30 L", Gillwt Romero shiper's ongoing prticiption in redemptivehistory, in effect, for the Old Testment, redemptive history is conceived of s resulting from God s ction nd Isrel's response/ 27 Thu Between Time" The discussion of memory in cultic worship hs served to cll our ttention to the mtrix of chronologicl time nd redemptive time, which is the point of ethicl decision mking. This mtrix is the mo~ ment t which chronologicl time becomes redemptive time, It is the period when the individul is presented with consequences nd lterntives to certin ethicl choices nd decides in fvor of one over nother: This mtrix is the moment of ethicl choice when the pst nd the future momentrily fuse into the present, it is this mtrix tht we cll the Between Time. 28 Within the frmework of cult the Between Time is ctulized through the use of symbols. it is the imgintion tht sets the sym~ bolic world into motion, thus mking possible for the worshiper not only representtion of pst slvitic events by God on behlf of the people, but lso pledge of hope for future continuity of tht selfsrne slvific ctivity, The covennt reltionship of mutul responsibility coupled with the wreness of the pst (the no Ionger )-presentfuture (the not yet ) continuum mkes for the moment of choice, the point of ethicl decision mking. 2t ln the words of (Thilds, God remembers Isrel nd lsrel remembers God the Sme verb isused nd so God's ction nd Isrel s response belongtogether. The redemptive events ofisrel s history do not come to rest, but continue to meet nd re contemporry with ech new genertion (Memory mid Trdition, 83), Amos 5:21~24: Religion, Politics, nd the infirm Experience 31 This Between Time ctivted by the use of symbols qulity of the Between Time will depend of the symbols utilized. For symbol mens tht the on the nture nd function to be fruitful30 it must be derivtive from the culture in which it is used In sum, cult is the context of chronologicl history intercting with redemptive history. The rec' tuliztion of redemptive history is done by memory, which lso l«lows for future possibilities for ethicl choices (consequences nd lterntives) The Between Time, expressed symboliclly, is the cultic present s fusion with the "no longer" of the pst nd the not yet of the future, where choice is mde to prticipte positively in the redemptive history or not. Ultimtely, the choice mde is one with definite socil nd ethicl implictions. In the cse of Amos 5:21.24, the time for decision mking, the time for the shift from chronologicl time (sins of injustice committed ginst the neighbor) to redemptive time (the doing, of justice), is presented by wy of the symbol of rolling wter in verse 24 The symbol of roll. ing wter mrks the Between Time when Isrel s memory is chllenged to recll the resons for the repudited cult (it ws not lwys so), nd to choose the reestblishrnent of covennt reltionship through the doing of lusticc justice, We see tht Amos is very comfortble in the cultic context"1 nd so frmes much of his messge from tht perspective.32 And the messge tht is most prevlent in Amos, from the cultic perspective, is the need for the doing of justice, It might be sid tht the doing of justice is the centrl theme of Amos' messge nd tht its reltionship Normn l orteous supports Childs position in this regrd: "In memory ech new genertion in Isrel ws ble to reinterpret the formtive events of her history s the living God of the Covennt chllenge er to new obedience" (Normn l orteous, Actulixtion nd the Prophetic L cism of the Cult, Living the Mystery, collected essys [Oxford Bsil Blckwell, 1967] 139) 27Childs, Memory nd Trdition, 89, 2 There re some similrities to Gdmer's theory oi horizons nd the Concept of Zwischcnzeii, populr with Germn scholrs in the first hlf of this century However, l m more indebted to the insights of the philosopher Ernst Bloch for my discussion t the Between Time, especilly his tretment of the not yet" (Much nicht), See Bloch, Mn on His Own (New York: Herder nd Herder, 1970). Note especilly the foreword by Hrvey (fox (7 48)nd the introduction by Jiirgen Moltmnn (19 29) for n insightful look into Bloch s thought 2"When i spek ot covennt or covennt responsibility tl is the Sini covennt to which I m referring becuse of its twofold chrcteristics ot bilterlism nd conditionlity expressed in the Declogue, thus mking personl responsibility for one's neighbor significnt fctor in reltionship with God. Furthermore, in del. ing with the Between Time it is importnt to ber in mind tht its culric context gives it its qulity of scrlity s redemptive time. 