You Tube Theology

Rev. Duke Kwon, pastor over Grace Meridian Hill, preaches on Amos 4 in the context of modern American "racial justice." He begins by reinterpreting verse 1 to mean that the "cows of Bashan" who "oppress the poor" are actually just benefiting from oppression that men commit, then confesses his fear that wanting his son to be safe from crime could subconsciously be at the expense of black men.

TRANSCRIPT:

What are ways that you and I personally benefit from injustice? What are ways the oppression of our neighbors actually works to our profit? We don't typically think about that question. In fact, we tend to think about social injustices, like poverty or institutional racism, like we talk about
natural disasters. You know, they're terrible occurrences with lots of
victims who, sure, deserve our pity, but there's no real perpetrator and no one to blame. Crimes without a criminal. Robberies without a robber. But Amos is reminding us that somebody went home with the loot. Somebody had a bigger meal that night. Mooo! The Bible is reminding us that injustice always works for the gain, the benefit, of someone.

There's one more thing to notice. Commentators point out that Amos seems to have chosen the feminine word "cows," rather than, say, "bulls,"
because he's actually referring to, speaking to the women of the city. And of
course, in that day in in that ancient culture, the oppression that Amos is
describing all throughout this book would have been carried out primarily by the men of the city. They were the employers withholding wages from their workers. They were the judges distorting justice in the courts. These men were the merchants squeezing out the poor in the marketplace. Most of the Book of Amos is focused on those guys, but here in this chapter, by calling out the women of the city, Amos is focusing on addressing
those who benefit from injustice. Those who say to their husbands, "bring,
that we may drink." Those who benefit, even if they weren't the ones doing the plundering themselves. He's talking to those who didn't do the plundering but who loved to enjoy the plunder.

Verses 2 + 3, Amos describes a scene of judgment. "The days are coming when foreign armies will drag you away as captives, like fishermen drag fish out of the water. You will be led out of your city through breaches," walls broken down by enemy armies. He's describing the Exile, this violent and terrible form of judgment that would befall the people of Israel. And so, of course he's saying that indeed the women, the glad beneficiaries of injustice, and not just its perpetrators. They, too, are under God's judgment.

Recently I was thinking about the problem of police brutality, which, after the murder of George Floyd, is the issue that ignited the current public outcry for racial justice. And, of course, it's a terribly complicated issue. Loads of gratitude and admiration for those of you in our congregations who work in law enforcement. My family and I have been well served by MPD here locally, especially on a few notable occasions. But that, too, is actually a part of the point that I'm getting at.

I've been thinking, reflecting. I've been thinking about the the power of fear and the way that we've been, perhaps all of us, have been trained to believe that the best way to keep our cities safe is to nip crime in the bud. In fact, to nip it even where there is no bud. To respond to even the hint of the suspicion of the possibility of a crime with lethal force because, and we've really come to believe this, it's far better to overreach than to under-reach. But what we have failed to see or maybe refused to see is that this approach to public safety comes and has too often come at the price of black life.

In a world where every black man is viewed as a menacing threat, as a bud to be nipped, as a neck to be kneed on for 8 minutes, 46 seconds, until an unarmed breather of breath and bearer of God's image breathes his last breath. Do you hear what I'm saying? Few people wake up in the morning
saying, "I want my black neighbors to be harmed by the police." But many of us do wake up and say, "I want to be safe and I want my family to be safe, no matter what the cost. No matter who must pay it."

I'm recently haunted by the thought that I might wake up and say, "As long as my son comes home safe, no matter the cost to the black sons of our city, to the black sons of our church, my son must come home safe. Bring that we may drink."

Beloved, fellow cows of Bashan, injustice always works for the gain of someone, even those who aren't personally or directly involved in that injustice's perpetration. The Bible teaches us to confess that sometimes I am more whole because my neighbor has been crushed.

So what should we do, fellow cows?

Source video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc2r1Mh2H0E

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