Again, this picture is from scripturepics.org, a great resource for my friends to bookmark! :) I must give thanks to Mike Yost, my friend in Alaska for helping me think through my favorite prophet, Amos, again.
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Has anyone started listening to Christmas music yet? I HAVE. It is a Gunter family tradition to start listening to Christmas music in September. Yes, I said September. But this year, we started in October when I went home for a visit.
When I went to Virginia a couple of weeks ago we were about to take a trip to the mountains and Mabry Mill… and I told my Dad I had a surprise CD for him. He rolled his eyes at me, thinking I had brought one of Jayden’s annoying CDs that repeats “John Jacob Jingle Himer Smitt” over and over… and his face lit up when he heard his parent’s tradition (Vernal and Madeline Gunter’s tradition) of playing Christmas music way early.
What about Christmas trees? Anyone have a Christmas tree up yet?
What about movies? Has anyone started watching Christmas movies yet? My little boy, Jayden, has watched the Grinch about 14 times already.
One of the funny Christmas movies that is played over and over again is “Jingle All the Way” with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad. Has anyone seen this movie? It’s pretty funny.
The story goes that Howard Langston (played by Arnold) is too busy at his job for his family. So he decides he will make up his absence to his family by getting his son the greatest Christmas present of all time, the Turbo-Man doll. However, much to Howard’s dismay… there are no Turbo Men to be found.
The story goes that Howard Langston (played by Arnold) is too busy at his job for his family. So he decides he will make up his absence to his family by getting his son the greatest Christmas present of all time, the Turbo-Man doll. However, much to Howard’s dismay… there are no Turbo Men to be found.
So because Howard does not want to disappoint his son- again, he finds himself in a huge, massive quest to find the last remaining Turbo-Man in the city.
Unfortunately, there’s another Dad on quite the same quest, Myron (played by Sinbad) who is also looking for the perfect gift for HIS son… also the Turbo Man.
Throughout the whole movie we feel like screaming—JUST SPEND TIME WITH YOUR SON! Your toy without spending time with him, is really nothing!
Turbo-Man without justice is nothing.
Hmm, kind of like our scripture today.
Our scripture today comes from Amos chapter 5. Amos was a prophet… but before he was a prophet he was a shepherd in Tekoa, in Judah (See, Israel had split by this point and Judah was the southern Kingdom). And God called Amos to go out of Judah to be a prophet to Israel (the northern kingdom).
Israel had persons who were becoming more affluent and stable. The rich were getting rich but at the expense of the poor.
The Church in Israel (As Mike Yost says): “had the best worship band around. The services were a seamless blend of music, liturgy, sacrifice, and voices all melded together giving thanks and praise to YHWH God of Israel. Each sacrifice was meticulously inspected. The coffers were overflowing with offerings to the LORD. They followed the Torah to a ‘T’ each feast meticulously observed. They celebrated with elaborate meals at the right time and worshipped in solemn assemblies just as they had been taught through the generations. They tithed. They sang. They gave to the buildings of temples and advancement of the priesthood. They were rich, they were wealthy, they were prosperous. By all accounts YHWH God had been blessing them time after time.”
The Church in Israel (As Mike Yost says): “had the best worship band around. The services were a seamless blend of music, liturgy, sacrifice, and voices all melded together giving thanks and praise to YHWH God of Israel. Each sacrifice was meticulously inspected. The coffers were overflowing with offerings to the LORD. They followed the Torah to a ‘T’ each feast meticulously observed. They celebrated with elaborate meals at the right time and worshipped in solemn assemblies just as they had been taught through the generations. They tithed. They sang. They gave to the buildings of temples and advancement of the priesthood. They were rich, they were wealthy, they were prosperous. By all accounts YHWH God had been blessing them time after time.”
BUT… our passage today says something very different. God was not blessing them, in fact, God was angry with them.
Amos tells the people of Israel, you think the Day of the Lord will be great- HA, it’s not. You think God likes you’re worship. HA. God doesn’t. Your worship without justice to the poor, weak, brokenhearted, and those who suffer… IS WORTHLESS WORSHIP.
Then I will read to the congregation from Amos, chapter 5, verses 18-24.
Ouch. That’s harsh.
Ouch. That’s harsh.
Just like in our story, “Jingle All the Way,” Turbo-Man without justice is nothing. A hollow toy without participating in the young boy’s life was nothing.
