“A Call to Care”
Amos 2:6-8
Sermon by: G. Paulraj
Introduction
Amos in this passage
pronounces God’s judgment upon the Israelites because they had no compassionate
heart to care for the poor and needy. Consequently the text also discloses the
issues involved in the socio-religious and moral life of the Israelites. From
the text we can learn that the Israelites not only failed care for the poor and
needy, they also failed to care for or to set right their own socio-religious
and moral life. Thus the text invites us care for the poor and needy and
oppressed it also invites us to care for our spiritual and moral life.
A. The deteriorated
state of contemporary Christianity
The text is very much
relevant to our Indian context today. Even today we can see the same situation
in our Indian context. The poor are ill-treated within and outside of the
church. Oppression in the name of caste, gender and status is common in the
society as well as in the church. Sexual immorality, unnatural sex, idolatry
and injustice are prevalent both in the secular society and in the Church. The
cry of the poor in our society and churches is that there is no one to care for
us; there is no one to have compassion upon us.
B. Illustrations
1.
William Booth the founder of Salvation Army well-known for his care and
compassion for the poor and needy. At the end of the fruitful life of caring,
William Booth was buried with high honor and Royalty attended his funeral. Next
to the queen sat a shabbily dressed woman who placed a flower on the casket as
it passed by. “How did you know him?” asked the queen. The woman quietly
answered to the queen “I am one among whom he cared for.”
2.
Bob Pierce
Bob
Pierce’s heart was moved with compassion when he saw children dying in hunger in
China. Pierce wrote: "Let my heart be broken with the things that break
the heart of God." In the year 1950 he started World Vision to care and to
feed the poor and needy children in the third world countries.
3. Dr. Ida Sophia Scudder
Dr.
Ida Sophia Scudder’s helplessness to help three women in childbirth who died
needlessly in one night moved her heart with compassion and started a tiny
medical dispensary and clinic for women at Vellore, 75 miles from Madras. She
dedicated her life to help the Indian women in their plight and to help the
people who were suffering from bubonic plague, cholera and leprosy.
C. Jesus’ Compassion
and care for the sufferers
The life of Jesus
vividly reveals His great compassion towards sick, poor and needy. When people
treated lepers inhumanly Jesus filled with compassion reached out his hand and
touched them. When Jesus saw the
multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and
scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. In Matthew 14:14-16 we read that when
Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them,
and healed their sick.
Through this sermon I invite
all of us to examine our spiritual life and care for the poor and oppressed in
the society by raising some key questions. Do we care about the poor? Do we
care about the oppressed? Do we care about sexual immorality? Do we care about
hypocrisy?
I.
Ill-treatment of the Poor vv. 6-7 a
A. The Israelites - by
and large — didn’t care about the poor rather they ill-treated them. Notice
what God declares: “They sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a
pair of sandals. They trample on the heads of the poor.” Thus the text clearly
indicates how they ill-treated the poor and needy.
B. They sold the
righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals.
1. The Hebrew word “righteous”
here does not refer to one who was blameless, but one who had a right cause;
this person had a case that deserved to be heard. Instead of hearing the case judiciously, the
judge would accept a bribe — some silver — and he’d rule in favor of the one
who had given him the most money. These
judges had a serious problem with greed and didn’t care about the needs of
others.
2. Their greed becomes obvious
when God says that they would sell the needy for a pair of sandals. These judges
were so corrupt that instead of delivering justice, they accepted a pair of
shoes as a bribe. Generally, when people accept a bribe, it’s worth a little
bit of money, but these judges were so corrupt they took anything — even a
cheap pair of shoes to pervert justice. If only they had concern and care for
the poor they wouldn’t done this.
C.
They trampled the heads of the poor
The
judges and creditors trampled on the heads of the poor. The KJV translates this
passage as follows: “that pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the
Poor”. Throwing dust on one’s head was a
sign of anguish in the ancient world. The exact meaning of this phrase is not
transparent but there two well accepted interpretation for this expression
first this could mean that the oppressive classes longed to see the poor
brought to extreme anguish. Second this could also mean that the rich were so
greedy that they even wanted to take the dust the poor had cast on their heads
away from them. Whatever the interpretation may be the truth behind this phrase
is that the rich were showing absolutely no regard for the poor and treated
them badly.
D.
Do we care about the poor?
In
many instances the word of God encourages us to give proper care for the poor.
In Psalms 82:3 it is written “Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless;
maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed” Proverbs 21:13 warns us “If a
man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be
answered”. The Apostles requested Paul
to remember the poor, the very thing he was eager to do” (Gal. 2:10).
1. The Church Fathers
The period of
the Church Fathers was considered as golden era of the Christian Church as they
gave enormous care for the poor.
The Church Fathers had employed various methods to care and to meet the needs
of the poor.
a.
The Act of Sharing
Sharing was voluntary not compulsory in the primitive church,
and their economic sharing was not
superficial or occasional. Whenever there was need, believers in the earliest
days sold lands and houses to aid these (Acts 2:43-47, 4:32-37, 5:1-11, 6:1-7).
Scripture says "There was not a needy person among them, for as many as
were possessors of lands or houses sold them and distribution was made to each
as any had need" (Acts 4.34-35). The primitive Christians experienced the
joy of economic sharing.
The Church Fathers employed sharing as primary approach to
care for the poor. Clement of Alexandria encouraged rich Christians in his congregation
to share their unused wealth with the poor and needy. He said that “God made
the human being for sharing and usage in common. It is absurd for a person to
live in luxury while many suffer from poverty". Chrysostom condemned the rich for
their unwillingness to share their material possessions with the poor and
needy. He told
people to share the uneaten bread in their cupboards as it belonged to the
hungry, the unused coat in their closet to the those who need it, and rotting
shoes to those who have none, and the money in the bank with the poor.
b.
