St. Luke Ev. Lutheran Church
Sermon delivered by Pastor Anthony E. Schultz
Reformation October 29, 2006 Amos 5:6,7,10-15

Seek the LORD and live, or he will sweep through the house of Joseph like a fire; it will devour, and Bethel will have no one to quench it. You who turn justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground…you hate the one who reproves in court and despise him who tells the truth. You trample on the poor and force him to give you grain. Therefore, though you have built stone mansions, you will not live in them; though you have planted lush vineyards, you will not drink their wine. For I know how many are your offenses and how great your sins. You oppress the righteous and take brines and you deprive the poor of justice in courts. Therefore the prudent man keeps quiet in such times, for the times are evil. Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the LORD God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is. Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts. Perhaps the LORD God Almighty will have mercy on the remnant of Joseph.

People of God—rescued from the flaming lake of fire in hell by the innocent blood of the very Lamb of God:

Imagine driving down the street on a Saturday morning. It is very cold and damp. The wind is blowing pretty well. It’s kind of raining—kind of freezing rain—kind of like little snow flakes that go splat when they hit your windshield. Beside the street is this huge chunk of cardboard box cardboard—painted with really big letters. “Free kitten!” The anchor for this really big sign is a pretty good size cardboard box. The sign is fastened to the box. Is the little kitten—alone in this box—getting rained on—getting snowed on—cold, wet, shivering? Is this little kitten desperately clawing his way out—then going to run out into the highway—full of huge trucks? Hey, is that my problem? Am I responsible? Am I supposed to do something—or is that really none of my business? If I don’t do something about it—who will? Remember Edmund Burke—“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing!” And what if there is a traffic jam—of people pulling over—to make sure that little kitten is safe? And if we will get out in the rain and snow to check on a helpless kitten—then what of immortal souls—in danger of eternal destruction? What would you do about that? This weekend—as we celebrate the Lutheran Reformation God’s Word again instructs and encourages us:

The LORD Reforms Us!

1. He works repentance
2. He shows mercy
3. He cultivates fruits of faith

The part of God’s Word we are concentrating on—is from the scroll of the prophet Amos. The prophet Amos was from Tekoa—a small town in Judah—about as far south of Bethlehem as Johnson Creek—closer to Jerusalem than Jefferson. Amos was not accustomed to living in the circles of the rich and powerful—those who rubbed elbows with Kings and royalty like Isaiah did. Amos was not from a family tree of priests like Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Amos worked taking care of sheep and goats—taking care of Sycamore fig trees. Amos preached God’s Word when Uzziah was King in the south. Do you remember King Uzziah? He became king when he was only 16 years old. Obviously he had wise and learned people to advise and encourage him. He was king for some 52 years. At first everything went exceedingly well. King Uzziah did what was the King’s first responsibility—to keep the LORD’s people safe. He built towers—for watchmen to watch. Then he had skillful and creative workers—make machines of war—to fire arrows and to lob massive stones—at their enemies. Uzziah’s army numbered over 307,500 men—almost a third of a million soldiers—fully equipped with body armor and ammunition. Uzziah was faithful—and by grace alone—the LORD blessed him. Then things went painfully wrong. Uzziah thought it would be cool to burn incense—to make that sweet smelling smoke—a job the LORD said—only a priest—a descendant of Aaron could do. When the priests tried to warn him, God’s Word says—Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the LORD’s temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead… 2 Chronicles 26:19 That was in the south. The King in the north was Jeroboam II. He was king for 41 years. That’s a long time! What a blessing that would be—if Jeroboam II was faithful. But God’s Word says, “He did evil in the eyes of the LORD and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat—that would be his father—which he had caused Israel to commit… 2 Kings 14:24

The LORD—by grace alone—blessed the people with great military and financial success. But it seems the more the people prospered in earthly things—the more they turned their back on their Heavenly Father.

Our Heavenly Father—with a persistent and forgiving love sent Amos—to call the people to repentance. Seek the LORD and live, or he will sweep through the house of Joseph like a fire; it will devour, and Bethel will have no one to quench it. You who turn justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground…you hate the one who reproves in court and despise him who tells the truth. You trample on the poor and force him to give you grain. Amos called the people to repentance! He preached a stinging law. Repent—or the LORD would come like a burning fire! The LORD does not make idle and empty threats! The Sovereign LORD has sworn by his holiness “The time will surely come when you will be taken away with hooks, the last of you with fish hooks—in your cheek and in your nose. You will each go straight out through breaches in the wall… The thick walls you think will keep you safe will be so full of holes you won’t have to go out through doors and gates. You will walk through holes in the walls! Do we turn justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground? Think about the rules we have for paying taxes. Can it be the US Tax Code is 4 times as long as the Bible—some 3.4 million words—thousands and thousands of pages? Can it be it takes the better part of 300 pages to explain how to make it more simple? Why is it so complicated? Is it not because so many people are looking for ways to cheat on their taxes? Do we cast righteousness to the ground—when we are driving down the freeway—and we realize we are going the wrong way. Do you see those huge signs with the U-turn symbol—with the circle and big line through it. And the words that say no U-turn except for emergency vehicles and highway maintenance. And what do you do? Slow down—watch very carefully—and then make a u-turn there anyway? Do you get disgusted—during these weeks leading up to the elections—thinking every one who is running for office is a crook? Do you think to yourself that all politicians are liars? Do you show complete and utter contempt for people in positions of great responsibility and great public trust? Remember Jesus example! Jesus did not spend forever and a day trying to repair the corruption in Rome—did he? Jesus worked on fixing the hearts and minds and lives of ordinary every day people. Jesus worked to save people from their sins—the tax collectors—the prostitutes—the lepers—the farmers and the mommies—the shepherds and the scribes and teachers of the law. Jesus talked to husbands and fathers about being the spiritual head of their home! When the home is strong—when marriages are strong—then the nation is strong!

