Prophethood of All Believers Amos 7:7-16a

Transcription

1 Annette Thornburg Morning Worship 14 July 2013 Wilshire Baptist Church Dallas, Texas Amos 7:7-16a How many of you have ever tried or have at least heard of Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies? They come in this little tan and brown striped package with the sweet name Famous Amos written across the top in a comforting blue script. It s the kind of thing made to put you in mind of an old-fashioned sweet shop. It s made to take you to a place that s warm and comforting. I thought about giving you all a package of these cookies this morning so you would have something sweet to see and taste. Something good to hold on to to balance out the not-so-sweet words of a not-so-famous Amos. Our scripture reading this morning comes from the book of Amos one of those small books grouped together there at the end of the Old Testament. He s one of the minor prophets, but unlike some of the others he s one we hardly ever hear about. He wasn t swallowed by a whale like Jonah and he doesn t have a slick catchphrase like Micah. I mean, it doesn t get much better than Micah s famous line about living justly, loving mercy and walking humbly with God. Amos doesn t have any of that. But the real reason we don t hear a whole lot about this not-so- Famous Amos is probably because he doesn t live by one of our favorite rules. You all know the one I m talking about. What was it your mother always said? If you can t say anything nice--don t say anything at all. Right. That s not Amos. He speaks some pretty harsh words and levies some pretty strong indictments against almost everyone and everything. He doesn t hold back even when his words could cost him everything. Even when his words bring him into direct confrontation with the chief priest, Amos continues to speak hard truths to the people of God. But before we get there, it s worth knowing how Amos gets there. In the beginning, his words aren t too bad. Well, I take that back. His words are still harsh, but to whom they re directed isn t so bad. Amos starts off with a message that would ve been great news to the Jewish people of his time. He begins with harsh words for Israel s enemies. He calls out the

2 offenses of the Ammonites and the Philistines in turn. He then goes on to spell out the coming judgment on the Edomites and the Moabites. This is a message Judah and Israel can really get behind. It s probably a message we could all get behind. I mean, who doesn t like hearing your enemies are going to get exactly what they have coming to them. Who doesn t like seeing the car that cut you off get pulled over down the road? Bad news for our enemies is good news for us, right? Even I have to admit, vindication tastes pretty sweet sometimes. It s so easy to name every fault and shortcoming of others especially the ones we don t agree with. So we think it s only fair when they get what we think they deserve. Serves them right. Right? If only it were that simple, we d probably hear a lot more sermons on Amos. But Amos doesn t stop there. Pretty soon, the finger he s wagging at all those other people the ones we don t like who are clearly doing bad things turns around. And he starts naming how Judah and Israel God s chosen people his own people had forsaken the very heart of what it meant to be God s people. And he goes on and on for several chapters enumerating all the ways they ve turned their back on God. How they ve only become concerned with their own wellbeing. How they ve forced the poor to hand over their grain. How they ve oppressed the righteous, taken bribes, and denied the poor justice in the courts. These are Amos words word-for-word. And how, because of all these things, their worship is now empty and just for show. Amos doesn t mess around. His words cut to the quick. But it s not until Amos goes one step further. It s not until he describes what God s going to do in response that he gets in trouble: the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword. Suddenly, he s gone too far. He s crossed a line. Speaking up for the poor is one thing, but speaking out against the king that s another. That s what gets you into trouble. We don t have to look very far to find other examples of prophets who ve gotten in trouble for speaking up for others and speaking out against the powers that be. There are countless 2

3 examples of others who ve refused to remain silent in the face of opposition and oppression throughout history. This prophetic spirit is part of our Baptist DNA. We can name many of them. We know their stories some more than others, but we wouldn t be who we are today without their stories and their sacrifices. One of my favorites is Balthasar Hubmaier, a courageous soul who wrote a treatise in 1524 that argued for religious freedom not just for his particular group of believers but for all whether they be a Turk or a heretic. His courageous stance was just the first swell in a movement for religious freedom that gained further ground a hundred years later when Thomas Helwys wrote another treatise that continued to press for religious freedom for all. Petitioning for freedom to believe rather than vying for power to make others believe was a radical stance that cost many early Baptists their lives. Both Hubmaier and Helwys were executed for subverting the king s power to dictate religious belief and practice. They dared to speak out against the reigning power, and consequently paid the ultimate price. We see it time and time again it s a pattern that stretches across history. In reformations and revolutions, we see God s spirit at work raising up prophets who bravely answer the call to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners. 1 Through them and their stories, we can see what Theodore Parker, an abolitionist and Unitarian minister so elegantly observed back in the 1800s. In a sermon published in 1857, Parker encouraged his hearers to: Look at the facts of the world. You see a continual and progressive triumph of the right. I do not pretend to understand the moral universe, the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways. But from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice. 2 From ancient times into modernity, prophets have testified and continue to point us to a kingdom higher than the ones of this world. Through them we see that God s truth will prevail no 1 Isaiah 61:1 2 Parker, TheodoreTen Sermons of Religion, Theodore Parker, Of Justice and the Conscience, 3