3"To be fruitful here mens the eymbol's bility to be genertive of mening for subsequent genertions. "l'lenning Grf Reventlow sees Amos nturl home in the cult s the context of covennt ritul (D125 Am! {125 Profetm be: Amos, Forschungen 1.ur Religion und Litertur des Alien und neuen Testments [Gottingenz Vndenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1962) iii). Scndinvin scholr Arvid Kpelrud concurs by clssifying Amos s mong the nqdm, those with specil reltionship to the temple (Centrl Ides, 576). We cn see, for exmple, the vrious references to nd inferences from the cult in vrious prts of the book. For exmple, t the outset Amos ppers to frme his entire messge within cultic context when he hs Yhweh speking the en. suing words of judgment from Jeruslem (1:2), See lso references in 3:14; 4:45; 5:5, 21~27; 8:104], nd especilly 911-8.
., It 32 C. Gilbert Romero with the cult is crucil both for effective justice nd for meningful cult. 3 5:24 s the xil Wht is the justice of which Amos speks? Using verse of the entire book we note severl things. First, the word trnslted s justice is mspt, nd it is pired with sdqh, which is usully trnslted "righteousness/ 3" The piring generlly serves to focus ttention on the significnce of mspt s justice. Rther thn understnd ing juridicl mening for the ide of justice it is more ccurte to t tribute reltionl dimension toamos understnding of the concept.35 This would keep ll discussion of justice in the relm of ethics nd covennt responsibility, An understnding of justice in Amos s reltionl relity would utomticlly expnd its mening to include the ide of integrity, 33This combining of justice nd cult in Amos brings into locus his combintion of politics nd religion s it reltes to ethicl behvior. See Normn Porteous, The Bsis of the Ethicl Teching of the Prophets, Studies in Old Testment Prophecy, ed, ll, ti. Rowley (Edinburgh: T d: T Clrk, 1957) 143-36, More concretely, Wlter Brueggemnn sees prophetic fith following the Mosic trdition of presenting religion of tree god mixed with politics of justice nd compssion. Tht is to sy, the Mosic/prophetic fith sees Yhweh s not bound to sttic stte religion, but tree nd in reltion to people who responds to oppression by the pro motion of justice nd compssion, Brueggemnn, The Prophetic Imgintion (Phildelphi: Fortress Press, 1978) 16-20. 3 Much hs been written bout both terms. However one wnts to nunce it, there is clerly strong ethicl dimension to their use, which is connected with the Sini covennt. In 5:24 justice nd righteousness re held up s opposite to wht the people re doing. But no definition is given; Amos seems to consider tht, unnecessry. is not cler how Amos uses MlSPAT nd SEDAQA here, but the terms seem to hve rther wide mening. As he hs just mentioned the behvior of the people it is likely tht lso justice nd righteousness my here be used to chrcterize the behvior Yhweh expected from his people (Kpelrud, Centrl Ides, 65). 35The reltionl perspective of justice is more in keeping with Amos use of Sini covennt thinking nd his ethicl focus. One of the mjor prophetic strnds of theologicl givens is tht Yhweh nd lsrel re in specil reltionship, which is why ny violtion of tht reltionship is tken so seriously, But it is Isrel itself who hs broken the Covennt: it is forgotten or it is not understood tht Yhweh like El hs ethicl demnds to which his followers hd to dhere. They hve been living in chnging society without relizing tht the ncient ethicl obligtions were vlid lso under new circumstnces (Kpelrud, Centrl Ides, 48). Kpelrud on goes to sy tht becuse of the stress on doing justice in Amos. scrifices were considered useful but not necessry. In fct, morl conduct ws the norm for the divinehumn reltionship (ibid., 80ft.) The work of Hemchnd Gossi, lustice, Righteousness, nd Hm Socil Critique of the Eiglztli~CenturyProphets (Americn Uni~ versity Studies Vlll: Theology nd Relig on, New York: Lng, 1993) 141, is com prehensive study of silk nd mspl. Gossi mintins tht both terms re of reltionshipcrionted nture, nd thus form bsis for the socil critique of eighth century rice. prophets, Amos 5:2}24: Religion, Politics, nd the lutirm Experience 33 wholeness, nd rightreltionship much long the lines of the theologicl mening ofshlom, As wholeness, integrity, nd right reltionship, shlom bespeks certin bsic orderliness mong people. When we consider the prticulr prophetic notion of s justice order liness (shlom), right reltionship between two prties (inamos cse between Yhweh nd Isrel), then it is esy to see how the trnsition into the world