Amos 7:10-17 BibleGateway.com
This confrontation between Amos, not a professional religious sort but a dresser of sycamore trees, and Amaziah, the priest of King Jeroboam, hardly fits as a text for the Advent season. It’s a hard text because Amos renders a harsh word to and for the king. Why? Because the sanctuary he has built at Bethel, the same place where Jacob had dreamt of a ladder reaching into heaven, had been built to serve the king. Idols and cultic symbols abounded.
The king and his priest don’t want to hear this word. They urge Amos to go away. But Amos, who speaks of justice and righteousness (5:24), insists that this is not his word, but God’s word.
Wouldn’t it be easier if Amos left well enough alone? Live and let live.What harm is there, letting the king live in his illusory world? Why point out the sharp edges of God’s word? Let’s smooth them out. It would be more comfortable for everyone, right?
The harm is that it’s not the truth. And while the truth can be painful, God’s truth, God’s word of judgment, is also a word of grace. When the idols that we build for ourselves are stripped away, when the smoke and mirrors we use to avoid dealing with the truth of our own sinfulness are exposed, we are left empty-handed before the God of truth and grace. And what we find is not a God of wrath shaming us, but a God of grace and forgiveness coming to us, as a babe in a cattle stall.
Prayer: Dear God, may this Advent season be one in which we discover, once again, “love so amazing, so divine” that we, freely and joyfully give our all to you whose truth sets us free to serve you and each other.
Amen
James Currie
(MDiv ’79, ThM ’89)
Associate Dean for the Houston Extension Program
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
CLICK HERE to listen to each day's devotional.
This confrontation between Amos, not a professional religious sort but a dresser of sycamore trees, and Amaziah, the priest of King Jeroboam, hardly fits as a text for the Advent season. It’s a hard text because Amos renders a harsh word to and for the king. Why? Because the sanctuary he has built at Bethel, the same place where Jacob had dreamt of a ladder reaching into heaven, had been built to serve the king. Idols and cultic symbols abounded.
The king and his priest don’t want to hear this word. They urge Amos to go away. But Amos, who speaks of justice and righteousness (5:24), insists that this is not his word, but God’s word.
Wouldn’t it be easier if Amos left well enough alone? Live and let live.What harm is there, letting the king live in his illusory world? Why point out the sharp edges of God’s word? Let’s smooth them out. It would be more comfortable for everyone, right?
The harm is that it’s not the truth. And while the truth can be painful, God’s truth, God’s word of judgment, is also a word of grace. When the idols that we build for ourselves are stripped away, when the smoke and mirrors we use to avoid dealing with the truth of our own sinfulness are exposed, we are left empty-handed before the God of truth and grace. And what we find is not a God of wrath shaming us, but a God of grace and forgiveness coming to us, as a babe in a cattle stall.
Prayer: Dear God, may this Advent season be one in which we discover, once again, “love so amazing, so divine” that we, freely and joyfully give our all to you whose truth sets us free to serve you and each other.
Amen
James Currie
(MDiv ’79, ThM ’89)
Associate Dean for the Houston Extension Program
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
CLICK HERE to listen to each day's devotional.
______________________________
For the glory of God and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary is a seminary in the Presbyterian-Reformed tradition whose mission is to educate and equip individuals for the ordained Christian ministry and other forms of Christian service and leadership; to employ its resources in the service of the church; to promote and engage in critical theological thought and research; and to be a winsome and exemplary community of God's people.CLICK HERE to learn how you can support the mission of Austin Seminary
No comments:
Post a Comment