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Sermon delivered on Trinity 7C, Sunday, July 31, 2022 at St. Augustine’s Anglican Church, Westerville, OH.

If you prefer to listen to the audio podcast of today’s sermon, click here.

Lectionary texts: Hosea 11.1-11; Psalm 107.1-9, 43; Colossians 3.1-11; St. Luke 12.13-21.

In the name of God: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

A few months ago, we changed our Children’s Church curriculum at St. Augustine’s to a program called God’s Big Story. What I like so much about this curriculum is that it doesn’t just teach kids Bible stories; it shows them that the Bible is one story. While the Bible is full of stories about various people and events, these individual stories fit into one big story—From Genesis to Revelation, the Scriptures tell the story of God’s love for the people He created. This is not just any story: it’s the greatest love story of all time. It’s about a God who loves His people even when they fail to love Him back. It’s the story about a God who won’t let anything separate Him from the people He loves. It tells the story of a God who loves His people so much that He suffers and dies for them. 

We’re going to talk about this “big story” of the Bible today as we examine our lesson from Hosea 11. This passage summarizes the major events of the Old Testament. It quickly recaps God’s history with the nation of Israel. But this is not just the story of God’s interactions with people who lived thousands of years ago. As we’ll see, this is your story. This is my story. 

We can think of Hosea 11 like the “Table of Contents” of the Bible. It reveals four different “themes” or “chapter titles” that summarize the big story of the Bible. The opening verses of this passage use a couple of analogies to illustrate the first theme: God loves His people (vv. 1-2, 4).

Verse 1 says, “When Israel was a child, I loved him.” Here, God is depicted as father beaming over his newborn child. From the very beginning of Israel’s existence as a nation, God loved them. God demonstrated His fatherly love in many ways throughout Israel’s history. He led them “out of Egypt” (v. 2) when they were in bondage. Like any loving parent, God heard the cries of His hurting people and came to their rescue (c.f. Exodus 2:24).In v. 3, God is like a Dad who stands behind his shaky-legged infant and grabs his son by the arms to help him stand upright and learn to walk.Not only did God lead Israel out of Egypt, He helped them “get on their feet” as a nation. He did not abandon them. He gave them His Law to teach them how to live and how to relate to Him and to one another.

In v. 4, the analogy changes: God is portrayed as a kind farmer who treats his cattle more like pets: “I led them with cords of kindness, with bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them.” God graciously led his people through the wilderness to the land he had promised Abraham’s ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey, a place that could be their home. Along the way, he fed them with manna from heaven to sustain them on their journey.

But despite God’s love, God’s people rebel against Him (v. 2). This is our second theme. Verse 2 says, “The more they were called, the more they went away.” Israel is like a rebellious child who defies the instructions of his parents. God gave Israel the Law to guide how they ought to live. But these were not arbitrary rules. Like any good parent, God set boundaries for his children with their best interest in mind. But time and time again, Israel disregarded and disobeyed God’s Law. God tried to “call” them back to Him through the prophets who warned Israel of the consequences they would experience for their sin—things like famines, plagues, wars, & exile for the land—but they didn’t listen. To make matters even worse, they worshipped “idols,” forsaking the God who loved them and blessed them. As vv. 3-4 put it, “They did not know that I healed them… I led them… I bend down… [I] fed them.” 

This tragic story is not just Israel’s story. It’s our story too. From before you and I even existed, God loved us. He made us in His own image (Gen. 1:27), handcrafting us in the womb (Psalm 139:13). Every “good and perfect gift” we experience comes from Him (James 1:17). But in spite of His innumerable blessings, we rebel against God. God has clearly revealed what is right and wrong in His Word, yet as we will later confess, we sin against God “in thought, word, and deed.” We fail to love Him with all our heart and to love our neighbors as ourselves. In v. 7, God says, “My people are bent on turning away from me.” Like the people of Israel, we have a sin nature that inclines us toward evil rather than good, disobedience rather than obedience. Scripture makes it clear that we are so overcome by sin that we are captive to it.

