Daily Devotion, August 25, 2021

 

Devotion:

Read Amos 5:21-24.

Rituals. Rituals can be healthy gifts for people, but they also can have an unhealthy dimension to them. Rituals can sometimes become empty rituals, and simply mindless routines. Sometimes they can be noble avoidances of the truth of difficult situations. Sometimes they can blind us to the real needs around us.

The prophet Amos was highly attuned to the ways in which worship rituals can follow the pathways of avoiding the truth, blinding our eyes and closing our ears to the needs around us. The Message translation’s heading for Amos 5 is, “All Show, No Substance”.  This is an excellent summary for this chapter!

Also in The Message, Eugene Peterson’s introductory remarks for Amos remind us, “Amos towers (as a biblical prophet) as defender of the downtrodden poor and accuser of the powerful rich who use God’s name to legitimize their sin.” He adds, “If we pray and worship God…we must keep company with these biblical prophets…otherwise, we can become self-serving.”

God is speaking through the prophet Amos to remind us that our worship rituals are useless if we are not also living God’s way with our lives and seeking justice for all around us.

Jesus understood and spoke this in his teaching in what we call “The Sermon on the Mount” in Matthew 5: 23-24 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift." Jesus is echoing Amos’ words that our worship and the way we live matter to God.

Amos 5:24 are familiar words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

Personal Worship Option:

Amos 5:21-24 asks us to look within our hearts and minds as we participate in worship to see if we are truly living God’s way and seeking justice for all around us. Dear Lord, open our eyes and ears to the needs of our community here and around the world. Move us in such a way to be a part of your rolling waters and your ever-flowing streams to bring your life-giving justice and righteousness to the world. Amen.