Richard Stearns in the introduction to The Hole in Our Gospel. “What does God expect of us? That’s what this book is about. It’s a simple question, really. But is the answer so simple? What is the Christian faith about? Going to church every Sunday, saying grace before meals, and avoiding the most serious sins – or does God expect more?”

This morning the text in Amos is about justice – justice and the church. Justice and worship. Justice and how we live it out in public – not just what we say on Sunday. It’s not a harangue. It’s not a guilt bashing but it is an examination of our hearts.

2.  Where does a right understanding of justice begin? It begins with true worship of God. It begins with seeking after God. This is what the Lord says to Israel: “Seek me and live; Seek the Lord and live.”

Isaiah 1:16-17:
Quit your worship charades.
I can’t stand your trivial religious games:
Monthly conferences, weekly Sabbaths, special meetings-
meetings, meetings, meetings—I can’t stand one more!
Meetings for this, meetings for that. I hate them!
You’ve worn me out!
I’m sick of your religion, religion, religion,
while you go right on sinning.
When you put on your next prayer-performance,
I’ll be looking the other way.
No matter how long or loud or often you pray,
I’ll not be listening.

Amos 5:21-24:
I can’t stand your religious meetings.
I’m fed up with your conferences and conventions.
I want nothing to do with your religion projects,
your pretentious slogans and goals.
I’m sick of your fund-raising schemes,
your public relations and image making.
I’ve had all I can take of your noisy ego-music.
When was the last time you sang to me?
Do you know what I want?
I want justice-oceans of it.
I want fairness—rivers of it.
That’s what I want. That’s all I want.

Hosea 6:6:
Your declarations of love last no longer
than morning mist and predawn dew.
That’s why I use prophets to shake you to attention,
why my words cut you to the quick:
To wake you up to my judgment
blazing like light.
I’m after love that lasts, not more religion.
I want you to know God, not go to more prayer meetings.

Like Amos, we live in a time of affluence. It is a time of both conspicuous consumption and “conspicuous compassion”. The shout for justice is everywhere you turn…but it begins with our efforts and our definitions. It comes out of a dangerously distorted view of God and religion and worship. It comes out of guilt or ambition or pride or human compassion but if it is not based on the true worship of God it will fail. Worse, it will become just another passing fad or trend. It is my biggest concern for a generation of Christians who care deeply about justice. They might become so caught up in the cause of justice that they abandon the worship of God. It is my concern about philanthropy – the love of mankind. We need to start with the love of God. Otherwise, the love of man is simply not sustainable. People are not grateful. They are not easy to change. Systems are entrenched and intractable. We become cynical and skeptical because we start with the love of mankind instead of the worship of God.

But it is also true that unless the church defines justice it will be defined by the State. Unless the church practices justice it will be left to the State to determine what is just and what is not. Justice will be defined as redistribution and not generosity. It will be defined as equality without regard to created differences. It will be defined by laws and regulations and restrictions that will be shaped by power and not humility before God. It becomes the love of power and not the love of God.

2.  Justice is not just one of God’s many interests. It is his central focus again and again. The Creator of the Universe – “he who made the Pleiades and Orion” – cares deeply about justice. John Calvin said when we are unjust to our fellow man we are wounding God himself. “To inflict injury on a fellow human being is to wound God himself, it is to cause God to suffer. Behind and beneath the social misery of our world is the suffering of God. To pursue justice is to relieve God’s suffering.” God is not immune to the suffering of people. He is not passive. He is not untouched.

Tim Keller says it this way in his book Generous Justice: “Justice reflects the character of God. Why should we be concerned about the vulnerable ones? It is because God is concerned about them. It is striking to see how often God is introduced as the defender of these vulnerable groups. Don’t miss the significance of this. When people ask me, “How do you want to be introduced?” I usually propose they say, “This is Tim Keller, minister at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City.” Of course, I am many other things, but that is the main thing I spend my time doing in public life.”

Realize, then, how significant it is that the biblical writers introduce God as “a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows” (Psalm 68:4-5). This is one of the main things He does in the world. He identifies with the powerless. He takes up their cause.

3.  What is injustice? How does God define it? It is taking advantage of someone without the power to defend themselves. The widow, the orphan, the stranger, the poor, the one who tells the truth, the unsuspecting and naïve, the laborer not paid fair wages. It is using power in a way that harms people or creates an impossible disadvantage. We don’t need a list, really. We know it when we see it. It is different from healthy competition. It is thriving at the expense of others. It is conspicuous consumption that creates envy and hostility. It is, in the end, seeking evil instead of good. It is allowing evil to become good. Psalm 12:8 “The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored.” Amos 5:11-12 “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.”