And in the end, when Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character BECOMES Turbo-Man in a parade… and lifts up his son into his arms… we think- THAT’s JUSTICE. Become Turbo-Man, spend time with your son. Because a Turbo-Man doll without justice, is nothing.
And worship… no matter how beautiful, no matter how perfect, is nothing… without justice. Worship without justice is nothing. Worship without justice to the poor, weak, brokenhearted, and those who suffer… is nothing.
Amos says, “Let justice roll and goodness flow.” You thought the day of the Lord’s judging would be a good thing for you- but you are very, very wrong! You think you want this day to come, you’re wrong. You think it will be light, you’re wrong. And Amos tells the people of Israel God hates and rejects their feasts and every part of their worship.
OUCH.
Amos, that sounds harsh. But we get it. Worship without justice is nothing.
Worship without justice is nothing.
So really, there are two words we need to think about for the rest of our time here. Worship and Justice.
Let’s start with worship.
What is worship?
A. Worship is what we do here, on Sunday mornings. Right?
B. But worship goes SO much farther beyond Sunday mornings. Worship involves the entirety of our lives. (As Mike Yost says), there are another “164 hours in a week!”
C. Worship is about how we orient our lives. It is how we adjust our entire lives (beyond Sunday morning, Sunday night, and maybe Wednesdays) to be centered on God’s love for other people.
D. True worship- makes justice roll and goodness flow every single moment!
A. Worship is what we do here, on Sunday mornings. Right?
B. But worship goes SO much farther beyond Sunday mornings. Worship involves the entirety of our lives. (As Mike Yost says), there are another “164 hours in a week!”
C. Worship is about how we orient our lives. It is how we adjust our entire lives (beyond Sunday morning, Sunday night, and maybe Wednesdays) to be centered on God’s love for other people.
D. True worship- makes justice roll and goodness flow every single moment!
What is justice?
A. Justice sometimes is a word we think of in relation to the legal system. And although it is true… God’s justice can NEVER be separated from God’s mercy.
A. Justice sometimes is a word we think of in relation to the legal system. And although it is true… God’s justice can NEVER be separated from God’s mercy.
I had an Old Testament prof in college, Dr. Laurie Braaten, who said… “You can forget everything I’ve taught you- but don’t forget this. God’s mercy and justice go hand-in-hand and can never be separated.” And so I tell you today, remember what Dr. Braaten taught me. God’s mercy and justice cannot be separated.
B. Justice (combined with mercy) has so many pieces (see Kathleen and James McGinnis: Parenting for Peace and Justice, Spirituality Today, Spring 1984, Vol 36, No 1, pp. 34-.
46).
B. Justice (combined with mercy) has so many pieces (see Kathleen and James McGinnis: Parenting for Peace and Justice, Spirituality Today, Spring 1984, Vol 36, No 1, pp. 34-.
46).
1. It could involve visiting and participating in people’s lives who are suffering. And not just thinking about someone’s suffering and saying, “Ah. That’s sad. I feel for them.” But actually participating in suffering. Henry Nowen says compassion is hard- because it requires you participate in the suffering of another person. Justice is about compassion—it is about participating in the suffering of another.
2. Justice involves so many things. Like giving older people a great sense of giftedness—and helping older people feel they have something to share, something to offer.
3. Justice involves so many things. Like perhaps helping children and youth have a voice by participating in making decisions about things they are concerned about. It is about helping children and youth participate in decisions about activities, fun, and even service projects so they develop their own sense of mercy and justice.
4. Justice involves so many things. Like paring up with a 3rd world country and this can be done in a variety of ways. Nazarene Compassionate Ministries helps us do this. They have a variety of programs including child sponsorship (see http://ncm.org/) where world poverty is not simply an idea floating around… but when you sponsor a specific child—world poverty affects someone you know. A person who has a name, and usually a face you can see in a picture in your hand. And this person colors you pictures. That’s a taste of justice that rolls down and goodness that flows.
5. Justice involves so many things. It could involve helping children and teens have a healthy view of themselves through performing public plays and songs.
Then I will ask the people, "You all didn't know our kid's Christmas play was all about justice, did you?" But it is. Our kid’s Christmas play will be this community’s way to help justice roll and goodness flow in our kid’s lives!
