November 9, 2008 Sermon
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Proper 27 - Year A
Amos 5:18-24 Matt 25:1-13 November 9, 2008
Gary Sanford San Angelo
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. Amen Psalm 19:14
The Rev. Dr. Michael Battle is a retreat leader, theologian, educator, author, and Episcopal Priest. He is currently the Vice-president, Associate Dean of Academic Studies and Associate Professor of Theology at Virginia Theological Seminary. I was fortunate to serve as deacon with him for a celebration of the Holy Eucharist at Camp Allen earlier this year. In his book "Practicing Reconciliation in a Violent World" in a chapter entitled 'Remembering God' he says:
One day in class I was talking while we were supposed to be quiet. "Who was talking?" my teacher Mrs. Harris asked. It was simply a rhetorical question, the kind that all third-grade public school teachers ask, not expecting a response from anyone. For some reason, I had to respond, shocking both Mrs. Harris and myself out of the rhetorical framework of the question. I raised my hand and made my confession, thereby disrupting Mrs. Harris's normal teaching method. I had to confess that I was talking because I had made a decision for my eight-year-old self that if God exists, I would have to behave as if God exists, behave as if I was fully transparent to God. "I did it, Mrs. Harris," I confessed. And this confession turned out to lead toward my repentance--my behaving as if God exists.
Dr. Battle continues:
At first this felt like an awful change, because no longer could I throw my candy wrapper on the ground when no one was watching. I also had to help elderly people across the street in the absence of being rewarded by others. It felt awful at first, because my worldview expanded from "me" to "I in relationship to others." My most important "other" became God, of whom I was incessantly aware. The initial paranoia of remembering that God was always watching me transformed me into a healthier version of myself--into a communal person.
"Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." These words from the book of Amos were a proclamation to the people of Israel. A prophesy of the doom that was to befall Jerusalem and words that are as powerful today as they were then. Amos was not a “professional prophet”. He did not belong to any of the guilds, nor had he been trained as a prophet. In his own words he was a shepherd and dresser of sycamore trees from the southern state of Judah. Yet for all of his simple ways God called upon him to deliver a message to Israel.
Israel had become wealthy nation during the rule of Jeraboam II and the wealthy had become used to high living and excess. Amos could see how the wealthy merchants trampled on the rights of the poor and defenseless and public leaders living in luxury with no concern for the plight of their people. Amos had the courage to speak out against the injustices of the day.
In their new found prosperity their religious ceremonies had become meaningless. They no longer tried to please God, but rather just appease Him. This was a people who had seemingly forgotten how God had brought them out of the wilderness and into this wonderful land and Amos tried to call them back to God. He urged their repentance and restoration as a people of God. He reminded them that they were God’s chosen people and as such they were called to greater responsibility, not special privilege. This was a people who had forgotten their past.
This is not to say that they did not believe that God existed...they were not living as if God existed. God did not want their sacrifices, their lavish ceremonies or their empty praises. God wanted them. He wanted them in mind, body and spirit. He wanted them to be a people who cared about their community and everyone in it. Above all else God wanted their love and for them to love each other as He loved them. God wanted them to remember that God was with them every hour of every day, not just in their temples. And yet, they did not want to hear that God was displeased with them. They did not want to hear what Amos was telling them...even as Amos told them of the destruction that was to come and in fact did...when Israel fell to the Assyrians in 722 BCE.
I'm sure you have noticed that as we near the end of this Pentecost season our lessons have changed from a focus on discipleship and learning from Christ. We have talked about how we can pattern our own lives according to his teachings to bring us closer to the Father. Now the emphasis has shifted to the end-time, that time when we will all be called to account.
This is not something we like to think about. It is one of those things we put off until tomorrow like writing a letter, making out a will, or starting some form of self-improvement program. We are a busy people and it is easy to put off things that are not immediately important to us. But, are we too busy to see the value of another human being, to say ‘I love you’ to our families, to offer a kind word, or help someone in need? Are we too busy to thank God for the blessings we have as we go about our day? We are very busy and maybe tomorrow we'll have time. As with the Israelites we may get away with this for a while, but as these readings teach us and, as we all know from our own experience, tomorrow may be too late. We need to prepare ourselves now for what will come so that we may be ready.
Our Gospel lesson today brings us the message that the wise will be ready with a handy supply of oil. Whenever God calls we must be ready. Just as with the bridesmaids, there will not be time to find the spiritual oil that has been lacking in our lives. We cannot borrow from someone else...it is something that has to come from within each or us. We have to be ready. We have to live our daily lives in the hope of the glory that will be revealed to us by living the Gospels not just reading them.
As we approach the end of the church year we need to consider the choices we make in our lives. We need to look at what drains the spiritual oil from us and could leave us unprepared. Are we too busy to give God the time God deserves? Do our own desires take precedence over our spiritual lives? Are there things we can do that will deepen our relationship with God? The things that we should do and don't do, or put off doing, make it so that we are unprepared to do God's work and God's will. These things also cause us to loose the joy that comes from being in a right relationship with God. We are challenged by Jesus to demonstrate, by the way we live, that we are not just observers of the Glory of God, but living members of that communion.
I am not saying that we have to be nuns or monks living in solitary and constant prayer. There are things in this life that we have to do and things that we want to do. It is a good thing to go on loving the legitimate part of life and to have fun doing it but, it is also important to not loose sight of who we are and where we are going...what the final destination is. In other words...it is not enough to say that we believe God exists, we must live our lives as if God exists.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. Amen
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The Rev. Dr. Michael Jesse Battle (born 1964) is a seminary administrator at Virginia Theological Seminary, professor, Episcopal priest, writer, speaker and retreat leader. His ministry covers the globe and focuses on Christian non-violence, human spirituality, and African Church studies.
Michael Battle lived in residence with Archbishop Desmond Tutu in South Africa for two years, 1993-1994 and was ordained a priest in South Africa by Desmond Tutu in 1993. Battle has written about his studies and friendship with Desmond Tutu. The Rev. Dr. Battle's latest book, The Black Church in America: African American Spirituality, was published in April 2006.
The Rev. Dr. Michael Battle is currently Vice President, Associate Dean of Academic Studies and Associate Professor of Theology at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia. He is also currently serving as the Provost at St. Athanasius' Episcopal Congregation in Los Angeles, California.
He also serves as chaplain to the Episcopal House of Bishops, as both a member of Theology Committee of the Episcopal Church, Spiritual Director for CREDO and the Wellness Conference of the Episcopal Church, as well as serving on the Board of Directors for Kanuga Conferences, Inc.
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