of symbolism tkes plce. It is the symbol, with its polyvlence, tht cn describe the nture of the right reltionship, or the condition of justice, t ny given moment. Amos 5:24 uses the powerful imge of wter to spek of justice. Tht is to sy, the orderliness of right reltionship between Yhweh nd his people is represented by gushing strem: But let justice [ms'pt] roll down like wters, / nd righteousness [sdqh] like n evert'lowing strem." The poetic device of synonymous prllelism under~ scores the connection between the ethicl sense of justice (right reltionship) through the symbol of rushing wters nd the cult s the frmework for the motivtion to do justice(5:21 23). The symbol of wter reches deeply into the collective memory of Isrel in order to show both its chotic nd constructive sides.37 But it is the prophetic imgintion tht gives the symbol its mening. It is theprophet s imgintion tht plumbs the possibilities, the significnt lterntives to the current sitution of tension. Wlter Brueggemnn cites Ltin Americn theologin Rubem Alves for the clssic explntion of prophetic imgintion: "The prctice of imgintion is subversive ctivity not becuse it yields concrete cts of defince (which it my) but becuse it keeps the present provisionl nd re fuses to bsolutize it. 35 30john Durhm discusses vrious menings of shlom, llowing for comptibility between shlom nd mislzpt without speci clly sying so. Durhm, Shlom (D15?!)nd the Presence ofgod, Proclmtion nd Presence, ed. }. Durhm nd 1, Porter (Richmond, V: )ohn Knox Press, 1970) 27233, especilly 286i}, 37For exmple, the wters of the flood (Genesis 6'9), the crossing of the Ym Sui during the Exodus (Exodus 15), crossing the lordn (loshu 3) were ll both destructive nd constructive. On the themes of order nd chos in Amos see Dleye Heynes, lo the Fce of Chos: Border Existence s Context for Understnding Amos, Old Testment Essys 6 (1993) 72-89. For n lterntive position to the one presented here, see Ion L. Berquist, Dngerous Wters of justice nd Righteousness: Amos 5:18 27," Biblicl Theology Bulletin 23 (1993)54«63. Brueggernnn, The Prophetic Imgintion, 119, n, 'l. Brueggemnn plces the issue more forcefully, it is the voction of the prophet to keep live the ministry of imgintion, to keep on conjuring nd proposing lterntive futures to the single one the king wnts to s urge the only thinkble one. indeed, poetic imgintion is the lst woy left in which to chllenge ndcon ict the dominnt relity" (ibid,, 45),
..then ) 34 C. Gilbert Romero Tht is to sy, the imgintion provides future lterntives tht re not continution of the present. This provision is the possibility of something new, of something tht my be referred to s the libertive dimension of thepresent. In effect, through the use of the sym bol the prophet probes the polyvlence of its semntic field, comes into contct with certin spects of historicl memory, nd gives n interpre ttion or reinterprettion into something new tht is distinctively different from the present. The horizon of possibilities is gretly expnded. For Amos the symbol of wter becme powerful tool for testing Isrel s sense of ethicl responsibility. in its collective memory Isrel experienced wter s punishment( ood Genesis6 9) nd redemption (crossing the se in Exodus 15). But it ws the memory of the redemptive spects of the wters tht remined most strongly, hence constnt reference to the Exodus s motive for right behvior. So when Amos, in the fce of multiple nd grnt injustices,39 utilized the symbol of wter, he reminded his listeners of its destructive spect (espe~ cilly s t cretion when proposed s the chos motif). Out of wtery chos God brings order (Cn 1:22). In cultic context, Amos 921-8 presents the punishment to be meted out to Isrel through the symbol of wter. Amos 9:3 ppels to the myth of the destructive chos drgon of cretion residing in the pri' mevl wters (Levithn). Verses 4-6 re Cosmic in their scope s the wters of chos symboliclly promise to become the instrument of punishment for sinful Isrel, These re the sme wters of chos tht destroyed sinful people t the time of Noh (Genesis6 9). But these wters re not only destructive, they re redemptive s well. Amos prophetic imgintion plumbs the people's memory with regrd to the symbolic power of wter in order to n propose lterntive, evoking wter s redemptivespects, As Amos did with the symbol of the Dy of Yhweh erlier (5:18-20) so lso with the symbol of wter (5:24), the symbol is reinterpreted by reversing current connottion. lnisrel s memory, the wters of chos were destructive of the right reltionship tht existed with