Fire from heaven.....or What have you done with my Jesus?

"I will bring fire from heaven"

Actually, Jesus says he will 'throw down' fire from heaven.  Reminds me of all those comic illustrations with God throwing thunderbolts down on  unsuspecting people.  Kind of gives me the chills.  Which of course leads to the question, "What have you done with my Jesus?"  Where is that compassionate, calm, kind man who pulled children into an embrace and blessed them?

Just possibly our memory fails us.  Remember how Mary sang about her coming child?  He would lift up the lowly and bring down those in high places.  This coming Messiah would re-create the Divine Creation so that all could experience authentic life - a time of great shalom. That kind of re-arranging requires some heavy duty power - or in this case, fire.

What will that Great Shalom look like?  Will there be hunger?  Will some be stopped at the gate because of their race? their gender? their age? their nationality? their disability? No.  It will be the great feast where all are invited to the table to be filled with good things.

So how do we get from where we are today - to where God's great passion will be fulfilled?  Fire.  Fire is how Luke describe the Divine Passion, a passion that burns away impurities, reassures us of God's presence, and leads us away from death.  The fire of divine love is at work everywhere in the world - in the marketplace, in the temple, in our homes, at weddings and funerals and political rallies.  The Fire of God is working on both sides of any issue, any battlefield, to bring ALL people into life and peace.  Jesus' fire works on me as well as my neighbor and enemy.

This, of course, is judgment.  Systems that oppress are judged; people that oppress are judged; practices that oppress are judged - and re-shaped with the fire of divine passion.  Hunger.  Poverty.  Discrimination.  Abuse.  Our blind spots, our dead spots, our evil spots are burned off!  The power of the Divine Creator is more formidable than any opponent - just check out the empty tomb.

Jesus comes, with the power of the divine passion, to bring life to everyone - not just those we think are worthy, and many whom we think are not.  In order for there to be peace, there must be justice.  It is a justice that those who are powerful and privileged in our current system will resist.  In 1917 women who were silently demonstrating for women's suffrage were imprisoned.  In 1963 fellow citizens of African descent who demonstrated for equal rights were beaten and imprisoned.  It was all legal; but it wasn't justice.  Just look at the cross.

In our baptism, in each of our confessions, and in the challenge of daily life, we offer up to God those portions of our lives that disturb God's Great Shalom.  We offer up those portions of ourselves that bring us and others some measure of death.  We lay it all before the Divine Fire knowing that the fire which destroys, creates and the fire that creates, destroys.  We seek the Spirit's strength so we might walk in humility and gratitude, with compassion and forgiveness......all, so we might know peace.

This is the cost of discipleship.  It brings the peace that passes all understanding, a gift from Jesus.

Mercy and grace.....grace and mercy

Jesus announces the inauguration of the Kingdom of God, a Kingdom of Mercy and Grace.  

What does this means?  Let me get you started:

Mercy:  you do not get what you rightly deserve

Grace:  you get what you would never in your wildest dreams deserve

Certainly there are justice and judgment as well.  Without justice there could be no mercy.  With justice there would be less need for mercy.

Likewise judgment.  Judgment is the mirror into which Grace looks.  Without judgment, who would ever figure out that what they were receiving was grace?

Mercy and Grace are just two words to help define Jesus who was Love Poured Out for the sake of the world.  That's the Kingdom of God at its core.  Still interested?

"Therefore, because you trample on the poor...."

Should you be listening to a prophet, beware of the word "therefore."  It always announces judgment - God's judgment, a judgment that will cut away all that keeps us from following God and living in God's light.  A judgment that is experienced in pain and/or sorrow.

Amos has been sent by God to the power center of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and he has nothing to say that anyone wants to hear. 

A little history here:  the Northern Kingdom functioned separately from the Southern Kingdom and had grown very prosperous in the last decade.  The leadership of the Northern Kingdom, King Jeroboam, was convinced that the peace in the land and the prosperity of the people (some of the people) indicated God's blessing.  They were secure in their position as God's anointed ones.

Amos is there to burst their bubble.  Their prosperity was built on the backs of their own people and the aliens and strangers in their midst.  He points out that the people cannot wait for the Sabbath to be over so they can cheat their neighbors in the marketplace.  He calls the "Housewives of Bashon" cows.  He rejects their sacrifices and rituals because they are nothing but lip service while the wealthy continue to levy taxes upon the poor who cannot pay.

This is what leads to Amos saying, "therefore, because you trample on the poor..." and the judgment is this: you have built fine, fancy houses but you will not live in them.  You have secured land and planted vineyards, but you will never taste their wine.  In other words, this all will be taken away from you.

And so it was.  The Assyrians, who had been busy with other wars, marched through the Northern Kingdom, took possession of the land, and forced EVERYBODY into exile (722-723 BC)  After this invasion, the Northern Kingdom was wiped from the face of the earth.

Amos never said I told you so.  But he could have.

Look for part II on this text.     Amos5.6-7,10-15