Preaching the Justice and Judgment of God
Brief Reflection on Amos 3
I’m currently preaching through passages in Amos in Ridley’s chapel.
One thing that strikes me in Amos is not only the concern for justice, but also the judgment of God on people for perpetuating injustice.
In Amos 3, one reads:
3 Do two walk together
unless they have agreed to do so?
4 Does a lion roar in the thicket
when it has no prey?
Does it growl in its den
when it has caught nothing?
5 Does a bird swoop down to a trap on the ground
when no bait is there?
Does a trap spring up from the ground
if it has not caught anything?
6 When a trumpet sounds in a city,
do not the people tremble?
When disaster comes to a city,
has not the Lord caused it?
These seven rhetorical questions about friends, lions, birds, snares, trumpets, and disasters are meant to point out how certain signs are evidence of an obvious condition.
In effect, Amos declares that if every action has an equal and opposite reaction, then what is the Lord’s response to the sins of Israel against each other and even against God?
In which case, given the injustices within Israel, the divine threats are not idle, judgment here is invited and inevitable, for God is not mocked.
God roars like a lion at Israel’s injustice, so the consequences should be clear. Prophecy should be unnecessary because the effects of such misdeeds are painstakingly obvious, thus the prophetic word brings added condemnation to those who do wickedness.
This applies today to nations who do evil and allow the rich to exploit the poor.
This applies to churches who are complicit with evils because it is to their advantage.
This applies to us who call Jesus “Lord, Lord” and yet do not do what he said about “righteousness.”
We invite the consequences upon ourselves, not karma, but the destruction, displeasure, or discipline of the Lord Almighty.
The more I read Scripture, the more I am sure that the social justice concerns of Jesus and the prophets would be considered "woke" in today's political and evangelical environment.
About karma, am I missing something here? If karma is taken as the natural consequences of human actions, then a lot of these consequences can be seen as the natural results of the rich exploiting the poor, churches being silent in the face of injustice (see Letter from a Birmingham Jail), self deception in calling Jesus "Lord" but not following his precepts (bless, don't curse; forgive 70x7, etc), etc. Though "karma" is not a Christian concept per se, isn't it true that God's universe has a moral dimension that people thwart at their own risk? It seems to me that God's justice is not something arbitrary imposed on a morally neutral universe, but rather the intrinsic nature of creation. Granted, earthquakes and hurricanes aren't moral or immoral in themselves, but human failure to anticipate and prepare for natural disasters is a moral issue. And doesn't Christianity acknowledge that other religions have many partial truths, such as karma, rather than being wrong in every aspect?