( Amos 5:21-24 ) - [ Deutsch ]
Dear congregation, I like people who are honest. To themselves and to others. Sometimes it hits you hard and perhaps too directly. Even the disciples at times cannot come to terms with it, we have heard the gospel, what Jesus announces to them, that he will suffer and die. Jesus does not mince his words. In this regard he shares a good tradition with prophets who had appeared before him and announced the day of judgement. Today we listen to what Amos had to say. He was a sheep farmer from Tekoa near Jerusalem and worked as a prophet in the northern kingdom in the time of Jeroboam II around 760 BC.
In this century, most people in Israel were relatively well off. They celebrated grand feasts, they sacrificed magnificent, fattened animals. And the odour rose to heaven to please God. And during the festivities there was singing and a variety of musical instruments were played.
But one person refused to join in the revelry, and that was Amos. In the name and on behalf of God, he gave a very special speech. Let us read the text from the Bible in Amos 5:21-24:
“I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. 22 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. 23 Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. 24 But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Dear congregation, just imagine this: People are together and celebrating a festival. People bring their sacrifices before God and expect God to bless them for it. But they forget: you can't buy God.
Amos then gets up and interrupts the ceremony. He opens his mouth and proclaims God's word. And he speaks with authority and power. His words are clear and unambiguous. And his message is unmistakeable.
What, God doesn't like that? The celebrating people may have asked themselves. But perhaps some of them also thought to themselves: Amos is right after all. Amos has visions. And they are anything but pleasant.
They are more like an outcry, a wake-up call, a warning of doom. Amos sees and hears and speaks. He takes a close look. And that's why he sees - there's a lot wrong in his country. People are not treating each other well. There are too many poor people who are exploited and don't have enough to live on. And there are also too many who live at the expense of others and who don't care at all. Nobody cares.
The religious rituals are hollow because they are performed without really having anything to do with people's everyday lives. People don't go home renewed after the services, they all carry on as before. There is no change of heart, their lives do not change. There is no reorientation of the way of life. Religion is celebrated, but it does not help to create a good life for all people.
The sermon text today is more than just an occasional speech. It is actually a dirge. A lament. I hear anger, and a refusal to accept, and disappointment. Amos doesn't mince his words. He speaks outrageously, complains, calls and admonishes.
The theologian Fulbert Steffensky writes in his book "Fragments of Hope": "I would like to see a church and religious groups of radical clarity that recognise their own traditions, stories and songs and do not conceal them. I would like to see religious groups with a clear profile. At the same time, I would like to see a religion that allows God to be infinite and renounces its own infinity. Only such a church is capable of dialogue."
God is so much bigger, so much more - than I can grasp and believe.
If I believe that, where do I look for him? Where do I find him? How does he come into my life? How do I hear what he says to me - without it all becoming an empty ritual? When do I see what he shows me? What does discipleship look like?
Amos is someone who sticks to what God tells and shows him. Perhaps this is one of the first steps on the path of faith: Becoming still, withdrawing. And then open your ears, open your eyes and really listen, really see. Be honest with yourself. It can happen while praying.
For me, it's a source for following Jesus. From this I draw strength for my life to try to act according to God's will.
Talking about my own hope, talking and living out of my own faith. That is the purpose of Sunday today.
Amos gives this way of life a special direction: praying and doing what is right belong together, one is not without the other, they both belong together. And then the great heroes and heroines of our traditional history come to mind. We can only be grateful that there have always been and continue to be such courageous people. They make a difference with their lives. They have lived their lives out of faith. If only I could be as courageous.
Who has influenced you on your path of faith and life? Dear congregation, who is a kind of role model for you, who gives you direction?
People who are authentic, where faith and life go together, where words and deeds fit together. People who are truthful.
Those who are always putting their finger in the wound and admonishing and warning can be really unpleasant.
This is not the only way to talk about God and live our faith. Paul strikes a different tone in his letter to the church in Corinth. We have heard the reading. It also speaks of living by faith. The Song of Songs points the way.
Amos sees and hears God, he counts on him and trusts him for everything. But justice flows like water and righteousness like a never-ending stream. Justice and righteousness.
They belong together. One is not without the other. Both are like spaces in which life can succeed. For all people.
That would be a dream come true. And it is possible.
Law and justice, like living water that bubbles and refreshes. Death becomes life. That is the hope. And so, the lament for the dead becomes a song that sings of life.
We are obviously challenged to live together in this way. Yes - that is what is expected of us. And it shows a great deal of trust in us. That, in turn, is what I trust in. That is what I believe. Amen.