When Worship Is Not Worship (Amos)

Amos 5:21-24

I hate, I reject your festivals;

    I don’t enjoy your joyous assemblies.

If you bring me your entirely burned offerings and gifts of food—

        I won’t be pleased;

    I won’t even look at your offerings of well-fed animals.

Take away the noise of your songs;

        I won’t listen to the melody of your harps.

But let justice roll down like waters,

        and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

This is perhaps the most famous of Amos’s words in our day.  I fear they have lost some of their bite because of our familiarity with the last sentence made famous by MLK; “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”  But I hope we will hear it in the context in the book of Amos.   It is the last sentence in a pronouncement about the worship of God.   Essentially, God is proclaiming through Amos that worship that ignores justice and right living is more offensive to God than no worship at all. 

Worship that ignores and does nothing about the fact that we live in a society tainted with institutional forms of racism and injustice is more offensive to God than no worship at all.

Worship that ignores that there are people in our neighborhoods who are hungry is more offensive to God than no worship at all.

Worship that ignores how we treat our family members and others the rest of the week is more offensive to God than no worship at all.

Worship that has no discernible effect on how the worshipper lives is more offensive to God than no worship at all.

I could go on, but you get the point.  I think the Message translation works well here:  “Worship is the work of justice and justice is the work of worship.  This same sentiment is made by Isaiah as he connects fasting and justice in chapter 58:6-12:

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:

to loose the chains of injustice

    and untie the cords of the yoke,

to set the oppressed free

    and break every yoke?

Is it not to share your food with the hungry

    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—

when you see the naked, to clothe them,

    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

Then your light will break forth like the dawn,

    and your healing will quickly appear;

then your righteousness[a] will go before you,

    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.

Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;

    you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,

    with the pointing finger and malicious talk,

and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry

    and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,

then your light will rise in the darkness,

    and your night will become like the noonday.

The Lord will guide you always;

    he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land

    and will strengthen your frame.

You will be like a well-watered garden,

    like a spring whose waters never fail.

Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins

    and will raise up the age-old foundations;

you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,

    Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

Prayer:  Lord God, may our worship and work of justice be one.  Amen.

Prayer Focus:  Pray for small business owners that are struggling right now.

Song:  Joshua Walters – Let Justice Roll Down Like A River – Not a great a recording, but a great song