Comfort
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Alas for those who are at ease in Zion,
and for those who feel secure on Mount Samaria.Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory,
and lounge on their couches,and eat lambs from the flock,
and calves from the stall;who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp,
and like David improvise on instruments of music;who drink wine from bowls,
and anoint themselves with the finest oils,
but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!Therefore they shall now be the first to go into exile,
and the revelry of the loungers shall pass away.-Amos 6:1a-4-7
Our readings this week are no easier on the subject of wealth than last week’s were. Again the readings are telling us that the wealth that God offers is not like the world’s wealth and that true riches are beyond any earthly comforts. We’re reminded while money and resources can be ver useful in serving God and neighbor, we are not to make them our goal .
This week, our readings are particularly tough on those who are comfortable. Many of us in the Episcopal Church - and here in Keene - live comfortable lives. So, how comfortable is too comfortable? Amos seems to be saying that having lovely furniture and plenty of rich food, lots of time for leisure and parties, and lovely perfumes and adornments are a recipe for being sent into exile. Hmmm, many of us have those kinds of things - and more! Amos implies, though, that it’s a life focused on earthly wealth and comfort that is especially damaging when they blind you to the discomfort of others or detach you from your community. In other words, when you’re too comfortable to bother with anyone else’s needs, you’re definitely too comfortable.
As people of faith, we are concerned with the needs of others, and we make it a practice to be in community. However, even in church, most of us are still comfortable enough to be able to sacrifice and give more than we already do to God and others. So in that sense, we’re all at least a little bit too comfortable. I think about St. Basil the Great, who is quoted saying:
The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry;
the coat unused in your closet belongs to the one who needs it;
the shoes rotting in your closet belong to the one who has no shoes;
the money which you hoard up belongs to the poor.
So listen - I’ve walked back and forth to the church 3 times today. And each time, I’ve passed the sharing box at the library and have noticed that it is empty. But I have not gotten in my car and driven to the store to get a few things to share because I am comfortable in my planned schedule for the day and don’t want to alter it. But doing so would only take a few minutes! I have windows!
That is a small example, but it is to the point. All of us could be of more help to God or neighbor than we usually are, even if it’s just in small, do-able ways. People just don’t take naturally to sacrifice, and that is why it has long been a spiritual practice. So after I write this, I think I’ll head out on a little errand…
It’s a hard balance to discern, how comfortable is too comfortable. It’s especially hard for those who are generally comfortable, because who wants to give up comforts? We end up confusing wants and needs because we have gotten so many of our wants and begin to think we can’t live without them. And who wants to give away things we enjoy, or to sacrifice time or energy or personal pleasures? As Paul writes to Timothy this week:
As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.
May our earthly possessions and comfort never numb us to God’s call to serve and to give, that we may we may be rich in good works, and take hold of the life that really is life.
