Pathetic Priest or Prophetic Prophets

Amos was an 8th century Prophet (760BCE-750BCE) who was given the assignment by The almighty to announce his Anger against the affluent in Israel because of their oppression of the poor and powerless. The only thing that would alleviate God's anger was fair treatment of those who were the dispossessed, the disadvantaged and the disinherited.
"Let justice roll down as waters and righteousness as a mighty stream."(Amos 5:24) was God's word to the haves and have mores in Israel.
So Amos would have to travel from his home in Tekoa of the Southern Kingdom (in Judah) to the Northern Kingdom (Bethel of Samaria) to tell "what thus say the Lord..." and upon his arrival he is verbally accosted by the Priest Amaziah who served at the pleasure of King Jeroboam II.
Beloved under Jeroboam II the Poor, the weak and the vulnerable were under severe pain because of the policies of the government.
Yet Amaziah the High Priest of Israel because of his privilege, because of his position and because of his perceived proximity to power was a Pathetic Priest!
He was a pathetic priest because he refused to address the adversities of the disadvantaged because he did not want to upset the apple cart.
He was a pathetic priest because he would not use his Voice for the victimized voiceless because of his vanity and veneer of religiousity.
He was a pathetic priest because he did not proclaim God's will choosing instead to pacify the King's wants. Amaziah was a Pathetic Priest!
But Amos was a Prophetic Prophet. Amos was a Prophetic Prophet because he told God's truth instead of talking the King's trash. The Lord had shown Amos a "Plumb line" that indicated Israel was no longer Plumb. They no longer were operating according to the standards of the Sovereign of heaven. And that upset Amaziah. Amaziah ran and told his earthly master on Amos "Amos is raising a conspiracy against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all of his words."(Amos 7:10) In other words how Amos is speaking sounds harsh, it sounds hard, it is hurting our delicate ears. Yet Amos had to say it how God gave it; Amos because of Heaven's heart had to bring Light and heat to the hell God's people were under. Amos would not pamper the privileged or the people by falsely preaching "Peace, Peace, when there was no peace..." Beloved Amos chose to speak the truth anyhow even if it was an inconvenient truth.
Secondly Amos was a Prophetic Prophet because he was motivated by God's mandate and not by money. Amaziah tried to dismiss Amos as a Prosperity seeking Priest who only preached for money (Amos 7:12). Yet Amos told Amaziah that he did not preach for money and in fact he did not pick up this Prophetic ministry as he was minding his own business under the sycamore tree tending his flock when the Lord picked him out and put this ministry on him. Amos therefore chose to be God's Mouth piece to Mitigate the misery of the masses through the mercy of the master in heaven. Amos' motivation came from his eternal relationship and not an economic reward.
Ultimately Amos was a prophetic prophet because he sought God's Approval instead of Human Applause! Amaziah told Amos "don't prophesy anymore at Bethel because this is the King's sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom."(Amos 7:13) In other words do not speak the truth; do not say what the Lord told you to say; Shut up and be silent and it may go well for you. Amaziah could say that because his allegiance was to the King and not the King of Kings. But Amos was not called by the king; Amos was not called by the people; Amos was not called by the pathetic priest, Amos was called by God! Amos like the prophetic prophets before him and those who would come after him sought God's approval and not human applause.
That is why I celebrate the prophetic ministry of the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. Dr. Wright has determined by his divinely designed destiny to tell God's truth instead of this countries civil religious trash. God's plumb line shows that racism, militarism, and materialism has gotten this country out of plumb.
I celebrate the ministry of Dr. Wright because he is motivated by God's mandate and not by money. Like Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. before him he has Chosen to be aligned with the almighty in his eternal relationship instead of seeking after an economic reward.
I celebrate the prophetic ministry of Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. because for 36 years he has sought God's approval and not human applause. He has not changed who he is because of where he is or who is uncomfortable. To change what God guides him to say and HOW God gives it to him to say would make him a Priest posturing for approval and that ain't him.
God deliver us from pathetic priest who posture for position with politicians; God deliver us from Pathetic priest who preach a prosperity gospel pimping the poor; God deliver us from pathetic priest who who want to please people and not be pleasing to God!
I pray that God will send us more Prophets like the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. who refuse to water down God's word because people tend to be wishy washy.
Rev. Wright stands in the sacred sagacious stream of Prophets like Amos, like Jeremiah, Like Ezekiel, Like Isaiah, like Elijah, like Elisha and like Micah who said "What does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God!"
Dr. Wright stands in the biblical brook of the prophetic Black church tradition of Prophets like Bishop Richard Allen, like Rev. Harriett Tubman, like Rev. Henry Highland Garnet, like Bishop Henry McNeal Turner, like Rev. Jerena Lee, Like Rev. Dr. Vernon Johns and Like Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
I celebrate the prophetic ministry of Amos who was lied on and had his sermon Luped out of context (read Amos 7:10-11) to create controversy. I celebrate the ministry of Dr. Wright whose theology comes straight from the 8th century prophets and the modern prophets of the Black churches liberation gospel for the oppressed.
And I say to Dr. Wright and the faithful prophets coming after him in the words of another prophetic prophet and "Prince of Preachers" Rev. Dr. Charles Albert Tindley, "Harder yet may be the fight, right may often yield to might. Wickedness a while may reign, Satan's cause may seem to gain [but] there is a God, who rules above with hand of power and heart of love and if I'm right he'll fight my battles I shall have peace, someday!"
James Russell Lowell says, "truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne, yet that scaffold sways the future and beyond the dim unknown standeth God in the shadows keeping watch above his own."
I say to Dr. Wright keep on preaching like the other Prophets in the bible who were lied on, lied about and lied to; Keep on giving God the glory like those same prophets who were also given grief by the diamonds and gold chasers of their day; Keep on staying true to the God who called you because that same God who kept them will keep you. That same God who told Joshua "As I was with Moses, so I will also be with you" will not forsake you Dr. Wright. That same God who took a 3 day dead Jesus who also was lied on lied about lied to and had his sermons luped out of context; that same God who rasied Jesus can still take a crooked stick and hit a straight lick; That Same God can still transform tradgedy into Triumph; That same God can still take the misery of a blues people in slavery and turn them into the miracle people of today! That same God will make away somehow!