Perhaps the LORD God Almighty will have mercy on the remnant of Joseph. Are we merciful? When we see someone pulled over on the freeway going into Milwaukee or Madison—pulled over for speeding—do we hope they are just getting a warning? Or do we think—that’s the speeder guys who are talking on their cell phones and weaving from lane to lane. I hope their ticket is $150 or more! Then do we think to our self--I bet that guy’s rich—and it doesn’t even hurt him to pay $150? Do you see a young person pulled over—in kind of a beater car—and think to yourself—those teenagers! I bet they do drugs and drink and have “hugs and kisses” although they aren’t married—and smoke cigarettes and do all kinds of terrible things! Do we have mercy—or do we always think the worst? You know that Lay guy—that Enron guy? Did you hear the other day—that since he died—physically died—passed away before he could exhaust all his appeals—his conviction is overturned? Did you hear that? Did you think—that’s ok? Or did you think to yourself—sure he’s dead—but that doesn’t mean he should be off the hook! Did you think that? Is that merciful? Or the other guy—that Skilling guy. He got what—24 years? Did you think to yourself—they should lock him up and throw away the key? Really? I never met either one of those men. I wasn’t in court a single day. I didn’t hear any more testimony than maybe 15 or 20—literally 20 seconds of testimony. Is it my place to sit in judgment of multibillion dollar accounting? I didn’t have that class at the Seminary! Again—am I merciful? God is merciful to me—for Jesus’ sake!

Hate evil, love good. Bear sweet fruits of faith that give glory to God! There is an insurance company commercial that shows people being helpful! They stop to pick up a toy and give it back to the little child in their stroller. The lady who pulls the man to safety as a whole stack of cases of lettuce fall over. The man who stops the van from backing up over a motorcycle. Again and again—people stop to help someone else. It’s all about attitude. It’s about helping someone else—instead of thinking about myself first. It’s about taking a moment to help someone—instead of being in such a hurry to do what benefits me. Sometimes it’s a matter of being aware! I saw a photograph the other day—of a baseball bat flying into the seats. It’s one of those amazing photographs—with the baseball bat in mid air. There’s a lady eating popcorn—watching the bat—apparently relieved it isn’t going to hit her. There is the little child who is reaching up to try and catch the bat—apparently unaware of the painful danger. There’s the guy who ends up catching the bat with his shoulder and cheek—ending up with a broken rib and worse. What would you do? You have only a moment to react. Would you call out a warning? Would you duck to get yourself out of the way—every person for themselves? Or would you throw yourself into the path of the bat—using your body to shield the people you love all around you? What would you do? The best answer would probably be—I don’t know. But if you stop and think about it—the best thing to do—is risk yourself—to try and save the people around you. Jesus sacrificed himself—to the horrible death on the cross—for all the times we loved evil and hated what was right and good. For all the times we though good was dull and boring and stupid. Jesus died to make us strong—so that we will hate evil and love what is good in his sight. That means being aware of the spiritual danger all around us. And doing everything possible to protect everyone near us.

I was in Rochester, MN the other day—sharing law and gospel with wonderful teachers of the Minnesota District. When I got what I thought was pretty close to the hotel where I was supposed to stay the night before—I went into a gas station to ask directions. I saw a nice lady worker—about my age. I asked her—“do you know where the Microtel motel is?” She looked confused. I said again—“the Microtel motel?” She said—“I’m sorry. I have no idea!” Yikes! I thought. She asked the young man working behind the counter. “Do you know where the Microtel motel is?” He said, “I never heard of it!” Yikes! I thought. A young lady working in the over stock room stuck her head out and said, “Go out in the parking lot and look to the right. We kind of share connected parking lots. You can carry your suitcase there from here!” Sure enough—it was right there! There are in our world—people everywhere—who don’t know the way to Heaven! They need someone—anyone—to show them that Jesus is not far from them. There is no better way to celebrate the Reformation—than to share law and gospel with the people around us. The more we read and study and think about and talk about God’s Word—the more prepared we will be—when Jesus gives us opportunity—to share the essential Gospel! Grow in faith and share your faith—to the glory of our crucified and risen Savior. Amen!

To God alone all glory!
Rev. Anthony E. Schultz