4 matter how hard the powers of this world work to silence their prophetic voices. Amaziah, the priest of Bethel tried to silence Amos. After reporting his treasonous message to the king, Amaziah tells Amos to pack his bags, go back where he came from, and never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom. But he s wrong. That s not what Bethel was. That s not what Bethel meant. Amaziah, of all people, should know the name Bethel literally means, House of God not Sanctuary of the king. How very sad that Amaziah, the priest, the one who was responsible for making sacrifices for the people and organizing their corporate worship; the one who should ve been all about reminding Israel how to be God s people, was instead more concerned with protecting his own position of wealth and prestige. Sadly, he was focused and reliant on the wrong kind of power. Through his association with the king, Amaziah forgot that God is bigger than all the princes and principalities of this world. Amos, on the other hand, knew the proper order of things. He knew who he was and the God he served. I am no prophet, he tells Amaziah, nor a prophet s son. I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, Go, prophesy to my people Israel. Now therefore hear the word of the Lord. Amos wasn t a professional preacher. He didn t have any sort of priestly or prophetic pedigree he was a herdsman, a dresser of sycamore trees. We don t know if this meant he was a simple laborer or a well-to-do landowner. All we know is that when God called him to speak up he did. At the risk of losing his life and livelihood, he spoke out against those who abused their positions of power and got rich at the expense of the poor. Martin Luther was another prophetic voice we see at work in history. Thanks to him, we know the power of what it means to be a priesthood of all believers. It s only one of his 95 infamous theses that became a foundational concept of the Protestant Reformation but it s one that Baptists have taken to heart more than most. Being a priesthood of all believers means we all have equal standing before God and equal responsibility to each other. It 4

5 means we re all charged with making sure the House of God doesn t become the king s sanctuary. It means you don t need a special degree, a fancy robe or a dignified title to minister to each other s needs. All you need is to be in tune to where God is at work and willing to do what s needed. It s a powerful concept worth taking to heart. But in addition to being a priesthood of all believers, this morning I want to propose that we re also a prophethood of all believers. While a priesthood is about ministering to each other, a prophethood is about speaking up for others and speaking out against injustice and cruelty wherever its found. Prophets are tasked with speaking the truth even when it s a hard truth. So often we reduce prophets to fortunetellers, like Amaziah mistakenly called Amos a seer. But Amos wasn t a seer. He was a sayer. Prophesying isn t about predicting the future. Instead, it s about correcting our present course so that it leads us to a more perfect future. In big and small ways, prophets keep us on a course that bends towards justice. If being a prophet scares you-- good. It should, but it shouldn t stop you. The world needs to hear your voice. We, the church, need to hear it, too, to keep from becoming like Amaziah and Bethel. In a few weeks you ll have a special opportunity to speak up about where our church is and where it s going. On August 18, we ve set aside time to hear from you and for you to hear from each other in congregation-wide visioning sessions. Some of you may have already heard about this, but if not, there s a big article in the Tapestry today that explains all the details. But the main point is that we as a community of faith and the body of Christ are built up through speaking and listening to each other. Will Campbell, who recently passed away, was a great Baptist preacher from the South who was known for speaking up and passionately speaking out against the powers that be and institutions of every sort. One of his favorite sayings was, I don t have a ministry, I have a life. 5

6 Each one of you has a life and a sphere of influence that s uniquely yours. Like Amos you may not be a prophet by profession or by birth. You might only claim to be a herdsman or a dresser of trees; a shepherd of children or a writer of legal briefs; a builder of houses or a reader of books. But you have a voice. So in whatever other roles you fill on a daily basis, remember that you are both a priest and a prophet. As a prophethood of believers, may you speak truth to power, testify to God s spirit at work in the world and, by the grace of God with everything going on in the world today, remind each other what it means to live not for ourselves, but rather as holy and beloved people of God. Amen. 6