Minor Prophets in the Midst of Pentecost

The Old Testament lessons for Pentecost 18, 19, and 20 are drawn from the works of two of the so-called minor prophets, Amos and Habakkuk. In our first passage, Amos 8:4-7(8), the dichotomy of faith and life—compartmentalized religion that sees no reason to let the understandings and experiences of worship affect the activities of the rest of life—comes to the fore. Our second passage, Amos 6:1-7, depicts the incongruity of the way of the affluent: lolling around Samaria, totally oblivious to the “ruin of Joseph” (Amos 6:6) or to the judgment that God will soon visit upon them by means of the Assyrians. Finally, in our third passage, Habakkuk 1:1-3; 2:1-4, the prophet laments the tension in speaking of a God who demands justice but seems to be doing nothing about it