Yhweh. Amos 5:24 presents Amos 5:21-24: Religion, Politics, nd the Ltin Experience 35 n ethiclly-bsed lterntive, showing tht now, in the Between "lime, once-chotic wters could become redemptive s the rolling, flowing, moving, ctive wters of justice. This justice is nothing less thn the ffirmtion of the right reltionship with Yhweh, which implies right reltionship with the neighbor (the promotion of the shlom oi the other ). This reffirmtion of shlom occurred within the context of cult. In Amos, ethics nd reltionl concerns re the point of convergence of religion nd politics (justice nd cult). For lsrel t the time of Amos the most ws significnt reltionship with Yhweh in covennt, nd it is the echoes of the Sini covennt tht we see in 5:24 tht give the reltionship between religion nd politics (cult nd justice) its strong ethicl dimension. in the frmework of cult, in the context. of the Between Time, Amos 5:24 uses the conditionl lnguge of covennt ("if to propose n idel combintion of politics nd religion: if there is to be vlid cult, then it must be ccompnied by the doing of justice Bruce Birch sttes the cse quite succinctly: Isrel itself did not mke shrp seprtions between the cultic nd the ethicl, nd the numinous chrcter ofgod s holiness is s importnt to the explicit morl nd ethicl references s to the cultic. Let us now turn our ttention from Amos to rev contemporry lity where Amos perspective could prove quite useful: the Ltino experience of religiosidudpopulr or devotionl piety. The Ltino Experience: Religiosidd Populr The experience of religion nd politics is universl humn phenomenon tht goes bck to the very origins of humn history. The underlying question hs been, nd continues to be: how does one relte belief in deity, with ll its rmifictions, toone s dily life? The Ltino experience, prticulrly in the United Sttes,42 hs been history of n infelicitous mixture of religion nd politics, The Ltino religious relity hs been more mtter of personl beliefs deeply ingrined in culturl ctegories thn of ny dogmtic system of credl formule encsed in Mediterrnen or Europen prdigms. According to Abrhm l'leschel the prophets hve keen sensitivity to evil so tht even minor injustices ssume cosmic proportions (Heschel, The Prophets [New York: Hrper 48: Row, 1962] 1:4) This my help to explin why Amos uses such strong lnguge nd why injustice is seen in such cosmic terms Exodus references in Amos 3:1 nd 9:7 re reminders of Yhweh's slvific cts on behlf of the people nd include implicitly both the covennting t Sini nd the crossing of the Ym Sui, which is gloriously celebrted in song in Exodus 15. Compre the chotic nd redemptive qulities of wter in Amos, e.g., 427-8; 5:8, 24; 8:8, 1143; 9:6. Bruce C Birch, Lrl justice Roll Down: The Old Testment, Ethics nd Christin Life(Louisville, Ky: Westminster/john Knox Press, 1991) 151. More thn ny other contemporry biblicl scholr Birch hs demonstrted the ethicl dimensions of the Hebrew Scriptures, prticulrly in collbortion with ethicist trry Rsmussen. So s not to become needlessly embroiled in the semntic wr between Ltino nd Hispnic 1 will stte simply tht Ltino here hs wider culturl nd historicl reference thn Hispnic (which I would restrict to devotionl piety [religiosidd populr] becuse of its strong nd unmistkble in uence from Spin).
.,then 36 C. Gilbert Romero Amos 5:21.24: Religion, Politics, nd tlw liitino Experivrice 37 The Ltino politicl relity hs involved survivl s powerless people in society where socil, politicl, nd economic structures re often determined by others. Consequently, religion s religiosidizdpopulr hs served Ltinos s bulwrk ginst the politics of encrochv ment by reffirming those culturl elements tht give people sense of dignity nd empowerment. Thus, to spek of the Ltino experience in the United Sttes in terms of religion nd politics is to spek of the experience of group of people whose culturlly bsed religious beliefs re their primry resource for self-determintion in world of potentil oppression. Given tht religiosiddpopulr is the principl culturlly bsed devo» tionl expression of religious fith mong Ltinos, it thus becomes necessry when confronted with the politics of potentil oppression to bolster tht fith with resources from the wider corpus of Christin belief, nmely, the Bible, it is in this spirit tht I propose Amos tretment of politics nd religion s being of gret vlue for the Ltino experience of religiosidd populr. Amos, Justice, nd Religiosidd Populr It my seem t first blush tht the piring of Amos nd religiosidd populr is bit peculir if not downright