Stunning piece over at Ethics Daily by Robert Parham.
What would Nathan say?
What would Amos say?
What would Zechariah say?
The unspoken question is screaming in me.
Parham ends with this:
But of course, everyone knows that Monday evening’s address will be built on the shifting sand of politics, not the solid rock of biblical wisdom.
Partisans will draft it. The White House’s senior political staff will sign off on the final version. The president will deliver his speech with much pomp to other politicians, tweaking his opponents and winking at his proponents. Pundits will critique the speech on TV news shows, seeing it only in political terms. Pollsters will gauge public reaction to determine the effectiveness of political themes and terms.
The address will contain references to the divine, some explicit and implicit nods at the import of religious life and a few generic comments about values. The final words will call for God to bless the union. The entire event will be a sacred moment for the civil religion of politics.
That fact, however, should not determine how people of faith think about the State of the Union address. We need not hear and reflect on it only in political terms. We need to measure it against what we would like to have heard if the speech had been formed by the prophets in the biblical witness.
When people of faith listen to the State of the Union, we need to listen with the words of Nathan, Amos, Zechariah and the other prophets. They spoke for God, and people of faith across the ages codified their messages into the sacred text called the Bible.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Eugene McKinnon 01.27.06 at 10:34 pm
For the three sins of America and for four,
I will not revoke the punishment.
Because they sell the blacks and poor into the military
To fight in Iraq and Afghanistan.
They who trample the Iraqi in the dust
And torture the prisoner in Abu Ghraib.
Father and son tinker with their muscle cars.
And cry foul over gas prices.
They blaspheme my name on Saturdays
And in the house of God they eat and drink punishment upon themselves
Yet I led them to the New World
I gave them a haven to freely worship me.
I gave them a vast land
Also I brought you out of oppressed lands
And removed the oppressor from your land.
And I raised up some of your sons and daughters
To advocate for freedom
Is it not indeed so America?
But you keep the blacks down with drugs
And their daughters with prostitution.
And you say to those who stand up for justice
“Shut up!”
So I will put you in your place.
As a mother puts her child in a corner.
Those who claim to be fighting in my name
will perish.
Those who give orders will have deaf ears.
Says the LORD.
With apologies to YHWH and to Amos.
Eugene
Kim 01.27.06 at 10:58 pm
Excellent!
And excellent, Eugene!
FP 01.28.06 at 12:59 am
Awesome. Thanks to Robert, Eugene, Richard and hello to KIm.
FP
Eugene McKinnon 01.28.06 at 3:59 am
Don’t get too comfortable. The UK, Australia, and any tom, dick, and harry country could get a prophetic message from Amos. We are studying Amos in our Bible in Context class with the emphasis on Social Justice. I highly recommend it if you ever decide to come to Knox College for your MDiv, MRE, MTS, or ThM or ThD.
Come on and join us.
Eugene
Christine Dudych 12.06.06 at 4:28 pm
Eugene, I tried sending you those notes, and it bounced. I tried four variations, and they all bounced. I hope you get this before Monday, Dec. 11, 2006 (if anyone else should be reading this and know Eugene’s email address…. HELP!!!) (and thanks, in advance.)
I like this take on Amos in America, too. Well done!