Please remember that this evening we are concluding our discussion of Amos and reading through Amos 7-9 – Locusts, Fire, Plumb lines, Ripe Fruit, and Earthquakes. As we look back through Amos, think about how the Divine is disclosed within its pages. I have attached Heschel’s brief seven-page “Conclusion” from The Prophets. As you read through Heschel’s conclusion, think about not only whether Heschel accurately captures the God who is disclosed within Amos, but how closely Heschel’s description of God also describes Jesus. According to Heschel, the prophet conceives of God as being primarily involved, attentive, and concerned with his creation and particularly humanity. God’s wrath, as spoken by the prophets, arises from this concern and attentiveness whenever evil is committed. God is not an “It” whose essence is to be metaphysically dissected and studied, but a “who” to be known and encountered. Our task, as Heschel says, is not to make God the object of our thinking, but to discover ourselves as the objects of his thinking.
Dinner is at 6. The menu is Jambalaya with fresh McClellanville shrimp. Discussion about 6:45. We will end with Compline. Also, please let me know if you are joining us the Tuesday of Thanksgiving.
O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
Psalm 139:1-6, 23-24
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!