God Calls: for Justice (Amos)

Call to Worship (based on John 7:37-38)

Jesus says, let anyone who is thirsty come

Here we are, thirsting for the Lord

Scripture says, all who believe can drink

Come, out of our hearts, let the rivers of living water flow!

Prayer of Confession: God we confess that we are thirsting for you, so thirsty that we are dry to the bone. We are uncertain that justice will flow. We do not know if there are even drips of justice in the world. We confess, that we don’t know if justice will flow like water–but we also confess that we long for that day. Help us to not give up our justice seeking we pray.

Assurance of Pardon: Jesus promises that Jesus will make all things right, so we can proclaim to one another the truth: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.

Songs: Cornerstone & Follow You

Bridge text:

Last week we heard about the prophet Elijah, who worked in the northern kingdom of Israel attempting to bring the king, and therefore the nation, back to God’s way. Today we hear from the prophet Amos, who also worked in the northern kingdom, about a hundred years after Elijah, and is one of the first prophets to write down the word of the Lord. These prophets often wrote in poetry, as they sought to reach the hearts of kings and elites who thrived on injustice and corruption while ordinary people suffered.

As an introduction to the book of Amos and the person of Amos, let’s read the opening two verses of the book… here is Amos 1:1-2

Amos 1:1–2 CEB

1 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. 2 He said: The Lord roars from Zion. He shouts from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds wither, and the top of Carmel dries up.

So just a couple of things to notice:

First, the opening verse gives us the identity of the prophet, his vocation, his hometown and the timing.

Amos is a sheep-breeder. A shepherd, yes, but not necessarily the hired hand… based on his literacy as well as the word used, he is possibly someone who benefits from the system as it is.

Amos is not a northerner. He’s from the southern kingdom of Judah but is now speaking to the northern kingdom of Israel. Tekoa is outside of Jerusalem

And this is happening while King Uzziah reigns in Judah and while Jeroboam reigns in Israel. (Uzziah… the same king whose death marks the opening of Isaiah 6…In the year King Uzziah died…I saw the Lord.)

So, the people have come through the Exodus, have come through the time of the Judges, made the transition to a monarchy - and that has devolved into the splitting of the kingdom into north & south… exile is on the horizon, but is still a bit off in the distance. Assyria is not yet a threat. And in fact, some of the northern people are experiencing some peace and prosperity. And, as it turns out, peace and prosperity don’t necessarily automatically bring forth the right actions.

Secondly, we shift this week from narrative writing to poetry.

The bible contains various genres of writing - and we have to take genre into account when we read. You know this.

You don’t read a recipe the way you read song lyrics.

You don’t read texts the same way you read letters.

Or, if you do, you might struggle to understand or to appreciate the content.

A novel isn’t the same as a news article.

And an angry twitter rant isn’t the same as a scholarly article.

So. Genre. We move from history and narrative into poetry. And the marks of Hebrew poetry will be apparent: the most obvious one will be the parallelism. Where something is stated twice, with words and ideas that are similar but not identical.

In these opening verses, notice the contrast to the still, small voice, the gentle blowing from last week… this time, God’s voice is thundering. V 2 says, The Lord ROARS from Zion, SHOUTS from Jerusalem. There’s the parallelism - roars & shouts, Zion & Jerusalem. Meaning is connected, but not exact. The idea is clarified by stating it a second time using different words.

And so, Amos the northerner has a message from Yahweh for Yahweh’s people. God is not pleased. Their prosperity is not necessarily a sign of God’s pleasure. And Amos has some suggestions of how they can course correct...

So Mary, come now and read for us from the book of the prophet Amos, verses taken from chapter 5. She is reading from the Common English Bible.

Amos 5:14-15, 18-24

Amos 5:14–15 CEB

14 Seek good and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of heavenly forces, will be with you just as you have said. 15 Hate evil, love good, and establish justice at the city gate. Perhaps the Lord God of heavenly forces will be gracious to what is left of Joseph.

Amos 5:18–24 CEB

18 Doom to those who desire the day of the Lord! Why do you want the day of the Lord? It is darkness, not light; 19 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. 20 Isn’t the day of the Lord darkness, not light; all dark with no brightness in it? 21 I hate, I reject your festivals; I don’t enjoy your joyous assemblies. 22 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. 23 Take away the noise of your songs; I won’t listen to the melody of your harps. 24 But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

What does God ask?

The opening of vs 14 gives us a clue: Seek good and not evil.

Seems simple enough. However, it’s easy to reduce that to “avoid obviously evil things and/or the appearance of obviously evil things”… but avoiding evil or the appearance of it is not the same as SEEKING GOOD.

In the prophets in general, there is a theme of justice - of God caring about the poor and the marginalized - and of God calling His people to do the same. Care for the orphan, the widow, the stranger (or the foreigner)… are all over the prophets.

And Amos goes through the surrounding nations in the previous chapters, only to get to to Israel and to have to say, “You are no different. You have abandoned SEEKING GOOD, and instead are indifferent, you don’t care that you are participating in the mistreatment of the very people I have commanded you to care about and to make provision for.”

It’s not good that these other nations don’t live out their human calling, but you continue to worship me with songs and services and festivals, paying lip service, but then not living it out.