6. Justice is about so many things… and when we leave out justice… when we don’t give people a voice, we when don’t love the poor, the weak, or care for the suffering, and love people as God loves them… our worship (on Sunday mornings… and our worship as how we orient and adjust our lives)—is nothing.
Amos teaches us (As Mike Yost says) “that it is impossible to truly love God without loving others.” The people of Israel oppressed the poor while simultaneously putting on a good show in worship. And so it made God angry—and Amos said, your worship without justice is nothing.
BUT, of course we never, ever do anything like that. We would never assume our worship is limited to the time we spend here on Sunday mornings. Or do we?
And we never cause prophets to remind us that our show in worship is nothing without also loving people as God loves them.
2. Justice involves so many things. Like giving older people a great sense of giftedness—and helping older people feel they have something to share, something to offer.
3. Justice involves so many things. Like perhaps helping children and youth have a voice by participating in making decisions about things they are concerned about. It is about helping children and youth participate in decisions about activities, fun, and even service projects so they develop their own sense of mercy and justice.
4. Justice involves so many things. Like paring up with a 3rd world country and this can be done in a variety of ways. Nazarene Compassionate Ministries helps us do this. They have a variety of programs including child sponsorship (see http://ncm.org/) where world poverty is not simply an idea floating around… but when you sponsor a specific child—world poverty affects someone you know. A person who has a name, and usually a face you can see in a picture in your hand. And this person colors you pictures. That’s a taste of justice that rolls down and goodness that flows.
5. Justice involves so many things. It could involve helping children and teens have a healthy view of themselves through performing public plays and songs.
Then I will ask the people, "You all didn't know our kid's Christmas play was all about justice, did you?" But it is. Our kid’s Christmas play will be this community’s way to help justice roll and goodness flow in our kid’s lives!
6. Justice is about so many things… and when we leave out justice… when we don’t give people a voice, we when don’t love the poor, the weak, or care for the suffering, and love people as God loves them… our worship (on Sunday mornings… and our worship as how we orient and adjust our lives)—is nothing.
Amos teaches us (As Mike Yost says) “that it is impossible to truly love God without loving others.” The people of Israel oppressed the poor while simultaneously putting on a good show in worship. And so it made God angry—and Amos said, your worship without justice is nothing.
BUT, of course we never, ever do anything like that. We would never assume our worship is limited to the time we spend here on Sunday mornings. Or do we?
And we never cause prophets to remind us that our show in worship is nothing without also loving people as God loves them.
Or do we?
(As Mike Yost says), The truth is, this could be just as easily read to the church in America as well as Israel, 3000 years ago, couldn’t it?
What are the ways God wants us to help justice roll and goodness flow in our world?
What are the ways God wants us to help justice roll and goodness flow in our world?
What are some ways we can love others as the Christmas season rapidly approaches?
What are some ways this family of God, in this place, can love others with the love of God, in the coming weeks?
As Advent, and Christmas rapidly approach and ALL of us start listening to Christmas music… and not just the Gunter family… Let’s together think about justice and mercy… and how we can help justice roll and goodness flow by participating in others lives.
Let’s hear the call to the Church, through the mouth of Amos, today—and not DO Christianity on Sunday mornings. BUT BE CHRISTIANS every single moment, formed in the image of Christ.
Let justice roll and goodness flow in your life.
2 comments:
Good stuff--it's intresting to me to read this and your other comments in response to my blog since I've been more than a little put off by people who make a big deal out of "worship" (translated--raising hands in church and cranking up emotion and singing the same song on a loop) but are rarely seen doing trench ministry among the sick, the poor and the needy other than occasionally showing up to pray at the hospital bed of one of their fellow "worshipers." I'm fine with emotion in a church service and singing and saying "amen" and raising hands--I've been known to do all of that. But Jesus also talked a lot about compassion and servanthood. Seems you you and Amos and I are all kind of on the same page. Hmmmm
Good stuff--it's intresting to me to read this and your other comments in response to my blog since I've been more than a little put off by people who make a big deal out of "worship" (translated--raising hands in church and cranking up emotion and singing the same song on a loop) but are rarely seen doing trench ministry among the sick, the poor and the needy other than occasionally showing up to pray at the hospital bed of one of their fellow "worshipers." I'm fine with emotion in a church service and singing and saying "amen" and raising hands--I've been known to do all of that. But Jesus also talked a lot about compassion and servanthood. Seems you you and Amos and I are all kind of on the same page. Hmmmm
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