“Amos: Justice Rolls Down”

Amos 1:1-2; 5:14-15, 21-24

(sermon note: 11-09 sermon note)

¹This message was given to Amos, a shepherd from the town of Tekoa in Judah. He received this message in visions two years before the earthquake, when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam II, the son of Jehoash, was king of Israel.

²This is what he saw and heard:

“The Lord’s voice will roar from Zion

and thunder from Jerusalem!

The lush pastures of the shepherds will dry up;

the grass on Mount Carmel will wither and die.”

¹⁴Do what is good and run from evil

so that you may live!

Then the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will be your helper,

just as you have claimed.

¹⁵Hate evil and love what is good;

turn your courts into true halls of justice.

Perhaps even yet the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies

will have mercy on the remnant of his people.

²¹“I hate all your show and pretense—

the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies.

²²I will not accept your burnt offerings and grain offerings.

I won’t even notice all your choice peace offerings.

²³Away with your noisy hymns of praise!

I will not listen to the music of your harps.

²⁴Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice,

an endless river of righteous living.

This morning’s reading reminds me of the one about an engineer who died and by some mistake he was sent to hell. Satan was unsure of why the engineer was sent down there, but he figured he’d might as well be of use. So Satan commissioned the engineer to install AC, plumbing, various water features, and many other amenities that really started to turn hell into a pretty decent place. God, on the other hand, took notice of what was taking place and was furious. He demanded to speak with Satan. “Why do you have this man when he lived righteously and has a place in heaven?” God bellowed. “I don’t know, but I’m keeping him,” Satan snarkily replied. “You will hand him over now,” God said ferociously, “or else I will sue you!” To which Satan smirked. “Oh yeah? Where ya gonna get a lawyer?”

Again, I can only get away with all the lawyer jokes because my own father is one and I know firsthand that they’re not all that bad! I mean, he’s a successful defense attorney. What better profession is there than trying to defend against injustice? Sure, many of those criminals deserve what’s coming to them but there are many who need defense against injustice. Take that engineer for example. Did he deserve to be sent to hell after living a righteous, God-fearing life? Certainly not. What he deserved was a good defense attorney to defend him against the injustice of his situation. And thank goodness God came to his defense…

Unlike the people in today’s reading. This month we’re going to be reflecting on the words of four different prophets before we settle into yet another Advent season. We begin with the powerful words of the minor prophet, Amos. We’re probably most familiar with the words of that last verse, “Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living.” Or, as the NRSV puts it, “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” These are powerful words indeed directed at a wayward, disobedient people. I reminded the folks in Bible study this week the purpose of the prophets. They served as spokespeople of God and more often than not tasked with the responsibility of getting God’s people back into right relationship with God. The people—WE—are prone to disobeying God and God’s word. Perhaps it’s the sin within us that encourages us to pull away from God time and time again. Perhaps it’s the adverse effect of free will. Regardless, we’re prone to doing whatever we want with complete disregard to God’s will and word. The people that Amos was speaking to were a complacent people. They were half-heartedly worshipping God. They were simply going through the motions and not really expressing their gratitude for God’s many blessings nor praising him for his mighty power. Naturally, this angered God and He had the prophet express his anger: “I will not accept your burnt offerings and grain offerings. I won’t even notice all your choice peace offerings. Away with your noisy hymns of praise! I will not listen to the music of your harps.” The people needed a wake-up call and Amos was just the man for the job.

But even before that, Amos offered some equally powerful reminders: “Do what is good and run from evil so that you may live!” and similarly, “Hate evil and love what is good.” We are reminded to do good/love good and hate evil/run from evil. Now aren’t these reminders what lie at the root of righteous living? If we want to live in right relationship with God and our neighbor, then all we have to do is love good and hate evil. Pretty simple, right? Well, easier said than done! We have that sin and free will within us that’s constantly tempting us to do exactly the opposite: love evil and hate good. That’s what makes living in this world particularly hard. In the next world we won’t have sin and free will. We’ll either love good in our heavenly home or love evil in our hellish home for all eternity. No options, no choice. I pray that through God’s grace I may get to experience the former rather than the latter, but I’ll just have to wait to find out.

Yes, in this world, we are given choices and each of us must weigh the pros and cons of either choice. Love good or hate evil, these are the choices. Terribly simple yet profoundly complex. Well, whenever I’m faced with choices I tend to lean into the wisdom of scripture for help and guidance. And sure enough, scripture doesn’t fail! Psalm 106 tells us, “There is joy for those who deal justly with others and always do what is right.” (vs. 3) Who among us couldn’t use a little more joy in their lives? Well, as the psalm tells us, there is great joy to be found in doing what is right. Doing what is right by God and what is right by our neighbor. Looking out for the needs of our neighbor, being accountable for our own words and deeds, loving goodness. Peter writes in his first letter, “But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats.” (3:14) Doing what is right, doing what is good, can most certainly be difficult at times, especially when those around you aren’t doing what is right or good. But we ought not be afraid to do it. God sees us doing it and Peter assures us that God will reward us. Now don’t ask me when or what that reward looks like. God rewards in his own time however way He likes. Just be assured that reward is forthcoming. And Paul writes in his 2^nd letter to the Corinthians, “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” (5:21) I particularly appreciate this wisdom as it pertains to righteous living. Sometimes I will fail in doing what is good and right. Sometimes the temptation to do what is wrong will be too strong. God graciously accounts for my weakness by blessing me with Christ. In and through Christ I am made righteous! I can fail but my right relationship with God stays unbroken because of Christ. What a gift to love and be loved by Christ!

And God wants each of us to have that gift. The key to righteousness is in and through Christ. Let us welcome him into our hearts and lives and give thanks for him. Thanks be to God!

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.