impossible, until one hs tken the time to exmine crefully the premises of both regrding politics nd religion. The crucil point of contct between the two is the premise tht reltionship with God is predicted on mutul commitment. For Amos it is the Sini covennt, for religiosiddpopulr it is personl expression of membership in community in reltion with God bsed on bptism or its equivlent. The underlying dynmic of behvior in this covenntsbsed reltionship between God nd God s people is primrily behviorl ethic, How does one best express or ct out reltionship with God? The Scriptures provide the fundmentl resource of responses for both Amos nd religiosidudpopulr. The tempttion to use the Bible s morl guidebook is strong but frught with dnger. As Birch clerly sttes, Simply put, the Bible cnnot be used s prescriptive code book/ 3 Rther, it must be used with other sources of uthorittive morl insight. Hence, our discussion of Amos in reltion to justice nd rcligiosiddpopulr must be more suggestive thn determintive. In the first plce, both Amos nd rcligiosits dpopulr del with God through the frmework of cultic worship. The very ide of populr devotion plces it well within the prmeters of wht we would cll worship. This mens tht the divine-humn reltionship for both Amos nd religiosidudpopulr, in the context of cultic worship, is bsed on bi-level interction, nmely, the mundne nd the scrl. The mun» dne level of interction would include the brod frmework of historicl ctivity where God my or my not intervene. The scrl level of interction, where some species of dilogue is undertken, seeks significnce from wht hs occurred on the mundne level. This initil mix of the mundne nd the scrl, in the context of cultic worship, cn be sid to begin the integrtion process of politics nd religion. Perhps the most importnt spect of the cultic frmework for both Amos nd religiosidd populr is the covennt reltionship tht both presuppose, reltionship tht is both bilterl nd conditionl. We note tht bilterlity nd conditionlity re the chief chrcteristics of the Sini covennt out of which Amos operted. The two bsic consequences nd implictions of this re freedom nd mutulity. Freedom for God in this covennt reltionship mens tht God is not domesticted, tht is, ccess to God is not controlled. God is free, not t the heck nd cll of ny humn officil or uthority. Amos chllenged the cult of his dy tht domesticted the deity. In fct, the reson given by Amzih for Amos/ expulsion from the Bethel snctury ws tht it is the king s snctury nd royltemple (7:13). There is no doubt tht in this cse cultic ccess to God ws controlled by the king. Amos 5:21~24 chllenged this, ffirming divine freedom by stting tht justice, nd not the king, is the mens of ccess to God in the cult. By the sme token, humn freedom is the bility to recognize nd ccept God/s freedom t the moment of personl encoun~ ter.45 In the cse of religiosiddpopulr, the devotion itself becomes the frmework for the divine/ humn encounter, nd the recognition nd cceptnce of the fct tht God my or my not nswer pryer mkes the devotee free. The brgining element of vrious devotions is ctully n ffirmtion of the freedom of God nd the devotee. Mutulity mens bsiclly responsibility to nd for the covennt reltionship. The very structuring of the Sini covennt through its if. phrsing is n indiction of mutul commitment be tween Yhweh nd Isrel. From Yhweh s point of View, thecommit ment is grtuitous love nd loylty freely given to Isrel without ny 30 46. Birch, Let Iusticc Roll Down, 32. The resons for this re discussed extensively in Birch, Let lustice Roll Down, The question ofgod s domestiction is very bly delt with in Birch, Let lustice Roll Dwn,224 8. This is good exmple of the mix of politics nd religion.
38 C. Gilbert Romero merit on itsprt, It is in response to this covennt love nd loylty, clled hosed in the Hebrew text, tht Isrel keeps the Commndments In other words, Isrel s mutulity in the covennt reltionship is the promotion of the well~being (shlom) of the other, the promotion of justice. Freedom in the covennt reltionship mkes humn choice possible: whether to ccept or reject God's own freedom to lovegrtui touslyl Rejection mens cknowledging the king s right to control ccess to the deity nd thus to set the terms of the reltionship s did Amzih. Acceptnce ofgod s freedom to love freely mens wre ness of consequences of cceptnce nd rejection nd choosing the suitble lterntive Amos riled ginst the cultic prctices of his dy becuse they implied rejection of the mutulity of the Sini covennt reltionship: Yhweh hd become domesticted. Injustice