What Gets God Mad?

Admittedly, I am not all that skilled at coming up with memorable sermon titles.  I must have missed that class in seminary, “Catchy Sermon Titles 101.” A good sermon title is an art form in and of itself.  A good sermon title invites and arouses attention.  Like a good appetizer, a good sermon title whets the appetite, gives folks a taste and sampling of what’s coming.  

What gets God mad?  Don’t know if that’s a good sermon title or not.  Maybe after dining on the main course, you’ll let me know at dplasman@aol.com. What gets God mad?  I suppose, the answer to that question depends, in large part, on who’s doing the answering.  One’s context would certainly inform and shape one’s answer.  What gets God mad?  An atheist or even an agnostic would answer that question quite differently than would a fundamentalist preacher from the Bible Belt.  What gets God mad?  Rush Limbaugh would answer that question in ways different, I suspect, than Jimmy Carter. What gets God mad?  An Al’Qeada operative would respond in one way; a Quaker or Mennonite would respond in another way.   

What gets God mad? It would be an interesting exercise to hand out slips of paper and give you time to write down your response, then collect them as an offering and read them from the pulpit.  I wonder how varied would be our responses?  On those slips of paper I’m sure I would read of specific human behaviors.  Transgressions of the flesh would be identified, ignoble attitudes of the heart, too.  Some of you might even use theological jargon and list sins of commission, which are evil acts committed, bad things we sometimes do: lying, cheating, stealing, etc.  I’d probably also read of sins of omission, the good that should have been done but wasn’t, the missed opportunities we let slip by, the occasions of apathy and indifference and the like. 

I should like to read you a quote.  Imagine who wrote this: More people are exploited and abused in the cause of religion than in any other way. Sex, money, and power all take a back seat to religion as a source of evil. Religion is the most dangerous energy source known to humankind. The moment a person (or government or       religion or organization) is convinced that God is either ordering or sanctioning a cause or project, anything goes. The history, worldwide, of religion-fueled hate, killing, and  oppression is staggering.  Sounds like something from Sigmund Freud who said that religion is a childish relic we should cast off, or from Karl Marx who said that religion is the opiate of the people. 

It might surprise you to know that quote actually comes from the Presbyterian minister and author, Eugene Peterson; he wrote it as part of his introduction to the Book of Amos in his translation of the Bible called The Message.   A person should not turn to the Book of Amos if she are seeking to lay her head on a warm and fuzzy spiritual pillow.  One should not turn to the Book of Amos if he is looking for religious platitudes that confirm what he already thinks he knows about the One we call God.Amos is an altogether different book with a different message, that’s because Amos was a prophet.  In biblical times, prophets were the conscience and the critics of the prevailing culture. A prophet looked at society and measured it against the yardstick of God’s expectations.    

Amos, who lived about 700 years before the birth of Jesus, was a southerner, who preached to northerners.  The southern nation, called Judah, had its own line of kings and religious center, while the northern nation, called Israel, had its line of kings and religious center.   Amos had a message for the people in the north and he wasn’t nearly as popular as Dr. Phil.  “Get real!” Amos the southerner said,  “God’s going to cut you down.  God’s going to trample you under foot.  God is going to let your enemy, the Assyrians, have their way with you.  What you see is not going to be here much longer.” Now, of what were the folks in the north so guilty that they received such judgment?  Their religious institutions were thriving.  The sanctuaries were packed.  The name of God was invoked with reverence.  Everybody prayed.  Everybody sang the old hymns.  Their Center for Religious Studies was funded to the hilt. The stock market was testing new highs.  Interest rates on mortgages were at an all time low. There was peace in the land.  Prosperity abounded.  Of what could they possible be guilty, so guilty that God would no more have anything to do with them?                                                                       

