First Reading: Amos 5:6-7, 10-15
6Seek the Lord and live, lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and it devour, with none to quench it for Bethel, 7O you who turn justice to wormwood and cast down righteousness to the earth!
10They hate him who reproves in the gate, and they abhor him who speaks the truth. 11Therefore because you trample on the poor and you exact taxes of grain from him, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not dwell in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine. 12For I know how many are your transgressions and how great are your sins — you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and turn aside the needy in the gate. 13Therefore he who is prudent will keep silent in such a time, for it is an evil time. 14Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, as you have said. 15Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
Psalm 90:12-17
12So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom. 13Return, O Lord; how long will you tarry? be gracious to your servants. 14Satisfy us by your lovingkindness in the morning; so shall we rejoice and be glad all the days of our life. 15Make us glad by the measure of the days that you afflicted us and the years in which we suffered adversity. 16Show your servants your works and your splendor to their children. 17May the graciousness of the Lord our God be upon us; prosper the work of our hands; prosper our handiwork.
Second Reading: Hebrews 3:12-19
12Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. 15As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” 16For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? 17And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.
Gospel: Mark 10:17-22
17As {Jesus}was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Everything Except God
Robert Coles, a child psychiatrist who taught at Harvard University, decided to travel to the South in the early days of the civil rights struggle to see for himself what effect the tension was having upon children. He soon developed a special interest in Ruby Bridges, a six-year-old black girl in New Orleans. She walked bravely to class each morning accompanied by federal marshals who protected her from the ever-present abuse of an angry mob. Dr. Coles questioned, “How was she able to stand such tension?” “Where did a little girl like Ruby get such courage?” Coles was a trained social scientist. He knew what to look for. He asked her all kinds of questions.
One day, Ruby’s mother felt comfortable enough to ask Coles to come to the house. She talked to him at the kitchen table and inquired about what kind of questions he was asking her daughter. He explained that it was important to learn how she was handling stress. He queried her about her appetite, her sleeping habits, and other relevant matters. Ruby’s mother replied: “You’re a doctor and I shouldn’t be asking you questions… But my husband and I were talking the other night, and we decided that you asked our daughter about everything except God.” That was the turning point for Coles.
When he saw Ruby again, he quizzed her from a different angle. Where did she get her courage to face those angry mobs each day? She replied: “I am sure the Lord was watching, not only me, but those other people, too.” He went and visited her black Baptist Church and learned what gave her courage. The Christian Gospel, the supportive fellowship of a loving congregation, as well as her own family, enabled her to be the remarkable young girl she was. Coles had inquired about everything except God — the most important thing in Ruby’s life.
In our Old Testament reading for today, we have an account of the fiery eighth-century prophet addressing the people of the Northern Kingdom. The setting isn’t absolutely certain, but in all probability Amos spoke to the people on a feast day at the sacred sanctuary at Bethel. This particular center of worship, believed to be the location where Abraham stopped and offered a sacrifice on his way south from Shechem, was the pride of Israel’s cultic system. Bethel had everything.
Additionally, Bethel was also believed to be the spot where Jacob had his dramatic dream of the ladder connecting heaven and earth, with angels ascending and descending upon the ladder. To Jacob, this place was none other than “The House of God,” and “The Gate of Heaven.” Later Samuel would judge the people in the same place. After King Solomon died and the kingdom was divided, Bethel became one of the chief sanctuaries for the people of the Northern 10 tribes. Bethel had also become the center of pagan worship in Northern Israel.
Bethel was always filled with lots of excitement as animals were killed for sacrifices. Incense was burned. Exhilarating music was played. There was nothing dull about worship at Bethel, in fact there was entertainment for all. The crowds flocked to Bethel. By the time of Amos, Bethel had become associated with the king; it was the site of the royal shrine. The best and the most powerful people were apt to be seen at this place. One could say that Bethel had everything except God. Amos had been observing the worshipers at Bethel.
God’s prophet noted that the people were busy going about their religious duties, but there was an absence of any real love and sincere devotion to God in what they were doing. Furthermore, the same people saw no connection between what they were doing at this feast and their dealings in the marketplace throughout the week. What’s riveting about Amos’ critique is that the shepherd prophet, from Tekoa in Judah, didn’t attack Baalism or foreign idol worship, rather he exposed the emptiness and the hypocrisy of the worship of Yahweh, the God of Israel.
To the unaware, it appeared that God was enthusiastically praised at Bethel, but He was conspicuously absent when it came to personal and social relationships at other times and in other places. In a word, Amos was more concerned with a saving knowledge of God and with ethical righteousness as a sign that their religious experience was genuine, than he was with the façade of worship that he saw happening. Put another way, their words and actions didn’t align. What Amos saw on the Sabbath and during the festival, wasn’t what he saw in the marketplace during the week. So, why, you may be asking, is this passage important to us?