This brings us to our third theme: God punishes sin (vv. 5-7). In v. 5, God makes it clear that Israel’s rebellion would have consequences. He says, “They shall return to the land of Egypt, and Assyria shall be their king, because they refuse to turn to me.” (v. 5). Just as God had warned through the prophets, because of their persistent rebellion against God, they would once again become slaves in another nation, this time Assyria, one of the world powers at that time. Verse 6 describes how Israel’s cities would be destroyed by invaders, and that is exactly what came to pass. In 722 B.C., Assyria conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel and led God’s people into exile.

Like the people of Israel, as those who have rebelled against God, we face God’s judgment. While we face many repercussions of our sin in this life—pain, suffering, broken relationships—Scripture tells us that the ultimate outcome of our sin is death (Romans 6:23), and not just physical death, but eternal death, separation from God for all eternity. Some may question how a compassionate God could pronounce an eternal punishment on people he loves. But we must also remember that God is good. To put it another way, we could say that God is just.

If on his first day in office a president pardoned every murderer in the federal prison system and immediately released them, we would be outraged. We would say, “Where is the justice in this? These people are evildoers! They deserve to be punished!” In the same way that a good president would never flippantly dismiss such evil, if God is good, He cannot excuse our sin. That would be unjust. For this reason, Paul says that in our sinful state we are “children of wrath” (Eph. 2:3), those who are bound to face God’s judgment.

But thanks be to God that the story does not end there! In His great love for us, God writes one final chapter: God shows His people grace (vv. 8-11) There is a shift in tone in v. 8: “How can I give you up, O Ephraim?” In the midst of His judgment, God’s love shines through. Even though His people has rebelled against Him, He still loves them. He asks, “How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you Zeboiim?” (v. 8) When we read these names, we might think, “Huh? Admah? Zeboiim? I’ve never heard of them.” I think this is the reaction we’re supposed to have. These are two cities that were destroyed along with Sodom and Gomorrah because of their sinfulness (Deut. 29:23). God literally wiped their memory from history.

But God cannot imagine doing the  same thing to Israel: “My heart recoils within me” (v. 8). Therefore, God proclaims, “I will not execute my burning anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim” (v. 9). Although Israel will go into captivity, God will spare them from destruction. 

This is the same good news that God offers to us: although we deserve God’s wrath because of our sin, God offers us grace.  He does this through the work of His Son—not Israel, but the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus did what Israel failed to do. He was not a rebellious Son, but one who lived a life of perfect obedience to God the Father. In the cross of Christ, God’s justice and God’s mercy meet. Because Jesus had no guilt of His own, Jesus was able to stand in our place, taking on Himself the punishment we deserve for our sin (Is. 53:5) so that we could instead receive the grace that we do not deserve.

But the good news doesn’t end there! God promised Israel he would not leave them in their captivity but would return them home (vv. 10-11). Since humanity rebelled against God in the Garden of Eden, in a sense, we’ve been in exile. Our sin has separated us from God and has distorted our relationship with God, with one another, and with creation. But one day, we will be released from our exile. Christ will return and will usher in the kingdom of God in its fullness, restoring creation to what it was meant to be. We will be in God’s presence for all eternity, free from sin, death, suffering, and pain forevermore! This is where our story concludes. Like any good love story, it ends with, “And they lived happily ever after.”

This is the arc of the Big Story of the Bible: God’s love, sin, judgment, renewal. As we reflect on these truths, we must ask, “Why does this all matter?” I’m sure that most of you have heard this story—the gospel, the good news of the Bible—before. This is nothing new or groundbreaking. So why even bother going through it this morning?

Today, I  brought something very important to me. This is a book of letters Amelia gave to me when I graduated seminary. The letters are words of encouragement written by family members, friends, pastors, professors, mentors, and people I have served in various churches. Whenever I feel discouraged or drained or I doubt my call to ministry, I turn to this book, and it keeps me grounded and helps me move forward. It points me to who God created me to be, and it reminds me of the saints who are praying for me and supporting me.

Brothers and sisters, this is why we need the gospel. This is not a story; it’s our story. It reminds us of the Father’s love and tells us who we are in Christ.  This story is the anchor that steadies us as we navigate the storms of this life. It’s the shield that protects us from the attacks of our enemy. 

