On Amos 5:6–15 and Mark 10:17–31. At Trinity Lutheran Church, Coopersburg, PA, and Zion’s Lutheran Church, Shoemakersville, PA.
Ninth-grade Jason was a smart and popular, and a little bit of a class clown. He attended a Catholic school, which meant he had religion class every day, and so he could be a joy to have in confirmation class when he wanted to be, because he knew most of the answers. Sometimes he didn’t want to be. He had a gift for testing how far rules would bend before they broke, and he knew he’d always get away with it. Except when he didn’t.
We were at the Lutheran camp for a Confirmation retreat, and it was March. New Hampshire is cold in March. Right around freezing, actually, which meant that Lake Ossipee had ice on it, but not very thick. The camp staff said several times that it was absolutely forbidden to go out on it, and I told our campers the same thing. I don’t have a lot of rules, but I expect the few I have to be followed. And while our teenagers almost always showed themselves worthy of the trust I gave them, this was a life-and-death safety issue, so I repeated it over and over again.
You know where this story is going. Saturday, for devotions, we went down to the beach and looked across the five-mile lake. It was beautiful, first thing in the morning. We had a little extra time, so I let them play a little bit, and they started throwing snowballs at each other and that sort of thing. And then suddenly, Jason was gone.
Now, I was already keeping a close eye on him. He was one of only three boys on the retreat that year, and the other two were seventh graders. There’s a huge maturity gap between them. So Jason was acting up a little bit. I saw him run off down the beach, and I called to him to come back, and when he didn’t, I took off after him. It will not surprise you that an athletic 14-year old can run a lot faster than an overweight 34-year old.
When I finally got him to come back off the ice onto the shore, all it took were the words, “I’m very disappointed, and we’ll talk about it later.” We talked about safety, and why rules exist. I said he’d broken my trust, and that it hurt because I valued him so much. The camp staff helped me find some consequences for him, and he did some kitchen cleaning. It was a tough morning for us all.
Last week, we had readings that spoke to the importance of tending to the relationships we have. When God created the universe in the first place, it was rich with relationship, everything interconnected. And Jesus spoke about relationships between romantic partners and between children and God. Today, our Bible passages are about what happens when those relationships fall apart.
Amos is a prophet of bad news. The heart of his message is that when the powerful in Israel oppress the poor and needy, and when the people of God prefer selfishness and evil over justice and righteousness, they are not only being unfaithful to one another. They are also being unfaithful to God.
Now, over and over again, Amos notices that they think they are doing all the right things. “Go ahead and bring your sacrifices and your tithes to the temple,” he says. “Because that’s what you love to do, O people of Israel.” That’s in chapter 4. Here at the beginning of our reading, Amos describes God as a fire that burns hot and devours Bethel. But Bethel is the city of the temple of Israel in the north. It’s where God’s holy house is, where holy worship takes place and holy offerings are given to God. And Amos declares that God himself is going to destroy it. And down in verse fourteen, he tells us that his people believe, “God is with us.” But so long as they seek evil and not good, God is not with them. And they don’t even know it.
Here we are gathered here in God’s holy house, sharing in holy worship and giving holy offerings. God is, of course, with us. We think. We think. Are we sure?
Because if the sign is that God will break out against us like fire and it will devour the temple, well… You know, the building is still standing, but I’m quite certain there are people who think God’s fire would be a good alternative energy source to avoid another delivery of heating oil and the bill that goes with it before the year is out. There are people here who are worried about the congregation’s money and attendance, and wondering what the future will look like.
Well, we’re in good company. The whole Christian church, at least in the Western world, is struggling with the same challenges. Even though Jesus’ message is so important here. So! Many! People! Live in loneliness and despair. Our whole society is quickly being overtaken by fear. I read a news story the other day about a teenager who missed the school bus and had to walk to school, but couldn’t quite find his way, and so he knocked on someone’s door to try to get directions. The homeowner opened the door and began shooting, because of course a young black man at your door means trouble—he assumed. How can our world be saved from this kind of insanity?!? I truly believe that the most important, most effective thing would be for everyone to find out how much God loves them. That is the only medication that can cure this disease!
And instead, all of our congregations are significantly decreasing in size. Even the ones that look like they’re doing well are struggling; they’re just good at not showing it. We are in trouble, Church, and in light of Amos’s prophecy today, we had ought to ask ourselves: If we are not, in fact, truly living in God’s kingdom here, then might there be a reason it seems God is not as with us as he once was?
As usual, Jesus gives us the answer. A man comes to him and asks, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” What must I do to dwell in God’s presence? And Jesus tells him to “Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”
Selling everything and giving it to the poor is perhaps a good idea, but I’m not sure it’s required for salvation. Which is good, because otherwise, all of us are in trouble. That’s not the point here. When the man walks away, he is described as “grieving.” Grieving. He loves God, and very deeply. He shows it by his devotion to serving God. He is a good, faithful child of God. He just also loves his wealth, and can’t manage to reconcile the two. He’s not grieving because of his stuff. He’s grieving because he loves God, but just can’t go the next step, and that breaks this man’s heart.
