Text used – Amos 5:18-24
- The Pharisees asked Jesus when God’s kingdom was coming. He replied, “God’s kingdom isn’t coming with signs that are easily noticed. Nor will people say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ Don’t you see? God’s kingdom is already among you.” Then Jesus said to the disciples, “The time will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Human One, and you won’t see it. People will say to you, ‘Look there!’ or ‘Look here!’ Don’t leave or go chasing after them. The Human One will appear on his day in the same way that a flash of lightning lights up the sky from one end to the other. However, first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.[1] → This passage comes from Luke 17:20-25. Jesus predicting the return of the Human One (or “Son of Man” in many other translations).
- “Human One/Son of Man” = trad Heb. phrase referring to Messiah
- Mk 13 = another ch. heavily devoted to predicting the 2nd coming
- Jesus always accompanied these predictions of the Messiah’s return with a warning that none – not even Jesus himself! – would know the day or time of that return,
- End of Mk 13: (Jesus) “But nobody knows when that day or hour will come, not the angels in heaven and not the Son. Only the Father knows. Watch out! Stay alert! You don’t know when the time is coming. … What I say to you, I say to all: Stay alert!”[2]
- Hear the same warning in our Scripture reading this morning (in no uncertain terms!): Doom to those who desire the day of the Lord! Why do you want the day of the Lord? It is darkness, not light; as if someone fled from a lion, and was met by a bear; or sought refuge in a house, rested a hand against the wall, and was bitten by a snake. Isn’t the day of the Lord darkness, not light; all dark with no brightness in it?[3]
- And yet despite all of these warnings, a whole lot of people have focused pretty heavily on trying to know and predict just that: the day and time of Jesus’ Second Coming.
- Both past and future predictions (just from Wikipedia)[4]
- [read first and last]
- [congregational involvement – any # btwn 2 and 51]
- And as entertaining as it may be to read through some of these, they’re what I would call righteous (?) distractions – distractions because when the focus is so unilaterally trained on trying to figure out when Christ is coming back, it pulls people away from the other things that God calls us to: compassion, service, love, even prayer. And righteous (?) because, while it may seem like a righteous pursuit, the Bible definitely has some other things to say about that.
- Both past and future predictions (just from Wikipedia)[4]
- Enter today’s Scripture reading from the prophet Amos.
- Amos = one of those 12 minor prophet books all sort of smooshed together at the end of the First Testament
- Find it btwn Joel and Obadiah
- Scholar: There is almost unanimous agreement that the book of Amos is the earliest of the prophetic books. As such, it marks the beginning of a unique tradition in the history of religion: prophecies of the approaching end of the existence of God’s people based upon God’s judgment of them for failing to live according to the divine standards.[5]
- Very beginning of Amos gives us some historical context: These are the words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa. He perceived these things concerning Israel two years before the earthquake, in the days of Judah’s King Uzziah and in the days of Israel’s King Jeroboam, Joash’s son.[6]
- Follow me on the history of this one for a minute: places Amos in generation that experienced the division of the northern Kingdom of Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah
- Kingdom of Israel was one united nation under kings David, Solomon, and Solomon’s son, Rehoboam
- Jeroboam led rebellion against Rehoboam
- Israel split into northern kingdom (Israel) and southern kingdom (Judah) with Jeroboam ruling Judah and Rehoboam ruling Israel[7]
- King Uzziah succeeded King Rehoboam in Israel → Voila! Amos’s timeline.
- Follow me on the history of this one for a minute: places Amos in generation that experienced the division of the northern Kingdom of Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah
- Most of Amos = lots of doom and gloom for pretty much everyone
- And the gist of God’s disgust as expressed through Amos is that the people have become distracted! They’ve succumbed to righteous (?) distractions.
- Earlier (beginning of Amos 5): The Lord proclaims to the house of Israel: Seek me and live. But don’t seek Bethel, don’t enter into Gilgal, or cross over to Beer-sheba; for Gilgal will go into exile, and Bethel will come to nothing. Seek the Lord and live, or else God might rush like a fire against the house of Joseph. The fire will burn up Bethel, with no one to put it out.[10]
- Bethel, Gilgal, Beer-sheba = not sites associated with other religions → all pilgrimage sites for the ancient Israelites → Now, I know we aren’t quite into today’s reading yet, but this is really important. These were Israelite pilgrimage sites – sites that were supposed to be considered holy, sites that people were supposed to make sacred journeys to for various religious feast days throughout the year.
- Beer-sheba = place where Isaac settled → God appeared to Isaac in a dream there, so Isaac built a shrine for God at Beer-sheba[11]
- Bethel = place that Jacob rested after fleeing when he stole Esau’s blessing from Isaac → place where Jacob dreamed about the ladder going up to heaven[12]
- Gilgal = integral part of the Exodus story → Israelites escaped slavery in Egypt, finally finished wandering in the wilderness for 40 yrs. with Moses, then crossed the Jordan with Joshua and camped at Gilgal[13]
- These have been holy sites for the people of Israel for generations … for centuries, even. And yet through Amos, God is saying, “No. They’ve become distractions for you.”
- Bethel, Gilgal, Beer-sheba = not sites associated with other religions → all pilgrimage sites for the ancient Israelites → Now, I know we aren’t quite into today’s reading yet, but this is really important. These were Israelite pilgrimage sites – sites that were supposed to be considered holy, sites that people were supposed to make sacred journeys to for various religious feast days throughout the year.