At this point we’re forced to ask ourselves, how are we the same, or different, from the people of Amos’ day? Is it possible that our worship, and daily lives away from church, include everything except God? Some may be shocked that I would ask such a question. However, considering what we see in Christians today, the prophet’s words must be taken seriously. Do our words and actions match who we profess to be? Do we look for entertainment and excitement rather than an encounter with the true and living God? If one is serious about asking these questions, then our passage from Amos has two things for us to consider. First is the directive to “Seek the Lord and Live” (5:6).
In our Old Testament reading, Amos begins with theology. The people have been looking for God in the wrong places, if at all. The prophet is emphatic that they shouldn’t go to Bethel to find God, rather they should seek the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the true and living God, each and every day. God isn’t bound to a place, God is omnipresent. Think about that word for a moment. God is everywhere He chooses to be. The writer of Hebrews reminds us, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13). Again, this begs us to ask, are we simply going through the motions when we come to church, thinking that God only see us when we’re on this property, or are we really seeking God. The prophet’s words can sting, penetrate.
When we hear these words, we’re obliged to ask ourselves: What are we seeking? What do we hunger and thirst after? What really motivates us? Is it the true and living God? Or, do we just like to appease our sense of obligation each week when we come to church? Surely, something deeply fulfilling should happen when we gather to hear the word shared, see the Font, the Cross, and the Altar.
The Rev. Dr. William Willimon once asked a Roman Catholic liturgical scholar for some advice on how to stimulate the Protestant seminarians to have more appreciation for the Lord’s supper. He responded by saying he should begin by teaching cooking classes. Willimon was bewildered. “Because,” he explained, “they will never lead the eucharist with conviction until they first learn the joy of giving good food to hungry people.” There’s something deeply fulfilling that happens when our worship is authentic.
By grace spiritual food is offered. By faith spiritual food is received. The Word of God is preached. In Holy Communion we receive the body and blood of Jesus, the Bread of Life, and then in Christ’s name we go out to feed others. If you visit Fort Frederica on Saint Simon’s Island, Georgia, you may see a historical marker. It commemorates the spot where John and Charles Wesley preached to the Indians in 1736. John Wesley’s two-year stay in America wasn’t a happy period in his life, in fact it was for him a time of dashed hopes. If he had died at age 34, he would have been remembered as a good, conscientious man, nonetheless a failure.
After leaving Georgia on Christmas Eve, 1737, John recorded in his journal while at sea: “I came to America to convert the Indians, but, lo who will convert me?” Shortly after his return to England, on May 24, 1738, John Wesley experienced an epiphany. In his own words: “I felt my heart strangely warmed.” He now knew personally something of the vigor in Amos’ straightforward appeal: “Seek the Lord and live.” The second basic imperative of Amos’ message was “Seek good, and… live (5:14).” The first imperative concerned theology; the second one involves ethics.
We might add that none of the prophets placed more emphasis upon ethical righteousness than did Amos. In Amos’ day those who worshiped at Bethel held the political, economic, and social power in the land; unfortunately, they didn’t see those they were oppressing as real people. They knew only that there was money to be earned, rent to be collected, bribes to be made, and lavish houses to be built. The financial bottom-line was the ultimate goal, and anyone who stood in their way, well that was too bad for them. How do we see the oppressed today?
Are they to be used and discarded, or do we see them as people who we simply ignore as we go about our own calendar week? In the movie, Driving Miss Daisy, we see this theme treated with sensitivity. In this movie, we see a Jewish widow living in Atlanta. The widow and her driver have a difficult time understanding and communicating with each other. Eventually, they learn that they have much in common though both are from radically different backgrounds. Both of them have been subject to prejudice and discrimination. Gradually, they come to see each other in a different light. How do we see people that differ economically, politically, or ethnically from us?
In the latter part of the 19th century, Donaldina Cameron founded a mission house in San Francisco to help young Chinese women who were brought to this country to be used in the slave trade that flourished at that time on the West Coast. The men who profited from the slave trade tried everything possible to intimidate Miss Cameron. They threatened her, bombed her home, obstructed her legal battles in court, and told the young women themselves that she was nothing more than a “White Witch.”
Miss Cameron was not deterred. She stood by the young women, went to court with them as their defender and when they were liberated, she provided practical education and training. She is credited with rescuing more than 1,500 Chinese young women from the slave trade. Her concern continues today through Cameron House in Chinatown, as a community center serving families of youth of Chinese and Vietnamese descent.
We too are called to be advocates, defenders of the oppressed, and peacemakers that break down barriers that separate people in all spheres of society. It doesn’t matter how much we’re fed and comforted at worship, if we don’t translate that liturgical experience into concern for the people around us, then we’ve missed the point of ethical righteousness. The kind of worship that Amos advocates has a direct impact upon establishing “justice in the gate.” The best definition of advocates, defenders and peacemakers are words by Clarence Jordan who said: “It’s what God does.”
Jesus brilliantly summarized the 10 Commandments into two: “The most important [Commandment],” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these” (Matthew 12:29-31). With our Old Testament reading in mind, how do we express our love for God and others? Jesus commands us to show love with all our soul, all our mind and with all our strength. Does our worship life match our day to day lives?
Amen