4.  What then is justice? Is it just another list? No, it is seeking good. “Seek me and live.” It is not fixing the world. It is not walking around with guilt and fear. It is seeking good. God does not want us to be overwhelmed or feel responsible for everything that is wrong with the world.

A few passages guide us:
Micah 6:8 “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does The Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

James 1:27 “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Matthew 25:34-36:
I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.

A friend of mine several years ago set up what he called a Sheep Fund for part of his giving. He said he wanted to find some focus so he divided a certain amount of money into addressing hunger, homelessness, clothing, medical assistance and prison ministry. While it did not include every cause or issue in the community, it gave him a place to start.

5. Let me use the parable of the rich man and Lazarus as a way to think about justice in practical terms.

Luke 16:19-26:
19-21 There once was a rich man, expensively dressed in the latest fashions, wasting his days in conspicuous consumption. A poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, had been dumped on his doorstep. All he lived for was to get a meal from scraps off the rich man’s table. His best friends were the dogs who came and licked his sores.
22-24 Then he died, this poor man, and was taken up by the angels to the lap of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell and in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his lap. He called out, ‘Father Abraham, mercy! Have mercy! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water to cool my tongue. I’m in agony in this fire.’
25-26 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that in your lifetime you got the good things and Lazarus the bad things. It’s not like that here. Here he’s consoled and you’re tormented. Besides, in all these matters there is a huge chasm set between us so that no one can go from us to you even if he wanted to, nor can anyone cross over from you to us.’

First, the beggar was on his doorstep. He had to step over him or around him every time he went out and came in. The beggar was in the way but he was invisible to the rich man. He was an inconvenience and the rich man had become so isolated he ignored him. Nothing could have been more obvious to him and yet he was oblivious in the pursuit of his own lifestyle. I take that to mean start with what is obvious – with what is in our way as we go out and come in. What comes to mind for you? You do not have to go on a mission trip in Africa to find it. There is something on your doorstep – something local – that you see every day and you can do something about it. It does not have to be big. In fact, it probably should not be big. The work of God is more like a mustard seed or something small rather than a great act of kindness. “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.” – Mother Theresa.

Second, the beggar had been placed there. Someone thought the rich man would notice him or they wanted to get him out of their way but it was not an accident that Lazarus was there. It might even be the case that God had placed him there as a last effort to get his attention. In some ways, Lazarus was there for the rich man’s benefit – to bring him to his senses and lead him to pity – not merely as a nuisance. Maybe it is the same for us. What has God placed in our way to take our eyes off our own form of living in luxury and oblivious to the obvious.

Third, there are consequences for not acting.  It is not merely volunteerism. It is an expectation…but for our own good. What happens when we are isolated from misery? What happens when we cut ourselves off from the side of our community that is laying at our doorstep? I know we can argue about deserving and undeserving poor. We can debate about entitlement and dependency but there is a cancer that eats away at us when we become immune to suffering as we build bigger barns.

We are fortunate to live in a community that cares about the poor, the hungry, the widow and the orphan. We have literally hundreds of organizations that are focused on the needs of people less fortunate. I read this week about an award that is given to “the intelligent community of the year” that uses technology and economic incentives to grow smarter. I think Tyler could compete for the compassionate community of the year if there were such a thing. My friends in other parts of the country and the world are always surprised when I describe how much giving and philanthropy and service goes on in this city. It’s an anomaly. It’s not normal. But it should not be taken for granted. It should not be social service. It should not be handed over to the State because there are too many non-profits already or we pay taxes for someone else to take care off Lazarus. It should be part of our worship – not just our civic duty. The church should always be visible and make this a priority – because it is a priority for God.

6. As you leave today and some of you head to worship I want you to ask yourselves why you joined Green Acres. Was it because of the music and preaching and the facilities and programs? Was it because it met your needs? Was it because it is convenient. Or was it because this is a place that will encourage and challenge you to discover how to live a just life of compassion, seeking after God and helping you find the way to avoid a life of self-indulgent luxury that keeps you from the way everlasting?

God may lay something or someone at your doorstep this week. Maybe he already has and you’ve been stepping around it. Ephesians 2:10 says “God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.” Nothing could please the heart of God more than your doing the one small thing you know to do.