‘That don’t impress me much’
Woe to you who long
for the day of the Lord!
Why do you long for the day of the Lord?
That day will be darkness, not light.
It will be as though a man fled from a lion
only to meet a bear,
as though he entered his house
and rested his hand on the wall
only to have a snake bite him. Amos 5:18-19
It’s as if God’s people have taken on board only half the story. They hold onto God’s promises of love and faithfulness and believe that that is enough to get them through. The fact that they are God’s chosen people is enough for them. They can do whatever they want and God will still love them. God will still protect them. They don’t see that they themselves have a role to play. That what they do matters. That they have a responsibility to live as God intended.
I can relate to this on a small scale. Sometimes, one of my children will accuse me of not acting like a good parent because I’m not letting them do what they want or not giving them what they want (they would say ‘need’). They expect me to be perfect, always loving, always being there, always available, because I love them and because they are my child. They don’t see that their words or behaviour have anything to do with it. That if I have a role to play towards them as a parent, then they have a responsibility towards me as my child. They’re quick to criticise me for acting as a bad parent in their eyes, but pay no consideration to whether they’re being a bad child or not.
It’s all much more complicated than that of course, but hopefully you get my drift.
God’s people are longing for that promised day when His kingdom will come and what Amos is saying is ‘Watch out! It may well not be what you are expecting.’
Yes, the people are going through the motions. They’re doing all the right things. On the outside, all is looking good. But God wants none of that. God rejects all that. He can see right into the heart and what’s going on there is far from right. No amount of festivals and offerings can put that right.
I hate, I despise your religious festivals;
your assemblies are a stench to me.
Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them.
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
I will have no regard for them.
Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps. Amos 5:21-23
Don’t be impressed by pomp and ceremony. By those that put on a good show. God isn’t.
But let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream! Amos 5:25
This is what’s important. Justice and righteousness. That’s it. Justice and righteousness. Forget organising a big festival if you intend to use slave labour to build it. Forget all your offerings if you have sacrificed your integrity to procure what you are offering. Forget all your music if people have been badly treated in rehearsal.
Justice and righteousness. Not so glamorous. Not such a buzz. Nowhere near as ‘warm and fuzzy’ as a huge holy huddle. What God yearns to see is His justice rolling out like a river across the land, into our communities, the water finding its way into every dark and forgotten nook and cranny. Nothing can stop it. Water finds a way through. It flows out from the life-giving source and never dries up. There’s always more to give. God will be working through those who are prepared to work with Him. He will be filling those who are in turn giving out. He will pour His love and mercy and justice into those who are ready to be a channel for Him. God will be close to those who are doing what He intended for His people.
To be working with God and for God and in God, that is the greatest glory of all.
And those so caught up in the structures and traditions of their faith that these have become more important than the object of their faith, God Himself, where will they find God? He won’t be there. He’ll be out bringing justice where it is needed.
So if being in God’s presence is where you want to be, go out and find God at work in the dark corners of the world and then ask if you can join in.
