Reflection for the 18th July 2010

Year C Proper 11 18 July 2010
Amos 8: 1-12 Psalm 52 Colossians 1: 15-28 Luke 10: 38-42

Recently we’ve begun to experience Sunday trading in Mackay. Most of the locals (ie long term residents) didn’t want it. We like the idea of going for a picnic on a Sunday, or fishing or visiting family and friends. However, I’m becoming very aware that we no longer live in a democracy, and Sunday trading seems to be one of the things that we must take part in as we move toward a Global society. Slightly aside from the topic is, that I believe with this Global society will come a lack of country identity.

Similar pressures were being experienced in the time of the prophet Amos. The difference is that there were very strong religious traditions that inhibited the trade and finance that was to be had. The traders longed for the sacred days to end so that they could make their money. Our modern life is no different except for the fact that our modern church doesn’t seem to object to the consumerist society.

Have you heard about how to cook a frog? If you put a frog in the boiling pot it will jump straight out, but if you warm the pot slowly the frog will not realize what is happening and will cook. Like the frog cooked in the pot that boiled slowly, we’ve become transformed by the world around us. In fact, our mission is to be a catalyst that transforms our world.

We read where God warns the people in Amos 8:11 “The days are coming," declares the Sovereign LORD, "when I will send a famine through the land— not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD.”

The interesting thing about prophecy is that it is the message of God which has a meaning for fulfilment in the time in which it was set but it has eternal principals and I suspect that this famine of the word of God could well be where we are at now as a church in this nation. Why do I make such a comment? The Church is God’s prophet today and I haven’t heard the Church speak out about the state of our nation, about social justice or about the state of our world in some time. Maybe I missed it??? What do you think?

Amos had a vision of a basket of ripe fruit. The image that comes to mind with this is that of land of holidaying and enjoying festivity, but God describes the fruit as being the people ripe for harvest and he declares that he will spare them no longer. It seems to be all bad news for the Israelites but then there is this interesting prophecy that accompanies:
9 "In that day," declares the Sovereign LORD, "I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight.10 I will turn your religious feasts into mourning and all your singing into weeping. I will make all of you wear sackcloth and shave your heads. I will make that time like mourning for an only son and the end of it like a bitter day.”

I can’t help but wonder if there were any Pharisees who were familiar with the prophecy of Amos when Jesus was crucified. On the day of crucifixion we are told that the land became dark. God’s only son was one whom even nature mourned over. Perhaps there were a few of the religious of Jesus day who recognised the prophecy and repented. We don’t know, but I do believe that the purpose of the prophecy was to bring about repentance.

In Jesus day there were many people who didn’t really recognise him. They saw him as the illegitimate carpenter’s son, or as someone who broke the Sabbath law and threatened their authority. Others saw more in him but still didn’t recognise who he really was. These people saw him as a good man, even a prophet, who spoke God’s message and performed miracles. But our 2nd reading from Colossian 1 explains very clearly who Jesus is: “15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”

When Jesus went to visit Martha and Mary, Martha did the normal things that one does for a guest. She busied herself doing what was expected when there was a special guest. Martha knew that Jesus was someone special. She may have even believed him to be the Messiah, but she didn’t recognise who he really was. Mary saw. Mary looked at Jesus and saw her creator and redeemer. She saw her precious saviour and God.

What would you do or not do if you had Jesus walk into your house right now? Take a moment and think about it.
We are living in the end days. All the days after the time of Jesus are the “end days”. In many ways we are privileged as we can learn from the experiences of those who have gone before us. We can ask ourselves are we like Martha? Do we do the work of God not fully understanding that we have the presence of God with us?

We truly are privileged because of the times that we live in and because of the gift of God, but as I’ve said before, a gift left unwrapped is not achieving its purpose and leaves us short of fulfilling our potential. There is a little gem in our reading from the letter to the Colossians 1: 25 “I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— 26the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. 27To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

What is this saying? We may live in times where there is nationally or globally a famine of the word of God, but we have the word of God in its fullness. Previously it had been a mystery and sadly it is still a mystery to many but here is the amazing simple truth..... Christ in you is the hope of glory.

By the Holy Spirit we have Christ in us and this means we are acceptable to God and reconciled in our relationship with him. We are Mary, recognising that we have our precious saviour and God with us. And that is the important part... we have God with us and in us. To explain, Martha is like the hand beater that I used to use to whip cream. It was hard work. Now I have an electric beater. There is a power flowing through the beater that makes it a joy to use and way more effective. We don’t need to perform works of service for God, as if doing it for him from the outside, but instead, empowered by God in us we are his body on this earth with access to all the power necessary to transform the world.... and “work out” what He within us would have us accomplish.

Last week we had a visiting preacher from Church bush aid. He said that all other religions are doing religions. In them people try to do things to become acceptable to God – or even become God. Christianity is a “done” religion. Christ has done all that needs to be done and on the cross proclaimed, “It is finished”. There is nothing really left to do but allow Christ in you to be the hope of glory.
Be still and know that He is God.