For example, Satan often tries to burden with feelings of guilt. He reminds of our sins and shortcomings, our imperfections and mistakes. But guilt is not our story. Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now nocondemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!” In the words of a modern hymn, “When Satan tempts me to despair and tells me of the guilt within, upward I look and see Him there, who made an end to all my sin!”  This is my story!

This story also gives us courage in the face of fear. Fear comes our way when we don’t know what’s next, when you or a loved one gets a grim diagnosis, when you don’t know how you’ll make ends meet. We may experience fear, but fear is not the end of our story! No matter what circumstances face us, we can have hope because we know the end of the story! Christ is risen, and He will return one day and make all things new! “Because Helives, I can face tomorrow! Because He lives, all fear is gone!” We may not know what the future holds, but we do know the One who holds the future! This, this is my story!

Amid life’s storms and the attacks of our enemy the devil, may we be people who boldly declare, “This is my story, this is my song. Praising my Savior, all the day long.” 

In the name of God: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sermon delivered on Trinity 6C, Sunday, July 24, 2022 at St. Augustine’s Anglican Church, Westerville, OH.

If you prefer to listen to the audio podcast of today’s sermon, click here.

Lectionary texts: Hosea 1.2-10; Psalm 85; Colossians 2.6-19; St. Luke 11.1-13.

Our Christian life is not to be confined to a closet. Our belief must be revealed in our practice. If we walk in Christ, then we must act as Christ would act because Christ is in us, in our hopes, our love, our joy and our lives. We are Christ’s reflection.

At first glance, the reading from Hosea doesn’t seem to make sense. Would God really ask a prophet to marry a prostitute? Well, the answer is yes he can, and yes he did. You see, this was part of God’s plan, and we all know that God’s ways are not our ways, and sometimes God’s ways don’t make sense to us because we can’t see the overall plan God has for someone or something.

God wanted to teach Israel a lesson, so he told Hosea to marry Gomer the prostitute. When God used the word whoredom, he was not necessarily referring to prostitution. The word translated as whoredom is a broad term that refers to various types of sexual misconduct. It only refers to prostitution in certain cases. In the case of Hosea, it refers to a married woman being unfaithful to her husband. This was a metaphor for Israel’s unfaithfulness to God. Hosea’s marriage began well and ended badly, just like Israel’s relationship with God began well and had become bad by the time of Hosea.

Hosea probably asked God, “Why are you doing this to me? I am a good man, I try to be a godly man. All I want to do is have a family and raise children. Why should I be married to the wrong woman? Why should I be forced to raise strange children?” God’s likely answer was, “It is because you are my prophet that you are living through this situation. Who else could suffer like I suffer, grieve like I grieve, and understand what I understand? Israel abandoned me just like your wife abandoned you. You can grieve for Gomer like I grieve for Israel.”

God knew that Gomer would be unfaithful and he used that knowledge to teach Israel a lesson. He used the names of her children as statements of prophecy. The first child, Jezreel, was a reflection of 1 Kings 21 where Ahab’s wife Jezreel planned to murder Naboth so that Ahab could seize Naboth’s vineyard. The licking of Ahab’s blood by the dogs was a metaphor for God’s future judgment of people who follow other gods.

The name of Gomer’s second child is translated as “No Mercy”. Scholars suggest that Hosea was not the father. He did not have the natural affection that a father has for his children. This was a metaphor for the lack of love that God had for Israel at this point in time.

The name of Gomer’s third child is translated as “Not My People”, and again scholars suggest that Hosea was not the father. It represents the breaking of the natural bond that God made with Israel at Mt. Sinai; however, this breaking of the bond did not nullify the promises God made to Abraham. Like Abraham, Israel’s salvation was by grace through faith and not through works of the law. The salvation would be offered through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

God used Hosea’s family to call Israel back to him and his teachings. Paul said the same thing in Colossians. Both the Colossians and the Israelites had been led away from God. In the case of the Colossians, they were led away by false prophets. They were deceived. They forgot that in God and Jesus they were living new lives after being forgiven of their sins. They were united with Christ and shared his power over all earthly rules and authority. The only way they had to gain spiritual maturity was to hold fast to their faith in Christ and not to the man-made rules of the Pharisees.

