"More Than An Election"
A sermon preached by the Rev. Christopher E. Yopp at Edgemont Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) based on Amos 5:18-24.
I am sure most of us are thankful that the long and grueling campaign is over. The multi-million dollar campaign strategies, the constant ads filled with accusations and sneers, the long and anticipated election has finally come and gone. Without a doubt, this year’s election was an historic one. In the end, the first African-American president was elected to the highest office in the land. Which speaks of how far we have come as a nation with a history of racism and inequality.
But now, we are faced with the challenging and difficult task of finding ways to overcome our differences as Democrats and Republicans, as Independents and Libertarians, as Conservatives and Liberals, and work together as Americans for the common good.
On Wednesday I had the opportunity to attend worship at Green Memorial United Methodist Church in Downtown Roanoke. Occasionally, I try to attend this weekly service and luncheon which is held on Wednesdays at noon. Each week they have a pastor from the Roanoke area preach at the service. And, interestingly enough, this past Wednesday the guest preacher was Rev. Nelson Harris, pastor of Virginia Heights Baptist Church and the former Mayer of Roanoke City. And it was interesting to hear the sermon of a pastor and a politician a day after the election. In addition to his powerful sermon, Rev. Harris offered a fitting prayer which read;
“Gracious God, for millions of Americans the election represented the culmination of a lifetime of hopes and dreams. For others, the day was filled with disappointment and pain. We pray, O God, that you would help all of us join together to work for a brighter, more healthy and more hopeful tomorrow, a tomorrow where justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream. Amen.”
Certainly the words of that prayer mirror the words of our Scripture Lesson this morning. The prophet Amos came from the barren and desolate region of Tekoa. Sociology is the scientific study of society affects human behavior. And undoubtedly, Amos’ setting prepared him for his ministry. Amos was anything but your run-of-the-mill prophet. He heard the voice of God in the fierce crooning of the desert wind. God often prepares prophets like this. Think of John the Baptist in the same wilderness and Paul in the desert of Arabia. Many of Amos’ sermons are laced with figures of speech unique only to the desert. Because Amos was not a polished scholar like Isaiah and was lacking in cultural refinements, he was offensive to the court life in Bethel.
Amos was a careful student of human nature and his messages stirred the people. Although it is not easy to find one brief passage in his book to summarize Amos’ message, perhaps these verses in our text come as close as any. The lesson is simple and straightforward - religious practices, divorced from life and devoid of righteous living, are an abomination to God. Amos cuts to the heart of the problem religion has faced in every generation - profession devoid of practice. Like many modern Americans the people of Israel had misunderstood what God wanted from them.
Amos begs for their displeasure by speaking the truth, God's own words: “I hate the noise of your worship, your songs. Instead, let justice roll down like waters, righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” Evidently God is not that impressed by mere talk, by melodious hymns, by eloquent prayers. What God wants to hear is the constant flow of justice and righteousness. What do we mean by justice? You know, in America we think that justice is when the good are rewarded, and the bad are punished. But in the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for justice, mishpat, means that the neediest in society are cared for. A just society takes care of those who are needy. An unjust society does not want to take care of those who are in need. Let justice roll down like an ever-flowing stream!
God wants worship that is vital and relevant. In Amos’ day the noble ideas of sacrificial worship, which reflected the inner attitude and commitment of the offered, had degenerated into a selfish attempt to manipulate God. And we see this today! We use God when it is convenient - to promote our own agendas, or force our own beliefs and convictions, for propaganda.
In verses 21 through 23 the essential elements of Israel’s worship are pointed out one-by-one: festivals, sacrifice, and praise. Unmistakably clear is the total rejection of Israel’s worship. God delighted in the character of the Israelites, not the aroma of their sacrifices. God not only rejected their offerings, but God also would not lend God’s ear to their music.
God had enough of their heartless and meaningless rituals; God wanted to see the basic virtues of a godly life. God wanted justice that ensured the protection and rights of all people. God wanted righteousness that had both a vertical and horizontal relationship. That is, our relationship with God and our relationship with others. These two virtues were to be practiced in all legal, business, and personal relationships. The call was not to do away with ceremonial worship, but to vitalize it with righteous and holy living.
Our prosperous nation, which boasts of a church on almost every street corner, is very similar to Israel in the time of Amos. Any society that cares more for gain than honor, more about their standard of living than God’s standard is sick. Any church that accepts lavish support as a substitute for righteous behavior is a sham. Any church that thinks God will accept a correct creed and perennial activity as substitutes for plain obedience to God’s divine will is wrong.
