Sermon: Amos 7:7-15 

“Showdown with Amos”

Amos is one of my favourite Old Testament Prophets.

He lived in the 8th century before Christ, 

Amos was from Tekoa, a town south of Bethlehem

a farmer,

he travelled from Judah to the Northern Kingdom of Israel,

to the main cities of Samaria and Bethel

he was active for a short time around 760 BC.

Amos was the earliest of the 4 early prophets of whom we have books 

(that is Amos-Hosea, Isaiah, Micah).

The time in which he lived was a fairly prosperous, peaceful time 

(perhaps like our own)

But all was not well.

There had emerged a powerful wealthy class,

a top 1 %

an upper crust

that was, it seems, oblivious to the plight of the poor and the needy.

actually worse,

they abused the poor and the needy,

treating the lower classes like dirt.

Even though the law of Moses told them how to behave,

They did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.

They had no sense of social equality,

and mutual responsibility in society.

And what did Amos have to say to these arrogant, 

rich citizens of Samaria and Bethel?

He criticized them:

“You sell humans for cash

you hold and buy slaves

you sell the needy for a pair of sandals

You trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth

you Oppress the poor, crush the needy’

You will not be able to enjoy your wealth, ignoring the plight of the poor!

Shame on you!

Behold: 

look and see: put on God’s glasses!!!

What hypocrisy that you stand on /and hide behind, official religion,

while you neglect fellow humans in distress?

and then, Amos continues: 

“because of your social injustice and religious arrogance

-the Lord will punish you by means of a total 

and complete military disaster.

An enemy army will come and destroy you.”

You’ve really been doing some bad things to your fellow human beings,

You know God expected justice

this is no new moral expectation

now you are being held accountable by God for your transgressions!!

“If no one will stand up for the victims of human cruelty, God will.”

There is no call to change behaviour here

No call to Repent!

—Just its gonna happen (whether you like it or not)

“You sinned.

Therefore

You will be destroyed.

The end.”

—

And that brings us to today’s first lesson:

which describes perhaps the most important day 

in the life of the prophet Amos.

Amos’ showdown with Amaziah.

So Amos shows up in the city of Bethel, 

which is the seat of government,

where the King of Israel is living and the official religious establishment,

basically the seat of power,

and Amos goes on a rant and starts saying some crazy 

and threatening stuff:

“!!The King will be overthrown and killed!!

The holy places of Israel will be laid to waste!!

Everyone will be brought into slavery into exile!!

Because!!! you have not obeyed God’s law

you’ve been abusing your power and privilege

and have been mistreating the poor and the marginalized

There’s no escaping it!!”

Amos poses a threat to homeland security

His words spread like wildfire.

He demonstrates integrity: 

due to his ability, willingness and courage 

to bear testimony to the Word of God.

People take note.

But most people are annoyed, or feel threatened 

—

Imagine..

what if someone declared to you:

“God will tear down St. Matthews Lutheran Church

because you are a load of hypocrites?”

How would we respond?

Probably not kindly.

We’d show them the door and tell them 

they’re not welcome here.

Please leave now or we’ll call the police!

Which is precisely what Amazaiah did.

Now, who is Amazaiah?

Well he’s the head priest in Bethel

the representative of official religion

—like a bishop

lots of power and rich probably too.

He thinks he has the authority to dictate 

who may prophecy and where.

And he basically tells Amos:

“Shut up, Amos.

Go home!

We don’t want to hear your claptrap here.

You’re scaring people

you have no right to say what you’re saying

here in the King’s sanctuary

(the temple of the kingdom).

Go home

 prophesy there for all I care

but just get out 

I want you out of town by sundown.”

—

But Amos replies

“I am neither a prophet nor a prophet’s son. 

I don’t possess any of the proper credentials. 

I was minding my own business when the Lord grabbed me by the collar and said “Go, prophesy to my people Israel” (p222 Feasting on the Word B)

Amos was Not a professional prophet

he earned his living as a herdsman, tending sheep, 

prob. was a shepherd,

but also a dresser of sycamore trees 

[(Middle East they bear figs…cut the fruit late in the season to hasten the ripening)]

blue-collar, lower class 

(as opposed to the upper-class, high priest Amaziah- 

who had lots of privilige)

Prophecying and relaying Words from God

was Not just business for Amos

He was not just “doing his job”

he was on a mission from God 

on a call from God

-and only God can authorize prophecy

not state religion

>

And basically Amos curses Amazaiah

(It’s one heck of a showdown between the prophet of God 

and the priest of the kingdom)

“You tell me to stop prophesying,

you command me to be quiet?

Well I’ll tell you…

your wife will become a prostitute

your children will be murdered

your land and possessions will be divided up by your enemies

you will die in an unclean land in exile

and Israel will be destroyed by a enemy army 

and all will be hauled away to a foreign land.

How about that, you pompous buffoon!

—-

Well, In any case

we don’t know what happened to Amaziah,

but in truth,

the prophecies of Amos were fulfilled some 40 years later.

in 722 BC Samaria, 

capital of Israel was destroyed by Sargon II of Assyria.

>>>>

I Wonder what Amos,

 if he were alive today,

would say about today’s society,

the inequalities that exist

Amos talks about “selling the needy for a pair of sandals”

well what about a

$5000 dollar pair of Louboutin heels?

What about the fact that there are more than 40 million modern slaves on earth these days?

Amos talks about 

oppressing the poor?

Well what about the ongoing housing affordability crisis, 

where the average new homeowner would need to spend over 60% of their salary on carrying costs.

Income inequality in Canada has increased over the past 20 years,

With the top 0.01% increasing their net worth by obscene amounts.

And as St. Matthews what are we doing about these injustices?

I believe we are doing some amazing things that we can be proud of:

We have distributed half a million dollars though our property tithe to our Mission Partners, to alleviate poverty;

To help indigenous mental health,

Promote food security, and help refugees,

Fund shelter care rooms.

And we have a bold plan to build over a hundred affordable housing units on our property, to address the severe need in our community.

I think Amos would cautiously applaud our work,

but the hard part is obviously still ahead of us.

What can we do?!

People in the pews this morning?

>>>>

I think we can draw inspiration from that farmer Amos.

He wasn’t a professional prophet,

he didn’t go to seminary or to prophet school,

he just had a burning desire to listen to God

and to speak out against injustice

to represent the poor

to advocate for the voiceless.

Amos was an everyday man

called by God.

And every day

God calls 

Ordinary people

farmers, seniors,

workers, professors,

contractors, secretaries

God calls you to live out the

connection between Sunday morning (at church) 

and what you do Monday to Saturday.

To examine

How you live out the gospel

every day, not just in the four walls of church,

but in your interactions with friends, colleagues,

relatives, people on the street,

people in shops.

To discern how well you live out

the call to care for the needy,

respect the outcast,

provide for those less fortunate,

speak out against injustice.

Certainly,

God is faithful…

and will grant us the ability 

to walk in the footsteps of Amos,

and proclaim God’s love and care for every human,

wherever they are. Amen.