Reading this morning from the third chapter, I absently read a series of logical statements: "Do two walk together, unless they have an appointment? Does a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Does a bird fall in a snare to the earth when there is no trap for it?"
Then Amos gets to his point: "Surely the Lord God does nothing, without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets."
God's vision of how the world ought to be is revealed to God's prophets. God does not hide what it is that he prefers, what it is that he hopes we will do, how he prefers we live our lives.
Like many of the prophets, Amos was not unanimously embraced by his contemporaries. Like most of the prophets, his words were considered suspect and his warnings were not joyfully embraced. God's prophets stand more on the edges or even outside the center of the conventional wisdom circle.
During these days of Advent, it is good to reflect on God's preferred vision for our world. During these days of Advent, it would be a good thing to ask about the "secrets" of God, being made known by God's appointed messengers. During these days of Advent, we might begin by asking who those prophets are and if we spend any time listening to them.
Surely God is making his will known; the question is whether we are listening.
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