The story of Hosea and Gomer is really a story about God and the covenant people. Hosea used his family struggles as a way to speak to Israel about its unfaithfulness to God. Israel paid a heavy price for its unfaithfulness. Reconciliation would not be easy, just like it was not easy for Hosea and Gomer to reconcile. Israel had to learn a hard lesson. We as Christians have to learn the same hard lesson when we forsake Christ for other worldly ambitions. Thank goodness God is stubborn and pursues us even when we turn from him in sin. This is Hosea’s ultimate message: God is faithful to his promises and can’t let us go. His faithfulness to us overcomes our faithlessness to him and to each other.

We as modern Christians are also called to faith in Christ as a way of gaining spiritual maturity. Spiritual maturity is gained through faith. Faith allows us to withstand life’s challenges. Faith will guide us to the end of our life’s journey. It will guide us into the time of Judgment Day when God will say “Welcome Home!” Without faith, we are destined to hell.

God can’t give us up as his children regardless of how unfaithful we have been. He loves us too much. At the same time, he can’t overlook our sins because of the damage sin does and will continue to do so as long as we hold on to our sins. Our closeness to God is broken because sin offends God. Sin hurts us because sin always has negative consequences and cuts us off from others, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ. God had to find a way to comfort us and heal us-and the way he found was through Christ’s death on the cross.

Jesus came into the world for a purpose, and that purpose was to die on the cross, the just for the unjust. When Jesus died for us, he took away our sins and nailed them to the cross. He provided the redemption referred to in Hosea. We must not take that grace for granted like Israel did. We must not drift so far from God that we can’t cherish his grace. That’s what happened to Israel at the time of Hosea. When we accept Christ, our condition is changed from condemnation and death to forgiveness and life. We are given a new nature-one that wants to please God. We are then adopted into God’s family, but that adoption requires us to submit to Christ’s authority. He paid for us with his blood, and since we are now his, he has the right to rule our lives. We have to let Jesus have complete control of every area of our lives-every decision, every action, every word, every motive, every attitude and every thought.

As Israel listened to the news about Hosea’s family, they learned about God’s undying love for his people. God’s faithfulness combined with our faith in him gives us hope that we can be changed, forgiven and saved. He wipes the slate clean and renews the relationship he has with us. We are restored as children of God.

In the Letter to the Colossians Paul encourages us to be rooted in Christ. Israel in Hosea’s time didn’t have those firm roots, so it’s no wonder that they drifted away from God. Once we have this firm foundation, Colossians teaches us to continually renovate ourselves so that we become more Christ-like, but we must not become rigid. We do not have to follow a rigid set of rules. All we have to do is come to Christ in humble faith and prayer. Jesus gives us a good example of a prayer to use in Luke 11:1-13.

There are two forms of prayer: quiet contemplation or thanksgiving and petition. Jesus used both forms of prayer to seek God’s presence, guidance and provision for both body and spirit. His prayer life reflected the life of friendship with God. God met Jesus’ needs when Jesus prayed, and he can meet our needs when we pray.

When Jesus said, “Give us this day our daily bread”, he was referring to the manna that the Israelites received every day when they wandered in the wilderness. It reminded them of their daily dependence on God for the basics of life. Bread serves the same function in a primitive, agricultural society where hunger is never far away. This might seem to be trivial in our modern, affluent society, but the term “daily bread” represents the modern essentials of our lives- for example, a car or medical care. God out Father listens to our requests but he does not blindly grant every one of them, just like good parents do not grant every one of a child’s requests. To do so would please us in the short term, but it would also hurt us in the long run, just like granting every one of a child’s requests would hurt the child in the long run. Instead, God provides what is needed, including limits and discipline

When I was preparing, I found this prayer, which I thought tied in quite nicely with the sermon. It’s a prayer we should all pray when we don’t get what we pray for:

I asked for strength that I might achieve;

I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey.

I asked for health that I might do greater things;

I was given infirmity that I might do better things.

I asked for riches that I might be happy;

I was given poverty that I might be wise.

I asked for power that I might have the praise of men;

I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God.