ws perpetrted nd often rtionlized through the cult, nd Yhweh ws not llowed to be free, In 5:21-24 Amos clrified the implictions of mutulity in covennt reltionship by bringing together the power nd significnce of memory nd symbol within the context of cultic worship. He reminded the people of the mutulity of the covennt reltionship. Yhweh ws fithful nd Isrel ws not. Isrel bused the covennt reltionship Through the use of the symbol of running wter for justice, Amos ctivted the memory nd imgintion of the people in the Between Time of cultic worship in order to trnsform chronologicl time (historicl memory ofslvi c events) into redemptive time (recommit to the slvific experience). In the cse of religioside populr it is, s lredy indicted, conv text of worship tht mens context for the divine~humn encounter nd the bivlevel mix of the mundne nd the scred There is n im«plied covennt reltionship bsed on the Sini model ofconditionl ity nd mutulity, which mens tht there is strong ethicl orienttion in the reltionship. In other words, there cn be no true devotion unless there is genuine concern for the promotion of the well-being of the other, El tro should be preoccuption in ll the genuinely m ture expressions of devotionl pietyl Whtever the specific expression of rcligisiddpopulr, the dynmics of reltionship between God nd the devotee remin bsiclly the sme: those suggested by the prophet Amos In the context of cultic worship ( specific devotion) there is divine-humn encounter where the presupposition of thereltion ship is one with de nite ethicl implictions, Amos' fellow northern prophet Hose spoke very eloquently Hose 11 remins one of the most theologiclly rich chpters ofyhweh s grtuitous love (herd) for his people. on this issue. in the Bible tht tret Amos 5:21 24: Religion. Polilirs, nd the Ltino Experience 39 As concrete exmple, for illustrtive purposes, let us tke the common prctice of the home ltr. Becuse it is n expression of religiosidd populr the devotion of the home ltr is n ct of cultic worship nd therefore very much prt of religion The moment of encounter between the devotee nd God occurs t the ltr when dilogue with God (or given representtive) is begun. The initil stte of the ritul involves memory tht represents (ctulizes) pst experiences of blessings either personl or fmilil. Historiclly, there might hve been some unnswered pryers," but the fith qulity in the nture of the reltionship with God is such tht the memory of blessings predomintes. Otherwise, the devotee would not be doing this gin nd gin Memory mkes present chronologicl/redemptive history from the pst in order for the devotee to mke contemporry decision whether or not to mke redemptive time out of chronologicl time This is the moment of the Between Time, the moment of the Entretiempo. Will the ethicl choice be bsed on the mutulity of the implied covennt rel~ tionship or not? The emergence of the Between Time (the Entreliempo) ctulized through the use of symbol nd set in motion by the imgintion provides the frmework for the proper ethicl choice, nd thus mkes redemptive time out of chronologicl time. For exmple, the devotee t the home ltr chooses memories of pst blessings, when pryers were nswered, to motivte current dilogue (petition or grtitude). There my be serious problem under considertion t the moment tht only dilogue with God cn bring to resolution. It my be or personl fmily illness or some other debilitting fctor, Entrnce into the dilogue provokes hopefully positive outcome for the devotee, The implied covennt reltionship, in the frmework of memory-induced blessings, fvors, or slvil'ic cts, mkes possible in the Entretiempo responsive decision with ethicl implic tions. The imgintion presents the future s n hope lterntive to the present sttus of need by proposing symbols to be cted upon A frequent symbol in the home ltr devotion expressing the hope of probble resolution to problem is the pilgrimge or mnd (promise to fulfill pledge) s covennt reciprocity. Pilgrimge is powerful symbol with powerful polyvlences. It would not be too gret stretch to see in the pilgrimge the sme type of symbolic energy tht Amos sees in running wter." "Without digressing into the symbolic significnce of pilgrimge, suffice it to sy tht just s Amos communictes the importnce of running wter s symbol for justice(s:24) ior exmple, the Hebrew word 3!! in its Niphl form cn hve the mening of roll on under its own power, thus indicting n inner force going to completion (eg, Is55:10~11) so the pilgrimge cn symbolize justice s indi«cted below in the text,