If we are not careful we can also let our worship become superficial and shallow. Emotion and enthusiasm can take the place of righteousness lived out in the community. Ritual can become a substitute for reality. We might profess loudly what we believe, but unless we practice what we profess, God will reject it. Just as in the time of Amos - what God really wants still rings true today: “But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.” I love The New Living Bible’s paraphrase of this verse, it reads: “I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living.”
In the words of Teresa of Avila, from the l6th century: “Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which the compassion of Christ looks out on a hurting world. Yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good. Yours are the hands with which he is to bless now.”
And so, may we pray, along with Rev. Harris and the rest of America; "O God, we pray that you would help all of us join together to work for a brighter, more healthy and more hopeful tomorrow, a tomorrow where justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream. Amen.”
Certainly the words of that prayer mirror the words of our Scripture Lesson this morning. The prophet Amos came from the barren and desolate region of Tekoa. Sociology is the scientific study of society affects human behavior. And undoubtedly, Amos’ setting prepared him for his ministry. Amos was anything but your run-of-the-mill prophet. He heard the voice of God in the fierce crooning of the desert wind. God often prepares prophets like this. Think of John the Baptist in the same wilderness and Paul in the desert of Arabia. Many of Amos’ sermons are laced with figures of speech unique only to the desert. Because Amos was not a polished scholar like Isaiah and was lacking in cultural refinements, he was offensive to the court life in Bethel.
Amos was a careful student of human nature and his messages stirred the people. Although it is not easy to find one brief passage in his book to summarize Amos’ message, perhaps these verses in our text come as close as any. The lesson is simple and straightforward - religious practices, divorced from life and devoid of righteous living, are an abomination to God. Amos cuts to the heart of the problem religion has faced in every generation - profession devoid of practice. Like many modern Americans the people of Israel had misunderstood what God wanted from them.
Amos begs for their displeasure by speaking the truth, God's own words: “I hate the noise of your worship, your songs. Instead, let justice roll down like waters, righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” Evidently God is not that impressed by mere talk, by melodious hymns, by eloquent prayers. What God wants to hear is the constant flow of justice and righteousness. What do we mean by justice? You know, in America we think that justice is when the good are rewarded, and the bad are punished. But in the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for justice, mishpat, means that the neediest in society are cared for. A just society takes care of those who are needy. An unjust society does not want to take care of those who are in need. Let justice roll down like an ever-flowing stream!
God wants worship that is vital and relevant. In Amos’ day the noble ideas of sacrificial worship, which reflected the inner attitude and commitment of the offered, had degenerated into a selfish attempt to manipulate God. And we see this today! We use God when it is convenient - to promote our own agendas, or force our own beliefs and convictions, for propaganda.
In verses 21 through 23 the essential elements of Israel’s worship are pointed out one-by-one: festivals, sacrifice, and praise. Unmistakably clear is the total rejection of Israel’s worship. God delighted in the character of the Israelites, not the aroma of their sacrifices. God not only rejected their offerings, but God also would not lend God’s ear to their music.
God had enough of their heartless and meaningless rituals; God wanted to see the basic virtues of a godly life. God wanted justice that ensured the protection and rights of all people. God wanted righteousness that had both a vertical and horizontal relationship. That is, our relationship with God and our relationship with others. These two virtues were to be practiced in all legal, business, and personal relationships. The call was not to do away with ceremonial worship, but to vitalize it with righteous and holy living.
Our prosperous nation, which boasts of a church on almost every street corner, is very similar to Israel in the time of Amos. Any society that cares more for gain than honor, more about their standard of living than God’s standard is sick. Any church that accepts lavish support as a substitute for righteous behavior is a sham. Any church that thinks God will accept a correct creed and perennial activity as substitutes for plain obedience to God’s divine will is wrong.
If we are not careful we can also let our worship become superficial and shallow. Emotion and enthusiasm can take the place of righteousness lived out in the community. Ritual can become a substitute for reality. We might profess loudly what we believe, but unless we practice what we profess, God will reject it. Just as in the time of Amos - what God really wants still rings true today: “But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.” I love The New Living Bible’s paraphrase of this verse, it reads: “I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living.”
In the words of Teresa of Avila, from the l6th century: “Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which the compassion of Christ looks out on a hurting world. Yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good. Yours are the hands with which he is to bless now.”
And so, may we pray, along with Rev. Harris and the rest of America; "O God, we pray that you would help all of us join together to work for a brighter, more healthy and more hopeful tomorrow, a tomorrow where justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream. Amen.”
posted by Pastor Christopher @ 11:21 AM
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