And Jesus knows it. Jesus knows that this man is torn between his love of God and his love of wealth. He is bound by his possessions, and cannot free himself. But in able to truly live into the unbreakable love for which he was made, he has to be freed from that need.
Jesus’s disciples are shocked. If this rich guy can’t manage to save himself, how can the poorest of God’s children? How can anyone? And Jesus says that they’re right. Absolutely nobody can. No one can save themselves.
But God can. And will. And does. That’s who Jesus is. He is living—still living today—proof of God’s unbreakable love for all people. God’s promise is that whatever binds us, whatever holds us back from that love, whatever stops us from taking the next step, will ultimately be swept away. We will be free. We are free.
The Holy Spirit whispered in my ear when we got home from camp, and for a change, I listened. I turned to Jason, and said, “Is your dad picking you up? When he gets here, I’d like to talk to you two together.” I tried to say it warmly, but I could see he was worried. His father was too, when he walked in.
The three of us sat, looking at each other. Jason said, “This is about the ice, isn’t it?” And I said, “The ice? No. We dealt with that already. It’s over and done. I’ve forgotten all about it.”
And I went on. “Jason, you were stuck with two guys who were a lot younger than you. They aren’t the kind of people you’d usually hang around with. If I were in that situation, I probably would have withdrawn into myself, not really spoken to anyone for the whole trip. But you decided to be active and participate. You were a friend for those guys the whole weekend. You played games and talked with them in the car and in the cabin. They looked up to you, and you showed yourself to be someone worth looking up to. And that was important enough that I wanted you to know. I’m really proud of you, and your dad should be too.”
And through the looks on the faces of these two people, God taught me something about grace and love that I will never forget.
This is how God works. We constantly do things to break God’s heart. And we get ourselves stuck, bound up by something that keeps us away from the unbreakable love that sits at the heart of the universe. Sometimes, like a loving parent, God has to chastise us, reminding us of the rules that keep us safe. But at the end, when we grieve over our failure to love enough, God loves us enough to make up for it. God IS with us, even when it looks like he is not. God is here, breaking us free from our chains, carrying our world, and our Church, and you yourself, into the days ahead.
As we consider our relationships with other people, the way that we treat ourselves, and even the life of our church and its relationship with the world around us, we might feel like there is no future. Like there’s nothing that we can do to save ourselves. And Jesus tells us that we’re right. There really is nothing we can do. Except trust in the loving Father who is proud of the good, faithful, loving things we have done, and who will whisper to us so we can take the next, courageous step forward, and learn how to dwell even more deeply in his unbreakable love.
Pastor Tyler has told us how important it is to pray, and I think that’s the first thing that God is whispering to this congregation. Without rooting ourselves in our relationship with God, we will just try to do it by ourselves. And we can’t. It won’t work. For us it is impossible. But for God, all things are possible. So I invite you this week to try some new things in your prayer life. Which means… here’s your homework handout! Try one or two of these ideas, and see how it changes the way you think about your relationship with other people, with your church, and with God. I have a hunch that some focus on these things will make a big difference in your life this week, and in your experience of God’s unbreakable love.
This week in worship, we explored God’s gracious unbreakable love for you, even when you break your relationship with God. Here are some small prayer ideas to help you dwell in that grace this week.
Relationship with God
Find some repetitive task to do. Knitting. Ironing. Washing windows. Even walking. Something solitary that you can do that will take some time, but that doesn’t need your full attention. As you do it, let your mind wander. Don’t try to direct your thoughts, but pay attention to where they go. Wonder what God might be trying to point out to you, as he directs your thought.
Relationship with People
Grab your church directory, or the contacts list on your cell phone, or even a phone book (if you can find one these days!). Randomly pick a section of the list about ten names long, and go through it, line by line. Pray for each person by name. Ask God to care for their well-being, to help them to wisely use their gifts and to know they are loved, and to fill their hearts with peace and joy. You might even be less random, and choose people you know need the prayer—or even people you don’t really like!
Relationship with Your Church
This week is Clergy Appreciation Week, and we are so grateful for Pastor Tyler’s presence in this community. Please pray for him. But do it with paper and a pencil/pen/crayon. Write out your prayer, or perhaps even draw your prayer. When you’re finished, imagine yourself offering it to God, and know God responds. You can recycle it, or if you’ve got some extra courage, slip it in Pastor’s office or mailbox in the church (with or without your name on it.)
Relationship with the World
Consider what the “Kingdom of God” might look like. I don’t mean angels on puffy clouds, or some other world. I mean, what would this world look like if God made it “perfect.” Really let your imagination run wild with this. Visualize it in living color. What would be different from the way the world is today? Watch the action play out; envision what people’s lives are really like in God’s Kingdom. Take detailed notes. When you’re finished, look over your notes, and ask yourself how you might bring it just one *tiny* step closer to the Kingdom of God that you imagined.
Relationship with Yourself
At the end of one day this week, set aside a short amount of time to think back over your day. Turn over each thing that you did in your mind. When things went well, thank God for the joys you have in your life. Whenever things didn’t go so well, ask God to help you learn from it, to look for a different path next time, or to have more patience with the people around you. In either case, try to see your whole day, and life, as rooted in God’s presence. (This type of prayer, developed by St. Ignatius, is called Examen. It’s wonderful!)