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life;

I was given life that I might enjoy all things.

I got nothing that I had asked for,

but everything that I had hoped for.

Almost despite myself my unspoken prayers were answered.

I am, among all men, most richly blessed.

My brothers and sisters when we turn to other people and things to meet our needs, we turn away from God just like Israel did. There are so many people today who believe that if they can simply do this or that, then their lives will be fulfilled. They are very disappointed when they reach their goals and discover that the view from the top isn’t as great as they thought it would be. They try to hide their disappointment with drugs, alcohol sex or material goods. They reached their goals without asking God if their goals were compatible with his plans for their lives. God wants us to seek, ask and knock and in return he promises to answer our prayers. We need to plant our roots deep in the faith of who Jesus is and what he did for us. That way, when the storms of life hit us, we will remain strong.

If we are to be like Christ, we must also forgive others like God forgives us. We as Christians are to be faithful reflections of the image and values of God. How can the world learn of God’s forgiveness if we do not forgive others?

The story of the man who loaned the three loaves of bread is a metaphor for God’s promise to save his people. People in that area and culture took hospitality seriously at that time. Failing to show hospitality would bring shame on the host family because the traveler would go to other homes for help and tell everyone about the person who refused to show hospitality. God refuses to allow his name to be brought to shame, so he saves his people. In other words, he keeps his promises and shows his own version of hospitality.

So how do we keep our faith strong in the face of our modern, secular, godless society? One way is through studying the Scriptures and through prayer.

Society is filled with people like Hosea and Gomer-people whose lives are messed up, who don’t have it together, who make poor choices and live with the consequences. I know, because I’m one of them. We might pretend that we are prefect, but behind our perfect appearances lie deep flaws that exist in spite of our appearances to cover up our sinfulness.

As I started my sermon today so do I  repeat again, Our Christian life is not to be confined to a closet. Our belief must be revealed in our practice. If we walk in Christ, then we must act as Christ would act because Christ is in us, in our hopes, our love, our joy and our lives. We are the reflection of Jesus, and people will say of us, “They are like their Master. They live like Jesus Christ”.

In the Name of God, The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit Amen.

Sermon delivered on Trinity 5C, Sunday, July 17, 2022 at St. Augustine’s Anglican Church, Westerville, OH.

If you prefer to listen to the audio podcast of today’s sermon, click here.

Lectionary texts: Amos 8.1-12; Psalm 52; Colossians 1.15-28; St. Luke 10.38-42.

In the name of God: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

“Therefore, God shall utterly bring you down; he shall take you and pluck you out of your tent and root you out of the land of the living” (Psalm 52:5). What was it like for you to hear these words read aloud this morning? How did it feel to recite them together? If I am honest, for me, it’s a bit jarring. It’s uncomfortable. These are not the sorts of words you might expect to hear during a church service. This is not, “For God so loved the world…” (John 3:16). This is not, “I know the plans I have for you,  plans to prosper you and not to harm you” (Jeremiah 29:11). You’re probably not going to find Psalm 52:5 printed on wall hangings at Hobby Lobby.

But this is why I am thankful for the lectionary. It forces us to reckon with passages of Scripture we may otherwise avoid, texts that reveal to us truth about who God is and what He is up to in the world.Indeed, this psalm teaches us an important aspect of the gospel message: that there will be a day when the wicked will be held accountable for their atrocities, God’s people will be vindicated, and evil will be fully and finally defeated.

To fully understand and appreciate this psalm (or any passage of Scripture), we need to understand it in the context in which it was written. The psalm’s heading gives us a clue: “A maskil of David, when Doeg, the Edomite, came and told Saul, ‘David has come to the house of Ahimelech.’” David wrote this psalm during events that are described in 1 Samuel 21-22. At the time, Saul was king of Israel, but because of his sin and disobedience, God had rejected Saul and called David to be king instead. Following David’s famous defeat of the giant Goliath and military successes against the Philistines, Saul’s approval rating began to tank and public support in Israel began to shift toward David.

