God sent the prophet Amos to bring a warning to the complacent in Zion, secure on the mount of Samaria, those who feast on lambs taken from the flock and calves from the stall while paying no attention to the needs of the community around them. Blind to the circumstances of the society they live in, the complacent party on as if nothing were amiss. But God warns that they shall be the first to go into exile, and their wanton revelry shall be done away with. The complacent in Zion are like the wicked mentioned in Psalm 146, as contrasted with the oppressed, the blind, and those who are bowed down, all of whom the Lord succors in their time of need.
In Jesus’ time, it was the Pharisees who were complacent in their dealings with those less fortunate than themselves. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus tells the Pharisees the parable of the rich man who disregards a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, lying at his door; Lazarus is invisible to this rich man dressed in purple, the color of luxury, his robes soft and elegant. Like him, the Pharisees live in an enclosed and protected world, and are thus able to remain complacent in their dealings with the world. When the boundaries they have erected between themselves and their world are compromised, the Pharisees become profoundly uncomfortable, accustomed as they are to excluding those who are different, the poor and the needy. They do not pursue the righteousness that Paul counsels to Timothy; they do not keep God’s commandment without stain or reproach. Their faith has been corrupted by their own sense of complacency, and they fail to show compassion for the needy in their midst.
To be complacent is to show utter disregard for our world, to refuse it God’s life-giving justice. But Jesus calls us to righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness in our dealings with others. This is how we are to participate in the kingdom to which we are called, competing well for the faith and in all things, remaining life-giving, like our God who gives life to all things. Indeed, there is no room for complacency in the kingdom, only compassion and empathy and mercy worthy of the Lord who gave all that we might one day enjoy eternal life in the bosom of Abraham.
This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com
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