What sorrow awaits you who lounge in luxury in Jerusalem,
and you who feel secure in Samaria!
You are famous and popular in Israel,
and people go to you for help. (Amos 6:1)
A Slice of Infinity Snippets:
“Acedia” ... is a word that has fallen out of use in the last thousand years, written out of our minds and vocabularies, but not out of our lives. The Latin word refers to spiritual torpor or apathy. It is the spiritual equivalent of sloth--inactivity or unconcern in the practice of virtue. The term was most often used in monastic circles, considered an adversary that materialized in the drastic lives of the monks. But the question at the heart of acedia--“Why bother?”--moves far beyond the walls of the monastery, and perhaps particularly in the hearts of those who find themselves weary of feeling, those who would sooner choose the ease of apathy than the work of relationship, the simplicity of self over the sacrifice of community.
Like weariness or despair, acedia creeps into our lives and moves us to spiritual indifference. It comes when we are tired of feeling, weary of living with care and attention, lulled to sleep by comfort or disinterest. At this description, Amos’s portrayal of Zion may not feel so far off after all. In fact, at the time of Amos, the people of Israel were perhaps struggling with something quite like acedia. Reeling in false security and erroneous confidence from their own economic affluence, the Israelites were living in a deplorable state of existence, warned Amos, blind and isolated by their focus on self, impervious to their own indifference at the situation around them. It was in the midst of this, their most opulent and apathetic juncture, when the shepherd proclaimed: “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria” (Amos 6:1).
Comments:
Relationships can be difficult - outright hard. At some stages we can be hit with 'acedia' and decide not to press in because 'it's just not worth it.' May I encourage you to keep on in your relationships? Develop strong bonds with those whom you know are listening to God. Then, when you feel God has told you it is time to move on, you have someone with whom you can talk; someone to help you hear and understand the true voice of the most high God. At some points we may be told to wipe the dirt off our sandals and move on, but when I feel 'indifference' to other peoples sin setting in on me, I hope to be able to 'see' that indifference and pray that God would once again break my heart for the sins of my neighbor.
The kingdom of God is at hand!
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