Don Friesen
In 1927 Philo T. Farnsworth (1906-1971), a nineteen-year-old farm boy born of a Mormon couple living in Utah, was issued a patent for an invention called an image dissector. Philo had developed an early interest in electronics when he found some technology magazines in the attic of his family's home. As a teenager he worked on the railroad to save money to go to school, but then his father died, and at sixteen he had to care for his mother, two sisters, and two brothers. He persisted with his experiments, however, and while his image dissector was crucial in the development of television, he realized little profit from it, thanks to years of litigation from big corporations like RCA. After his death, Farnsworth's wife, Elma, fought for decades to assure his place in history, but that too was to little avail.
Into a Prosperous and Peaceful Nation Marches Amos
Millenia before Philo there was another farm boy who made a big stir in his day, and he too must have felt underappreciated. His name was Amos. He wasn't the son of anyone important, but as he was doing his farm chores out in the boonies, he had a growing realization that God had given him some words to say to the ruling class in the big city off to the north – the capital of the northern half of Israel.
Like most farm boys he was smarter than he looked, and upon arriving in the northern kingdom Amos focussed his message, initially, on the surrounding nations. His message was that they would be conquered, a welcome message to the Israelites. After all, they surrounding nations deserved it! But then Amos predicted that the northern kingdom would also be conquered. That was not a welcome message, and when Amos went on to outline all the reasons they would meet the same fate, they were less than pleased.
Amos came to the northern kingdom during one of the most prosperous periods of Jewish history. There were no hostile enemies in sight. In fact, the country was at the height of its territorial expansion and economic influence. The economy was sound, and society was stable, but Amos wasn't fooled by this peaceful facade. He perceived something destructive at the core of society. Their prosperity covered a multitude of sins, like commonplace cheating in business; bribery of judges in the courts; and gross mistreatment of the poor. In one of several oracles from God, Amos says:
Israel had thrived for some time in peace, but whereas the Scriptures strongly emphasized their calling to live together justly, their society had gradually dispossessed the people for whom the Scriptures make special allowance – the poor. (Leviticus 19)
What really rankled Amos was that on top of this seething cauldron of corruption lay a spiritual veneer. On the surface things were great! Worship attendance was up! The number of sacrifices on the altar was increasing, and it looked like the temple was going to meet its annual budget for the tenth year running! They had the best liturgy money could buy! Their temple musicians were second to none! Their theology was as correct as correct could be. But – Amos mused – not everything is as it appears. If you think you can hold piety and injustice together, you're deluding yourself! Even God detests your worship. The Lord says:
One of the interesting points made by Amos in his oracles is the connection between worship and justice. Amos attended worship services in the northern kingdom, and they were stunning, but, said Amos, your well-honed rituals ring hollow in the ears of God. There was a disconnect between their worship and their daily living.
Key to biblical worship is God's revelation to us. Worship is not so much an experience as it is a response. Worship calls for our response regardless of whether our experience was good, bad, negative, positive, deeply moving or hilarious! I remember a service in which the worship leading was pathetic, the sermon a product of a disordered mind, the songs superficial, the expressions trite, but in which God spoke to me! God's revelation calls us to love and to service and to obedience. It calls us to live justly.
There is also a connection in our Old Testament reading between peace and justice. It is not as explicit as the connection between worship and justice, but it's there. The northern kingdom was enjoying a time of peace, but it was a facade. Amos knew it wouldn't last, and in fact, all of the countries Amos identified, including the northern kingdom, were conquered.
The biblical vision of shalom, which we often translate as peace, is a comprehensive vision, built on the assumption that when God reigns among us there will be peace and justice and good relations between and among us. Peace without justice is a pale approximation of the biblical vision of shalom. Shalom is the way things ought to be – the coming together of God, humanity, and all creation in justice, peace, fulfilment, and delight! (Cornelius Plantinga, Engaging God's world: a Christian vision of faith, learning, and living, pages 14-15)
Amos' contemporaries were Micah and Isaiah, prophets who shared his vision. Isaiah said of the One who is to come: "His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace.... He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore." (Isaiah 9:7)
A Non-social Gospel Is a Strange Gospel
Worship and justice, peace and justice, they are all part of a single package. It seems an obvious observation, but about a century ago there was an unfortunate separation of North American Christianity into two camps that we might call the private gospel and the social gospel.