Judy Fentress-Williams helps us think about this call from Amos in this way:

“It’s one thing for the nations of Edom and Moab to mistreat their own, but Israel and Judah are not like the other nations. The people who have been redeemed have no excuse and they cannot hide behind their religious rites.”

God’s people are those who have needed the kind of care that they now withhold. They were all for liberation and restored justice when they were the oppressed. But now they are in danger of forgetting their own story, of losing the connection with the powerful action of God on their behalf. And so, rather than being inspired to offer a mere reflection to others of that which they’ve received, they grow indifferent. And perhaps indifference is the most subtle and insidious kind of evil.

How does God respond when God’s people ignore injustice - or even participate in it?

According the text, put into anthropomorphic terms, we see someone plugging their ears and holding their nose, seeking to suppress a sense of nausea...

In other words, God is not pleased (an understatement), not impressed by the people’s “religious actions” ...

What does this mean for how we look at worship and justice?

Meant to be connected, interwoven, and inseparable.

But is that how it was working for the northern kingdom of Israel?

passages that point to the neglect of the poor, mistreatment, etc.

But is that how it works for us?

“following Jesus” reduced to “join a church” which is reduced to “show up on Sundays” which is reduced to “show up on Sundays when it works for you”

Personal morality is held up as the most important thing, while systemic and community transformation are seen as potentially distracting from “my relationship with Jesus” … when we do this, we relegate the rest of the spiritual life to be "optional add-ons/special interest”

Bible literacy - reading one’s Bible and growing in learning how to understand this ancient book

prayer

justice/mercy

evangelism

hospitality

This is not the same as gifting. Some of us are called to teach, to lead, to pray with faith, to heal, to administer, etc. But all of us are called to live out our lives in the presence of a God who cares for the least of these. Indifference to injustice isn’t an option for a follower of Jesus.

God is calling for a WHOLE LIFE. God is not vying for our “religious affections” and leaving the rest of us up for grabs.

For the Israelites, God is asking for their whole lives, not just their religious practices to declare the character of the God they serve.

For us, with the revelation of God’s character in Jesus, we have even less excuse than the northern kingdom of Israel all those centuries ago.

So how are we to respond when we discover injustice? How does God want us to respond?

If injustice feels like too broad a concept, consider for a moment any place you see a lack of healthcare, education or nutrition…

When you think of injustice or of a mighty river of justice - what issues or situations come to your minds?

Perhaps something represented by the UN’s 17 goals for Sustainable Development?

Orphanages

Or, maybe you think of the 94 Calls to Action that were issued as a result of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission here in Canada?

Or, getting even more local, perhaps you think of the Opioid crisis we are facing.

Or local Kamloops issues - I’ve been sitting in on the Changing the Face of Poverty meetings for the last year

Calls to Action can be simple actions that work towards building a more connected community. Actions can be simple and impactful such as: learn about services at local non-profits, get to know two residential or business neighbours, learn about social issues in the community, volunteer 1 day a month, post the community meals calendar and food resources document in your place of business or share community resources with your neighbourhood association.

So… have you got something a little more concrete in your head instead of a vague “injustice cloud”?

What if we began to see our care about these issues, our concern for the well-being of the “least of these” and our actions to make changes in our world as ACTS OF WORSHIP every bit as much as singing a song or coming to a service or even gathering around the Lord’s Table?

What is worship and doing justice were connected, integrated?

You see, as Joash Thomas of International Justice Mission reminds us:

"The Gospel is that we’re saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. But the Gospel is also that Jesus is coming back to redeem and restore all of creation - and He’ll do this by redeeming and restoring us first. The Gospel isn’t just a set of ideas that we believe with our mind. The Gospel is also intrusive Good News that radically changes the way we live our lives.”

As God’s people, we are those who have needed the kind of care that perhaps we now withhold. We were all for liberation and restored justice when we were the suffering, the needy, or even the oppressed. But now we are in danger of forgetting our own story, of losing the connection with the powerful action of God on our behalf. And so, rather than being inspired to offer a mere reflection to others of that which we’ve received, we are in danger of being indifferent. And perhaps indifference is the most subtle and insidious kind of evil.

We know that one day, justice will indeed roll down like a mighty river. When Jesus comes to make all things new, when the kingdom is here in full, we will see injustice undone and goodness, righteousness and peace will be multiplied. Every relationship restored. Person to person. People group to people group. Humanity with creation. Humanity with God.

Responsive closing prayer…

Among the poor, among the proud, among the persecuted, among the privileged, Christ is coming to make all things new.

In the private house, in the public place, in the wedding feast, in the judgement hall, Christ is coming to make all things new.

With a gentle touch, with an angry word, with a clear conscience, with burning love, Christ is coming to make all things new.

That the kingdom might come, that the world might believe, that the powerful might stumble, that the hidden might be seen, Christ is coming to make all things new.

Within us, without us, behind us, before us, in this place, in every place, for this time, for all time, Christ is coming to make all things new.

Song: Multiply Your Love

Introduce the Hamper Project - an opportunity to put love in action - and to let God multiply it in ways we may never get to see. Invite Libby up