"But I am
like a green olive tree in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever. I will thank you forever, because of what you
have done. In the presence of the
faithful I will wait for your name, for it is good." (Psalm 52:8-9)
That portion of the Psalm is
both a promise we can make, and a reminder to ourselves. All of the readings today provide warnings
that when we look around ourselves today, we see the same problems, and we're
being warned about the consequences, yet again.
Those at the
time with Amos had the Word of God removed from them, as they focused on making
money and improving status, leaving off fairness, let alone providing charity. They're missing the importance in their own busy-ness,
sometimes going so far as to cheat others to obtain their own comfort. In Leviticus 23, God said, "When you
reap the harvest of your land, you shall not
reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and for the alien: I am the
Lord your God." In Amos' time, they
lost the Word of God for a long time
because of their own actions.
In today's
society, gleaned food may be marginal, just on the threshold of becoming bad,
and so many won't eat it, knowing that it will make them ill. Our stomachs don't have the intestinal flora
to keep up with such things. However,
one of the things learned from working within the Renaissance reenactment
community was how people of the Renaissance time used spices to make such
marginal food digestible. Those spices
that are currently used most often in baking – like cinnamon, ginger, cloves,
allspice – and those that spice things up a bit – like cayenne, curry, any of
the peppers – will actually help the body digest things that it might not
otherwise be willing to. This works with
both meat and vegetables, and can lengthen the shelf life of your food.
There are ways
to assist those who are homeless, unemployed, down on their luck or abundantly
blessed with children, by providing them with transportation to get to gleaning
programs, raising their self-esteem as they know they are not only providing
for themselves, but also helping others in a time of shared need.
We are beyond
blessed in our town. There are areas in
the wild where a wide variety of wild fruits and vegetables grow. As we're also often competing with bears and
other wildlife, we can organize groups for safety to go and pick, and then
parties for canning and preserving.
Willing hands are all that are needed, and those unused to the process
will have those experienced to teach them and help them along. Don't forget to share with your neighbor as
we all have the feast provided to us by the Divine. In some places, not only are people prevented
from gathering the bounty of the earth – even to the point of not being allowed
to collect rainwater – but people can literally be arrested for such
gleaning. The society around our country
is very, very similar to what we see in Amos' time.
Today, our focus
is lost. We're busy with making enough
money to pay the bills, with cleaning the house to be presentable, with
ensuring our kids are in the best schools, making the best grades. And certainly, those are important
things. But Paul writes, "To them God
chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of
this mystery, which is Christ in you,
the hope of glory. It is He whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching
everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in
Christ." (Col. 1:27-28)
Professor and
Episcopal priest Barbara Brown Taylor writes in her book Home By Another Way, suggests that the things that made God angry
in Amos’ day are also much in place in our own society. In her words: “Why is Amos in such a bad mood?
Because the rich have used their riches to burden those who will never work
their way out of debt. Because the clever have used their cleverness to trick
those who cannot think as fast. Because making a profit has become more
important than anything else in the land – more important than justice, more
important than Sabbath, more important than God.” (p. 182, Home By Another Way, “Famine in the Land,” Barbara Brown Taylor).
Christ has
paid the price for us, but still, we have to choose to turn toward God, to listen, to be still and hear the Word
of God. The fruit is turning bad,
rotting in our own souls. We are
literally starving among our possessions and status symbols, ignoring the importance
of teaching the next generation and we condemn them because of their own
ignorance.
When we look
at the Gospel lesson, we recognize the need and contribution Martha makes, as
do so many others within our own society.
These are the people who make things more comfortable for others, who
like serving others – but oftentimes, they are also the invisible people. Not only do we not recognize their
contributions and thank these people, but we also forget to live up to our own
contributions made possible for us to do through the efforts of those who serve.
Christ took
the time to remind Martha that the curious nature of Mary is equally
valued. She listens and questions,
seeking understanding and helping others find understanding where they might
have been too timid to ask. Each must serve,
according to their own nature and inclination, and all bring value in the sight
of God.
Christ also opened
Martha's eyes to appreciate Mary and her ways, without needing to chastise her
for neglecting their guests or being unseemly in the minds of others, but rather
see that she cares for them in a different manner, helping to keep the learning
and conversation going, helping others feel more at ease with their questions.
The lessons
today are all asking us to look at our own actions. Is Christ at the forefront of our
thoughts? Are we helping our
neighbors? Because right now, looking at
the actions around the world, we have to wonder if we have stopped listening
for the word of God. Like those that
Amos addressed, are we allowing politics to interfere with the commands of
God? We must remember that each one is a
child of God, and these days, likely need to help them know the word of God, as
many have been kept ignorant of the Word.
The words of Amos must be a warning in our ears.
In the words
of Stephen Mattson, author of a book called The
Great Reckoning: Surviving a Christianity That Looks Nothing Like Christ: " So when we’re confronted with national questions regarding
refugees, immigrants, racism, national security, the economy, and social
justice issues, we must remind ourselves of the old adage: 'What Would Jesus
Do?' because we already know what He did, and it’s our responsibility to do the
exact same thing. God help us."
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