Loving God, you continue to call your people to act justly and to practice right relationships.  Empower us by your Spirit and fill us with your love, that we might be faithful witnesses of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

            How do you motivate people to practice justice and righteousness?  Does fear of punishment work?  Do threats of national disaster work?  Does preaching hellfire and damnation work?  Or does it take a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ?

         In Amos, and in some of the other prophets, we find a great deal of anger, and the message goes something like this: “You people are absolutely ignoring God’s covenant with you.  You are worshiping idols, trampling the poor, and despising the truth.  You indulge in gluttony and drunkenness while oppressing the poor.  You are greedy, and use false balances in order to cheat people.  Your judges take bribes and ignore justice for those who cannot pay.  And then, to add insult to injury, you dare to go and worship at the Temple, thinking that you can pay for your transgressions by offering animals as sacrifice.”

         This is why the Almighty takes issue with their festivals and their songs and their offerings.  It’s not that they’re using the wrong songs or not doing the right rituals.  It’s not that they’re singing out of tune or playing their harps badly.  It’s not even that they’re celebrating the wrong festivals.  No.  The issue is that they are pretending to be God’s people while ignoring justice and righteousness and trampling the poor and needy.

         Amos’ message is, indeed, an attempt to turn things around.  There are numerous warnings of disasters that are sure to come.  There will be drought and destruction.  Both the land and the people will be destroyed by another nation.  There will be weeping and wailing and mourning.  Yet, even now, there is the opportunity to turn to God and live.

         People have observed – and rightly so – that there is a lot of doom and gloom and judgment in the Bible, and particularly in the prophets.  However, even there, the God of love and mercy shines through.  “Seek good and not evil,” says Amos, “that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you” (Am. 5:14).  All of the death and destruction are not inevitable.  God would much prefer that the people repent, and turn away from all of their evil, and walk with God.  God would much prefer to give life and to be gracious.  Still, as with wayward children, how do you motivate people to practice justice and righteousness?

         Jesus’ approach was to provide an example of loving service.  He also addressed God’s justice and mercy in his teaching.  “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Mt. 5:6).  He also reminded people that loving God with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength cannot be separated from loving your neighbour as yourself.  There is no such thing as worshiping God while ignoring the needs of others and the cries for justice that come to our ears.

         Admittedly, the need for justice and righteousness is just as obvious today as it was in Amos’ time.  While the rich get richer and seem to escape any sort of accountability for what they do, there are more people than ever who are hungry, poor, and not only homeless, but without a country to call home.  In fact, there are so many instances of injustice around the globe that it is easy to become overwhelmed and to wonder how we can make any difference at all.

         However, rather than giving up and doing nothing, we are called by the God who loves us to do what we can, and to pay attention to the situations that are put right in front of us.  We are called to work on right relationships with God and with others and to seek community for all.  We are called to work towards the fair distribution of goods, opportunities for all, and judicial systems that seek justice for all (workingpreacher.org).

         Our call to work on these things comes through Jesus, who not only embodied God’s love for us, but God’s love for the world.  In fact, it seems as though love would be the best possible motivation to practice justice and righteousness – love for God and for one another.  However, if fear of punishment works for you, I would suggest reading some of the scarier passages in the prophets!

         Meanwhile, after all of the warnings and dire predictions that are part of Amos’ message, the book finishes with promises of God’s salvation.  The images we find there are ones of abundance – abundant bread and abundant wine (Am. 9:13).  And then, along comes Jesus and we get the feeding of the 5000 and abundant wine at the wedding in Cana.  We also get the gift of the Holy Spirit, which is likened to “rivers of living water” flowing from the hearts of believers (Jn. 7:38).  May it be so for us, as well, through Jesus Christ our Saviour.  Amen.

Pentecost 25 (NL 4)                        Amos 1:1-2; 5:14-15, 21-24

November 14, 2021                        John 7:37-38

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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