Saul was angry, jealous, and fearful, so he decides to kill David. David has to go on the lam, and he ends up in a place called Nob, hiding with a man named Ahimelech who was a priest of the Lord. Ahimelech and his fellow priests give David a place to stay and offer him some provisions. But a man named Doeg, who is “The chief of Saul’s herdsmen” happens to witness all of this (1 Samuel 21:7). 

Doeg informs Saul that David was sheltering in the house of Ahimelech. Saul summons the priests of Nob and confronts them about aiding and abetting the fugitive, David. Ahimelech admits to it, and Saul is furious. He orders his guards, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is with David, and they knew that he fled and did not disclose it to me,” but Saul’s royal guards defy his command, refusing to shed innocent blood (1 Samuel 22:17). And so, Saul asks Doeg to slay them instead, and he does so without hesitation. Not only does he murder Ahimelech and 84 other priests, he slaughters innocent townspeople of Nob, “both man and woman, child and infant, ox, donkey, and sheep” (1 Samuel 22:18-19).

When David learns what has happened, he’s stricken with grief, and he pens this psalm. He laments the wickedness of Doeg, a man who not only commits atrocities, but who delights in them, boasting in his evil deeds (v. 1). The opening verses of the psalm describe Doeg as a deceiver, one who schemes and plots to harm others, one who “loves evil more than good” (vv. 2-4). This is pure, unadulterated wickedness on display. It’s violent and grotesque. 

Unfortunately, we do not have to look far to find this sort of evil around us today. We see news coverage about Ukraine and countries in Africa and the Middle East that are ravaged by violence and war. In our own country, innocent children are abused and exploited; vulnerable people become victims of sex trafficking. It seems like every week, we get report of another mass shooting.

What are we as Christians to do in light of this inescapable reality of the evil that pervades our world? Psalm 52 shows us four ways we should respond.

First, we should remember the fate of the wicked (v. 5). The psalm has been describing the sinister plots of Doeg, but there’s an obvious shift in v. 5: “But God…” No matter what a wicked person like Doeg may scheme or plot, it is God who ultimately has the last word. This verse uses violent images to describe the fate of the wicked: a wall being torn down, a person being snatched out their home, a tree being uprooted. All of these metaphors point to God’s wrath and judgment poured out on unrepentant evildoers.

Even though we may not immediately think of it as such, this is a precious gospel truth. We live in a world that has been wrecked by the curse of sin. God’s good creation is marred by the evil and atrocities we have been describing. But the good news of the gospel that God sent His Son into the world to redeem and restore His creation to what it was meant to be. This work, which reached its high point in the death and resurrection of Jesus, will one day culminate in Christ’s return, when the wicked who have not turned to Christ in repentance and faith will be punished, God’s people will be rescued from their suffering, and sin, death, suffering, and evil will be no more. Brothers and sisters, this day is coming.

Not only should we remember that his day is coming, but we should pray for God’s justice to prevail. Dietrich Bonhoeffer described the psalms as the prayer book of the Bible. As we read and pray the psalm, we learn the vocabulary of prayer, the kinds of things that we ought to pray for.  This is significant because the psalter may lead us to pray in ways we might not be inclined to if we were left to our own devices.

Tish Harrison Warren, an author and Anglican priest in Texas, recently wrote an article for Christian Today which I would commend to you. It has a rather provocative title: “Go Ahead. Pray for Putin’s Demise.” The article is about Psalms like this one that point to God’s judgment on the wicked, as well as those that explicitly call for it—For example, Psalm 10:15 says, “Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call his wickedness to account till you find none.” She argues that these psalms were written and included in Holy Scripture for times such as the ones we’re living in: “These psalms express our outrage about injustice unleashed on others, and they call on God to do something about it.” 

These psalms help us to take seriously the reality of evil and to recognize that evil cannot ultimately be overcome by human efforts, but through God’s divine work to bring about justice and peace. Warren concludes by saying, “I still pray, daily and earnestly, for Putin’s repentance. I pray that Russian soldiers would lay down their arms and defy their leaders. But this is a moment when I’m trusting [not only] in God’s mercy but also in his righteous, loving, and protective rage.” May we join her and the psalmists in praying for God’s justice.

