Advent, Week 1: Wholly Holy

Today's readings: Ps 50, 147:1-11, Amos 3:12-4:5, 2 Peter 3:1-10, Matt 21:23-32

What do we think Amos might have to say about the sexual abuse scandal at Penn State? How might he respond to involved parties who claim they acted responsibly by fulfilling the minimum policy or legal requirements? Today’s reading from chapter 4 gives us a pretty good idea. Amos tells the Israelites God is tired of hearing them brag about their burnt offerings and tithes while they “oppress the poor and crush the needy” (Amos 4:1). It seems the tendency to confuse meeting a legal obligation with meeting a moral obligation is a timeless human trait.

That’s the problem with trying to be “holy” - we can check off a list of do’s and don'ts without truly encountering God or even other human beings. In the parable of the two sons found in Matthew, one child is rebellious but eventually does the right thing, and another pays lip service but is ultimately disobedient. Since parables are open to multiple interpretations, perhaps one interpretation is that attempting to appease God when our hearts are insincere is less acceptable than a messy struggle to find our way to God’s true calling. Amos and Christ both make it clear God does not desire for us to be holy humans, so much as for us to be wholly human, following God’s call beyond the realm of minimum requirements to a kingdom where the law is love.

We’re all tempted to be satisfied with the minimum. It’s difficult, confusing work to determine how to act in the absence of specific instruction. Sometimes it’s risky in very real ways, and we can always find excuses to avoid the risk. We may tell ourselves inviting a homeless person to stay with us—or simply welcoming them into our home for a hot meal—is dangerous, impractical, and disruptive. We may decide reporting suspected abuse, even in our own families, will expose us to embarrassment or retaliation. We can pray for the needy on Sunday and pass a beggar on the same street corner all week long without ever considering it might not be a scam. What good does it do us in the eyes of God to be holy, if we do not accept the wholeness God offers us?

Comfort: Life is only messy when you live it.

Challenge: For one day, love extravagantly rather than practically.

Prayer: God of Hope, write on my heart the law of love.

Evening reading: Ps 53, 17

Discussion Question: When have you settled for the minimum (at work, in a relationship, spiritually, etc) insteading of taking a risk?