The answer that Amos gives has two parallel themes.  The two sins of which the northern kingdom was guilty are these: economic injustices and the ill-treatment of the poor. A descriptive sampling of Amos’ message comes from the eighth chapter:  Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land, saying, “When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain; and the sabbath, so that we may offer wheat for sale?  When can we open up our doors and get back to business.  We will control supply so that the price of deman will skyrocket. we will control the price of the dollar to suit our advantage. and we manipulate the scales practice deceit with false invoices.  We’ll buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and sell the floor sweepings of the wheat rather than give them away so the poor can have something to eat”  

That’s what got God mad -- the economic injustices and the refusal to lift up the poor.  No one  in the north had to stomach to digest Amos’ message.  Not the king, not the Vice King, not the king’s cabinet, not the official minister to the king who’s name was Amaziah. They all said, “You’re crazy Amos, we’ve got it made.  You haven’t studied our economic indicators. We’ve got winter and summer houses, and you’re telling us we’re going to be homeless? Our borders are tight, we’ve made strong alliances, and you’re telling us we’re going to be invaded? Go back to Hicksville and tend to your sorry sycamore trees and that herd your skinny sheep you call a flock.”

That is pretty much the message of Amos. Not the kind of guy you’d want at your next dinner party.  Jim Wallis who wrote among other books, God’s Politics, once said,  “When the voice of God is invoked on behalf of those who have no voice, it is time to listen.  But when the name of God is used to benefit the interests of those who are speaking, it is time to be very careful.”

I can’t help but wonder what Amos would say in a different time and in a different place. What would this prophet of God say to a nation that spend 28 cents of every federal tax dollar on the military and armaments; 4 cents of every tax dollar on education; a penny of every tax dollar on caring for the environment?  What would Amos say to a nation that accounts for half of what the entire world spends on arms and defense?

What would Amos say to a nation with the best health care system in the world (drive up “Pill Hill” on Michigan Avenue and witness the billion dollars of new medical construction).  Yes, we are blessed,  but what would Amos say when 44 million of our fellow citizens can’t afford or can’t acquire or do not have access to health care coverage?

What would Amos say when some CEO’s salaries and bonuses are a thousand times more than most workers in the same company?

What would Amos say about the New York Times article revealing that the cost of sending a kindergartner to an elite private school will hit $26,000 next fall.  But just up the river in nearby Mount Vernon, NY, in a school 97% black, there’s not enough money to furnish its depleted library.  The books it does have are largely from the 1950’s and 60’s when the student population was all white.  That observation was noted by Bill Moyers when he addressed delegates at last June’s General Assembly of the United Church of Christ.

The respected journalist had a few other observations to make. For example, why aren’t we embarrassed that more children are growing up in poverty in America than in any other industrial nation?  He quoted from the Wall Street Journal, not known for being an anti-capitalistic paper, which concluded that the typical child starting out in poverty in Europe or Canada has a better chance of climbing out of it than a child born in poverty in the United States.  What would Amos says about that?

We Americans value our constitution and the Second Amendment that deals with the right to bear arms.  But every kind and no limits? Here is the price that ordinary Americans are paying for the privilege.  8 children a day die in murders, suicides and accidents involving guns.  Since John F. Kennedy was assassinated more Americans have died from gunshot wounds at home than died in all the wars of the 20th century.  Osama bin Laden would need to slam airplanes into nine twin towers each year to equal what Americans do to themselves every year with guns. Even this beloved city of churches knows the priced paid for our gun-toting mentality; officer Robert Kozminski’s three-year old daughter knows that price. 

We know what Amos would say, don’t we.  In less than fifteen minutes you can read for yourself the entire book of Amos.  Want to know what I think Amos’ message is to the church, to this church and any other church?  I think it is this.  The measure of our faithfulness has very little to do with size of budgets or endowments; very little to do with the head count of those appear on Sunday morning; very little to do with the market value of brick and mortar. What matters to God is whether our faith is compelling enough to make a difference enough to send us out into this world enough.  It was Jesus of Nazareth who said, “When you do so unto the least of these my brothers and sister, you do so unto me.”