Third, we should respond to the coming judgment by examining ourselves. After the psalmist vividly depicts the fate of the wicked in v. 5, he tells us how the righteous respond to the judgment of the wicked: “The righteous shall see and fear.” This may seem like a strange initial reaction. After all, as Christians, we know that we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ, and that in Him, we need not fear God’s judgment, for in Him we have forgiveness from our sins, and nothing can separate us from the love of God (Rom. 8:39). While this is certainly true, at the same time, we must acknowledge that evil is not just something that is out there, it’s in here, in our own hearts.

This is something God’s people Israel seemed blind to in the time of the prophet Amos. The book of Amos begins with the prophet announcing judgment on many Israel’s enemies: Syria, Philistia, and Phoenicia; the Edomites, the Ammonites, the Moabites. We can imagine Amos working his original audience into a frenzy as they salivated at the thought of their enemies getting their just desserts. 

But then comes a curve ball: Amos begins to announce God’s judgment on Israel too! In today’s OT reading, speaking through the prophet, God says, “The end has come upon my people Israel” (Amos 8:2). The majority of the book of Amos is devoted to God denouncing the unrepentant sin of his own people: their sexual immorality, their idolatry, their oppression of widows, orphans, and the poor. While Israel was quick to recognize and condemn the sins of their neighbors, they were slow to see the sin in their own lives.

This is a reminder for us to be watchful lest we become blind to the evil that can take root within us. May we pray for the God “to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden” to “cleanse the thoughts of our hearts” by His Spirit.

Finally, in the face of evil around us, we should trust in the Lord. In contrast to the wicked person who trusts “in the abundance of his riches,” in v. 8b, David proclaims, “But I trust in the steadfast love of God, forever and ever.” He demonstrates that trust in the Lord in v. 9 when he says, “I will thank you forever, because you have done it.” What has God “done”? This statement refers back to v. 5, which, as we’ve seen, announces God’s ultimate judgment of the wicked. But that doesn’t seem to make sense. The psalmist says, “You have done it,” but the final judgment hasn’t happened yet. So what’s going on here?

David is so completely confident that God will do what He says He will do—bring the wicked to account—that he can speak of it in the past tense, as if it has already happened. God’s promises are sure, and David can trust in them completely. Brothers and sisters, this is what it looks like to live by faith. As see evil in the world around us, as we suffer from it personally in our own lives, history is moving towards a definite point, that God is making all things new, and that one-day evil will be fully and finally defeated.

We know this because Christ has already sealed this victory through his death and resurrection. As our communion liturgy reminds us, “Christ has risen from the tomb and scattered the darkness of death with light that will not fade . . . And though the night will overtake this day, [God] summon[s] us to live in endless light, the never-ceasing sabbath of the Lord.” May we rest in the good news of God’s sure and certain promise to bring an end to evil, wickedness, suffering, and pain, and may we pray for God’s justice to prevail—for His kingdom to come, for His will to be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

In the name of God: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sermon delivered on Trinity 4C, Sunday, July 10, 2022 at St. Augustine’s Anglican Church, Westerville, OH.

If you prefer to listen to the audio podcast of today’s sermon, click here.

Lectionary texts: Amos 7.7-17; Psalm 82; Colossians 1.1-14; St. Luke 10.25-37.

In the name of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

When I first looked at this morning’s scripture texts, I was fairly sure that I would preach on the Gospel story about the Good Samaritan. It’s such a classic story of our faith, and it offers us a lot to reflect on. And so my thoughts were centered on the question of what it means to be a good neighbor.

This theme was in my mind every day this week… every time I received a call from Kenya I heard what the country is going through and how people are struggling to put a meal on the table for their families. I did my best to offer what I could. I listened, I prayed, I comforted and encouraged. I directed towards help and I handed out a fair amount of financial assistance to help.

I felt, as I often do, a mixture of frustration and guilt that I could not do more, as well as a good feeling too, because I often felt that what I was able to offer did seem to help, to support, and to strengthen some families and individuals who really were in trouble and in need.

But on Thursday I turned back to the scriptures for today, and I noticed the prophet Amos and his angry words against King Jeroboam II and the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Amos didn’t hold back his righteous anger against Israel and their king, and instead ask them politely to consider following the laws and commandments of God.

