Establish Justice
Sermon for November 9, 2024
Richard Rohr, two weeks ago at the conference I went to in Albuquerque, shared that we have to reclaim Christianity as a transformational religion, not a transactional one. For far too long, Western civilization and Christian doctrines have viewed Jesus’ death and resurrection as a transaction between God and Jesus so that we might, night get to heaven and all we have to do is believe in him and we get THE free ticket. It is a transaction that gives us eternal salvation, a debt paid. Richard Rohr contemplates that Jesus is love enfleshed and came to love us and teach us how to love, have compassion, and forgive everything, even a death on the cross. Our current president and government leaders are very much centered on the transactional view of life and the belief that he who dies with the most gold and bitcoin wins.
Amos, the prophet, is talking to the counties of Israel and Judah when everything is going well for them. They are both prosperous and they have had relative security and have even expanded their borders. This is about 30 years before, in the eighth century BCE, the Assyrian Empire conquers the northern kingdom, Israel, and threatens the southern kingdom of Judah. In both passages he talks about the gate where justice can be established. He is referring to the city gate where it was common for the men to gather and talk and work out their problems. There was a king and a temple, but there were no judges and police, each community was responsible for taking care of its own issues and crimes. So, Amos was starting on the community level, not going straight to the king’s courts and temples’ priests.He tells them to consider to quit trampling the poor and pushing aside the needy, to quit loving evil and start loving good. Amos calls them out that their feasts and festivals mean nothing to God, even God despises them, for they do not reflect the love God has for the world and the care and compassion that God has for all of God’s children, not just those who eat, drink, and be merry.
It was not lost on some commentators and comedians that the night before SNAP benefits were cut off for millions of Americans, that our current administration had a roaring 20’s party down in Mar-a-Lago. And if we remember our history, we remember how well the 1920’s turned out after the loosening of regulations and trampling on the poor. Amos is very much a prophet that speaks to us today. There was lots of good news in the elections this past week that Americans are not on board with the direction our country is going. It does show that voting matters and can change things. To establish justice, which doesn’t trample the poor and push aside the needy, we need a just transformation of our nation and its ideologies. We must turn aside from a nation of materialism and the celebration and protection of billionaires to an ideology that all humans, yes citizens and non-citizens, have the right to housing, food, safety, clean water, education, and medical care. This is justice that Amos calls for, this is the kingdom and kindom that God works to establish. This is the way of life and the world that echoes justice rolling down and righteousness an ever flowing stream.