The social gospellers had leaders like Walter Rauschenbusch (1861-1918), a Baptist minister whose congregation was located in Hell's Kitchen, New York City. The private gospellers had people like Dwight L. Moody (1837-1899), also a minister, and whose congregation was located in Chicago. While Rauschenbusch was combining Biblical ethics and economic studies and research to proclaim the need for social reform, Moody refused to preach about social issues, saying that it distracted people from the personal, life-saving message of the gospel.
The antipathy between these two camps is an unfortunate legacy, for it weakened both camps. The social gospellers had a naive trust in human goodness, relied too much on governments to change things, and underestimated the power of personal conversion. The private gospellers essentially deleted the prophetic books from the Bible and muted the majority of Jesus' teaching.
Only a fool would be pushed into making the gospel a private gospel. Jesus' foremost command is to love one another. "Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another." (John 13:34) That's a social situation.
Jesus repeatedly talked – more than a hundred times in the Gospels – about the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven. A kingdom is a social concept. I cannot imagine a kingdom without subjects, which immediately brings to mind how Jesus might want his subjects to relate to each other in this kingdom.
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus talks about those who work for peace (Matthew 5:9), and those who are persecuted (5:10), both of which seem beyond the purview of a private gospel. Jesus talks about the Law, and all one has to do is review the Ten Commandments to realize that half of them have to do with human relationships. I cannot imagine theft, adultery, covetousness, bearing false witness, or killing not having social consequences. Jesus, in the same sermon, teaches about anger (5:21-26), and while it may be a possible to be angry by oneself, it is much more enjoyable to be able to focus on a human target. Similarly, Jesus' teachings on adultery (5:27-30), divorce (5:31-32), integrity (5:33-37), revenge (5:38-42), and one's disposition toward enemies (5:43-48) all have social consequences.
The Biblical Call for Justice and Peace Runs Deep
One could go on and on, but it's hardly necessary; a non-social gospel would be a very strange and truncated gospel. A gospel unconcerned about peace and justice would be a strange gospel indeed. The biblical cry for justice runs deep. Peter Kroeker, a Mennonite advisor on Christian mission, puts it this way: "Wherever poverty and riches exist side-by-side, there is lack of justice, ...(a lack of) shalom. The will and rule of God, who has created enough for all, is being thwarted." ("Peace, Justice, Evangelism: The Mission of the Church," Direction, Spring, 1987) The gospel is concerned about all of us and about all the various parts of each one of us. The gospel is a relational gospel, with a powerful and compelling vision of our total well-being.
Some years ago a South African police officer shot an 18-year old boy at point-blank range. The officer and his friends partied while they burned his body, turning it over and over on the fire until it was completely reduced to ashes. Some years later his elderly mother was present at the proceedings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In an emotionally-charged courtroom a group of white police officers acknowledged the atrocities they had perpetrated in the name of apartheid. An Officer van de Broek acknowledged his responsibility in the death of this woman's son and her husband, for eight years after killing her son van de Broek and others arrived to collect her husband. A few years after that van de Broek again appeared at her door, and took her to a place beside a river, where her husband lay bound on a woodpile. They forced her to watch as they poured gasoline over his body and ignited the flames that consumed his body. The last words she heard her husband say were, "Forgive them."
As van de Broek stood before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission awaiting judgment, officials of the Commission asked her what she wanted. "I want three things," she said calmly. "I want Mr. Van de Broek to take me to the place where they burned my husband's body. I would like to gather up the dust and give him a decent burial. Second, Mr. Van de Broek took all my family away from me and I still have a lot of love to give. Twice a month, I would like for him to come to the ghetto and spend a day with me so I can be a mother to him. Third, I would like Mr. Van de Broek to know that he is forgiven by God, and that I forgive him, too. And, I would like someone to come and lead me by the hand to where Mr. Van de Broek is, so that I can embrace him and he can know my forgiveness is real."
Overwhelmed, van de Broek fainted as they led the elderly woman across the silent courtroom. Someone in the courtroom began singing, "Amazing Grace." Gradually others joined in until, finally, everyone was singing the familiar hymn. (Len Desroches, Love of Enemy: The Cross and Sword Trial, 2002, pages 26-27, cited in the Mennonite Central Committee Peace Packet 2011)p
Sounds like Jesus in our Gospel reading last Sunday! (Matthew 23:1-12) Deja vu all over again! (Yogi Berra)
"I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the offerings of ...your fatted animals I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your (musical instruments)." (Amos 5:21-23)
Justice and Worship, Justice and Peace