It was somewhere around the year 760 BCE, in the middle of the reign of King Jeroboam II of Israel, and it was probably the most prosperous time that Israel had yet known – Prosperity built on trade in olive oil, wine, and possibly horses, with Egypt and especially with Assyria providing the markets.

But the prophets, of whom Amos was probably the most harsh, condemned the materialism and selfishness of the Israelite elite of their day. In the book of Kings, King Jeroboam is said to have “done evil in the eyes of the Lord,” meaning both the oppression of the poor and his continuing support of the cult centers of Dan and Bethel, in opposition to the temple in Jerusalem.

What is striking about Amos’ words is both the passion of his concern for the oppressed, and the power of his language. He declares that God is measuring things up, like a plumbline that checks the straightness of a foundation wall. And when God finds that the wall is not perfect – that Israel and its king are led by greed and selfishness and corruption, God is going to destroy them. God is going to send the wall crashing down. It’s going to be the end of an Israel that has failed to live up to their high calling as God’s chosen and beloved people.

Now, biblical history tells us that Jeroboam II’s reign comes to an end in 745 BCE, and by 722, the Northern Kingdom of Israel does come crashing down when it is conquered by the Kingdom of Assyria. And the prophets interpret that military victory for Assyria to be God’s doing because of Israel’s unfaithfulness and injustice towards the poor and oppressed.

People of faith today are much less likely to interpret the outcome of wars and conflicts between nations and peoples as related to God’s judgment and condemnation of one side or the other.

But what the prophets made clear, and what must be just as true today, is that God is not at all pleased with the continuing greed and materialism and selfishness and oppression of the poor that plagues our world today just as much as it gripped the Northern Kingdom of Israel.

The psalmist in our reading today says that God was taking his seat in the divine council, that God was making his judgment over the “gods” (with small g) that seem to rule the world. God asks, “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked?” And then God instructs, “Give justice to the weak and the orphan; Maintain the rights of the lowly and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; Deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

The psalmist is sure that the “gods” of the world, in Kenya they have coiled the word “deep state” to refer to them, have no real power. “They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk around in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.” Yes, God is sending them crashing down. God’s kingdom of love and peace and justice is coming. It is being established in our midst.

As I think about the Kingdom of God, I think about Jesus who came to proclaim its coming, who came to show us what it would look like, who came to usher it in and to empower people from all tribes and nations to participate in making it a reality.

There are only a few instances in the Gospels when we read about Jesus sharing the righteous anger of Amos against those who would oppress the poor and misrepresent the priorities of God. I’m thinking of the day that Jesus stormed into the temple, overturned the tables, and drove out the money changers.

Perhaps there are some appropriate times for people of faith to get angry… when women and children are abused and have nowhere to find help and safety, when medical care and food are not made available to all, when despite having welfare and disability programs, there are still so many people who have nowhere to turn to for help.

But Christ, whom we have been called to follow, was not just another prophet or a political activist. He proclaimed with his words, and enacted with his life, the truth that God’s Kingdom of love, justice, and peace was coming. Indeed, it had arrived.

The people of his time could see that kingdom coming as people were healed, lives were transformed, hungry bellies were filled, enemies were reconciled. With parables like “the Good Samaritan,” Jesus taught the common people and the elite alike to look for God’s Kingdom coming through the most unlikely people and situations. And he showed them that they were being called and enabled to participate in bringing that kingdom to its fullness.

I am sure that even after reflecting on these things this week, I am going to have moments when I get angry over things that are not really that important. But I hope, at those times, that I will think of Amos and his righteous anger. And I also know that even after reflecting on these things, I am still going to have moments when I get angry over things that are important – over child labor and human trafficking, over terrorism and war, over racism and discrimination, and over the systemic oppression of the poor and powerless. But I hope, at those times, that I will think of Jesus. I hope I will remember that he got angry too. But that he was not overcome by anger. He was not led by anger, but he was led by love.

Jesus said, “Love God, and love your neighbor.” He told the story of the Good Samaritan, and then he said, “Go and do likewise.” May God’s Spirit fill us, encourage us, and empower us, to be God’s faithful people and to live as Jesus taught us.

In the Name of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.