July 20, 2013
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The devil’s handiwork, busy work, or Holy work
Amos 8:1-12
My Sovereign God showed me this vision: A bowl of fresh fruit. 2 God said, “What do you see, Amos?” I said, “A bowl of fresh, ripe fruit.” God said, “Right. So, I’m calling it quits with my people Israel. I’m no longer acting as if everything is just fine.”
3 “The royal singers will wail when it happens.”
My Sovereign God said so.
“Corpses will be strewn here, there, and everywhere. Hush!”4-6 Listen to this, you who walk all over the weak, you who treat poor people as less than nothing, Who say, “When’s my next paycheck coming so I can go out and live it up?
How long till the weekend when I can go out and have a good time?”
who give little and take much, and never do an honest day’s work.
You exploit the poor, using them— and then, when they’re used up, you discard them.7-8 God swears against the arrogance of Jacob: “I’m keeping track of their every last sin.”
God’s oath will shake earth’s foundations, dissolve the whole world into tears.
God’s oath will sweep in like a river that rises, flooding houses and lands, and then recedes,
leaving behind a sea of mud. 9-10 “On Judgment Day, watch out!”These are the words of God, my Sovereign.
“I’ll turn off the sun at noon. In the middle of the day the earth will go black.
I’ll turn your parties into funerals and make every song you sing a dirge.
Everyone will walk around in rags, with sunken eyes and bald heads.
Think of the worst that could happen—your only child, say, murdered.
That’s a hint of Judgment Day—that and much more.11-12 “Oh yes, Judgment Day is coming!”
These are the words of my Sovereign God.
“I’ll send a famine through the whole country. It won’t be food or water that’s lacking, but my Word.
People will drift from one end of the country to the other, roam to the north, wander to the east.
They’ll go anywhere, listen to anyone, hoping to hear God’s Word—but they won’t hear it.Luke 10:38-42
38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
What are we to make of God’s attitude toward work? Amos tells us that God is not pleased with the Israelites and part of the reason is that they think only of the weekend and never do an honest day’s work but Jesus tells us that Mary has chosen the better way than Martha who is working so hard. Paul tells us the one who will not work should not eat. Even Jesus makes the case for a strong work ethic. He says anyone who puts his or her hand to the plow and looks back is not worthy of the dominion of God. I have heard it said,”Jesus is coming! Look busy!” So, are we supposed to be busy doing work or are we supposed to quiet and listening for God to teach us? The answer is yes.
Not all work is created equal. There is the work of the devil, there is busy work, and there is Holy work. Amos is referring to the work of the devil. The people whose work is to exploit others, to gain from the labor and misfortune of others have offended God of justice and compassion. We have heard a great deal in the last months and years about the 1% and the 99%. I believe the critical issue isn’t how much one has but how one got it and what one does with it. Just as in the time of Amos and in the time of Jesus there are those who have gained their wealth and their power by exploiting others, by not paying fair wages, by overcharging for loans or for food or rent. Some people gain their wealth by capitalizing on the misery and the fears of others. They charge excessive amounts for medical care and medicines. They create fear in people and then charge high fees for protection or a sense of security. Some even in the name of God will demand high tribute in exchange for God’s blessing or protection. Work that impoverishes others, work that marginalizes others or forces others to the margins is the devil’s handiwork because it causes people to feel less than, it causes people to believe they are outside of God’s love, it causes people to despair and loose hope. God wants us to know that all of creation is precious in God’s sight and that we are never without hope.
The next type of work is busy work. This was the work of Martha, so busy that she could not stop to listen to Jesus. Martha thought the work was very important and that she was serving Jesus. We tend to think of busy work as work that accomplishes nothing and is performed just so we can look busy. But busy work is really the work we do when we don’t want to do the work that is important. How often do we tell ourselves and anyone else who will listen how busy we are? I have heard it referred to as the idol of business. We look at all the appointments on our calendar; we speak of our extensive to do list. We seem to believe that idle time means we are not important and we are lazy. We use all of these demands upon us to explain why we really can’t spend time in prayer and reading of sacred texts. We just don’t have time to sit and talk with the beggar on the street. It is easier to dismiss them or hand them money than to speak to them, to show them respect, and to seek ways to actually improve his or her situation. We are just too busy to talk to someone about God’s love for them and our love for them. We don’t have time to listen for God to speak to us about ways in which we can be bringing about God’s dominion here on earth. Even if we had time to listen, we just don’t have time to actually make a difference. For some of us, we may believe we are busy serving God just as Martha thought she was serving Jesus when in fact she was keeping Jesus at a distance. We may be busy with church committees, or church maintenance, or with teaching, or preaching and our service isn’t bringing us closer to God, it is our way of keeping God at a distance. God can’t you see how busy I am? You can’t possibly expect me to do more. The truth is God may not expect more, God may expect less and different. Jesus is coming and he doesn’t care if you are busy, he cares if you are surrendered and available to serve.
Holy work is what happens when we refuse to do the devil’s handiwork and when we stop the busy work and surrender ourselves to be available to do God’s service. The point of Mary’s choice to listen to Jesus wasn’t to get out of work. She wanted to learn as much as she could from Jesus while she could. The point of those who do not work should not eat isn’t an indictment of the unemployed and a reason for us not to provide them with food and shelter. The point is that if you have the ability to do something to make the world a better place then you should do it. You should not expect to live in a just and peaceful world if you are not willing to do the work to bring it about. Paul was referring to the busybodies that weren’t contributing to the community and living lives of idleness. He wasn’t talking about those who could not find work or did not have skills, as it is applied today. He was clearly talking about using our gifts and talents to contribute to the community we live in and to produce good fruits so that all might be nourished in body, mind, and spirit. We are all equipped to be able to do Holy work and it takes all of us doing what we are equipped to do for us to bring about the reign of God on earth. If we are busy doing Holy work, then God surely will be present and God will be pleased. Amen.