- Earlier (beginning of Amos 5): The Lord proclaims to the house of Israel: Seek me and live. But don’t seek Bethel, don’t enter into Gilgal, or cross over to Beer-sheba; for Gilgal will go into exile, and Bethel will come to nothing. Seek the Lord and live, or else God might rush like a fire against the house of Joseph. The fire will burn up Bethel, with no one to put it out.[10]
- We hear this sentiment echoed in today’s text: I hate, I reject your festivals; I don’t enjoy your joyous assemblies. If you bring me your entirely burned offerings and gifts of food – I won’t be pleased; I won’t even look at your offerings of well-fed animals. Take away the noise of your songs; I won’t listen to the melody of your harps.[14] → This has to be confounding for the people who heard Amos’ message because all those things that he’s talking about – the festivals, the assemblies, the offerings, the harps – they’re all things set out by God as means of worship way back in the time of Moses (in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). And yet here is God saying, “Nope. Those aren’t important. You’ve lost sight of what’s really important … what is truly righteous.”
- Main issue: Israelites during that time had turned worship into a social event → all of these festivals, assemblies, etc. were all about the gathering aspect for the feasts and celebrations … but less and less about how God was calling them to do and be in this world
- Amos = one of those 12 minor prophet books all sort of smooshed together at the end of the First Testament
- So how do we start thinking about and interacting with this text?
- Prominent theology and author (and, btw, Presbyterian) MaryAnn McKibben Dana highlights the discomfort we find in this text: Amos focuses his ire on the people’s festivals, assemblies, and offerings to God. Few things are more personal. How we worship, how we engage with one another, and what we give to God all speak volumes about who we are. It stings to be told that these are not right or good enough, so it is no wonder that we have learned to tune out the likes of Amos.[15]
- So what would God’s words through Amos sound like if they were spoken to us today? What are the things that within the life of the church that we find distracting?
- Secret: just because it happens within the walls of the church building (or even within the walls of this sanctuary) OR just because someone stamps God’s name on it or declares their words/actions “in the name of Jesus” doesn’t make any of it authentically faithful
- Age-old joke in the church has to do with congregations coming to blows with one another over the color of the carpet … And we laugh … but it’s out there for a reason. It’s out there because it’s happened. More than once. WAY more than once. Do we really think God cares one iota about the color of the carpet? Or whether a particular congregation’s name legally begins with “The” or not? Or what bowl the peas are served in during the yearly dinner?
- Goes deeper than just internal actions → meme going around: “The Bible is clear” is a term often used to force beliefs and morality on people who don’t follow the Bible. But the Bible IS clear, for those who follow it: Love your neighbor, welcome the stranger, serve the least, feed the hungry, forgive debts, choose the other, be a peacemaker. → Basically, friends, this is a commentary on the rampant proof-texting that is flying around in the Church today – the practice of pulling one single verse out of the Bible to prove whatever point you’re making while ignoring things like context (both context within the Scripture itself like what verses are around the particular verse in question as well as the context in which these ancient words were written) and ignoring God’s overarching message of love and compassion and mercy that’s woven throughout the entirety of Scripture.
- Amos hammers this home with that last verse: But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.[16]
- Scholar drives home the heart of this: Amos is not telling us that God despises worship. Amos is telling us that worshiping, respecting, and honoring God are not just about performing ritual. Ritual without action in the world is meaningless. Ritual without meaning behind it – or perhaps without the heart behind it – is pointless. The church cannot claim its calling my worship alone. God commands that we practice justice and that we help usher in the kingdom of God with our own hands in prayer and in deed.[17]
- Secret: just because it happens within the walls of the church building (or even within the walls of this sanctuary) OR just because someone stamps God’s name on it or declares their words/actions “in the name of Jesus” doesn’t make any of it authentically faithful
- So what would God’s words through Amos sound like if they were spoken to us today? What are the things that within the life of the church that we find distracting?
- Prolific Christian theologian, scholar, teacher, and UCC pastor Walter Brueggemann: The prophetic tasks of the church are to tell the truth in a society that lives in illusion, grieve in a society that practices denial, and express hope in a society that lives in despair. → Friends, Amos makes it clear because God made it clear to him: faith must be paired with actions, not that lift up ourselves and those like us, but those who are in deepest need – those who have been left out, those who have been tossed out, those who have nothing left, those who had nothing to begin with. Our call is Christians is not just to reach down into the fray whenever it’s most comfortable for us but to get down in that fray with those who need us because that is where Jesus spent his time. Everything else? Just a distraction … righteous … or otherwise. Amen.
- Prominent theology and author (and, btw, Presbyterian) MaryAnn McKibben Dana highlights the discomfort we find in this text: Amos focuses his ire on the people’s festivals, assemblies, and offerings to God. Few things are more personal. How we worship, how we engage with one another, and what we give to God all speak volumes about who we are. It stings to be told that these are not right or good enough, so it is no wonder that we have learned to tune out the likes of Amos.[15]
[1] Lk 17:20-25.
[2] Mk 13:32-33, 37.
[3] Amos 5:18-20.
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predictions_and_claims_for_the_Second_Coming.
[5] Donald E. Gowan. “The Book of Amos: Introduction, Commentary, and Reflections” in The New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary series, vol. 7. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996), 339.
[6] Amos 1:1.
[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kings_of_Israel_and_Judah.
[8] Amos 1:2-2:5.
[9] Amos 2:6 – the rest of the book.
[10] Amos 5:4-6.
[11] Gen 26:23-33.
[12] Gen 28:10-22.
[13] Josh 4:19-5:12.
[14] Amos 5:21-23.
[15] MaryAnn McKibben Dana. “Proper 27 (Sunday between November 6 and November 12 inclusive) – Amos 5:18-24, Pastoral Perspective” in Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary – Year A, vol. 4. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011), 268.
[16] Amos 5:24.
[17] Noelle M. York-Simmons. “Proper 27 (Sunday between November 6 and November 12 inclusive) – Amos 5:18-24, Homiletical Perspective” in Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary – Year A, vol. 4. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011), 269.
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made 