The
Acts of Mercy
The “acts
of mercy” were another important way used by the Church Fathers to take care of
poor and needy. Through practicing various acts of mercy they encouraged and
fortified the sense of brotherhood between the rich and poor believers. The
Fathers encouraged Christians to offer spiritual sacrifices as well as the
physical goods that sustained the needy who were present in their worship
services. Mathetes in his Epistle to
Diognetus wrote one can imitate God through such acts of mercy as accepting the
burdens of one’s neighbour and distributing things to the needy which one has
received from God.
c. The act
of Almsgiving
The early Christians viewed the act of almsgiving as
a bridge which connects and strengthens our relationship with God as well as
with our fellow human beings. They exhorted one another to be compassionate
in the use of their resources as the manifestation of their faith in God.
Believing that one’s faith in God demands an active love towards the poor and
the needy, St. Basil urged Christians to
employ almsgiving without delay. The hungry were dying before their eyes the
naked were suffering from the cold, men in debt were being brutally treated by
their creditors. Basil urged them to employ almsgiving immediately, or the poor
will die as a result of their misfortunes.
Even today we are called to practice the act of
almsgiving by sharing our God-given gifts with the poor and needy and thereby
show our love towards them, not out of compulsion but of brotherly love.
2. The
Missionaries
The missionaries who came to India to preach the
Gospel made tremendous efforts to take care of the poor. The lepers were burnt
alive by their parents and relatives because of the superstitious belief that
he or she would be purified in the next birth. This inhuman practice prompted
William Carey to start one of India’s oldest leprosy hospitals to enable their
wellbeing. The missionaries who came to India with the
Gospel of love founded orphanages to feed, clothe, and to educate orphan
children.
Amy Carmichael started Dhonavur fellowship to give
motherly love and take care of the unwanted and temple prostitute children.
Do we really care for the poor? There are several
ways to care for the poor. We can care for the poor as the church and
individual. The early church helped and cared the poor. Today we can also take
care of the poor in our midst by paying their children’s school fees and
helping them to start small home industry and employment project. We can also
care for the poor individually by sharing and accepting them in our midst as
one among us. Taking care of poor is not obligation but mandatory. Therefore as
Christians we should feed the hunger, clothe the naked and give refuge to the
homeless. Are we?
II.
Inhuman treatment of the oppressed V.7b
The dictionary
defines inhumanity as the quality of lacking compassion or consideration for
others. Dictionary also defines inhuman treatment as a cruel act that means a
deliberate infliction of pain and suffering upon others. Any kind of
oppression, affliction, discrimination, injustice and harassment can also be
considered as inhuman treatment.
A. The upper
classes in Israel treated oppressed inhumanly by denying justice to them.
1. They aside the way of the meek
The King James Version put it in this way “they turn
aside the way of the meek”. “Turn aside” literally means “to bend” and is used
to mean “turn” or divert”; the word “meek” means not those who are humble
morally but those who are in a lowly position — they are humble because of
circumstances, not because of choice.
2. They wished the oppressed to continue in their
lowly state
Thus, the ruling classes in Israel wished the lowly
to continue in their state of lowly and frustrated the pursuit of equality for
the lowly. Oppressing the oppressed in
order to remain in their lowly sate is ruthless and brutal act against welfare
of the oppressed.
B. The Contribution of
Missionaries in India
The Missionaries
who came to India contributed lot to liberate Dalits from their state of
oppression. Dalits were not allowed to use public roads and public wells, and
in the extreme southern part of Tamil Nadu the Dalit women were not allowed to
wear a “breast cloth” to cover the upper portion of their bodies. The missionaries
took an active role to abolish these social evils and defended the cause of the
Dalits. The
missionaries took efforts to abolish the inhuman treatment inflicted upon the
oppressed by the society.
D. Do we
really care about the oppressed?
As
a Christian what is our contribution for the upliftment of Dalits surrounding
us? When you heard or studied violence against Dalit what would be your
reaction? What about Child labor and bonded labour in your place. How would
you respond to violence against women and children?
1. Violence against
women Violence against women is the fastest-growing crime in India, a recent
study says that every 26 minutes a woman is molested, every 34 minutes a rape
takes place, and every 43 minutes a woman is kidnapped, according to the Home
Ministry's National Crime Records.
2. Child abuse
India has the largest
number of children (375 million) in the world, nearly 40% of its population 69%
of Indian children are victims of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse. New
Delhi, the nation’s capital, has an abuse rate of over 83%.
3. Inhuman treatment of
Dalits
Statistics compiled by
India's National Crime Records Bureau indicate that in every hour two Dalits
are assaulted; every day three Dalit women are raped, two Dalits are murdered,
and two Dalit homes are torched.
Over the past 125
years, so many Dalits have converted to Christianity today the majority of the
Christian population of India is Dalit.
It is surprising to note that more than a hundred years after the mass conversions,
casteism, caste spirit and caste-discrimination continues to exist in the
church at all levels.
The scale of discrimination against Dalit Christians is unprecedented not only
in life but even after death. In churches and places of worship the Christians
of ‘upper’ castes humiliate their fellow Dalit Christians by occupying the
central part of the church. Dalits are assigned to the wings. They are allowed
to take communion only after the higher caste people have done so. In some
Protestant churches, there are separate cups for the Dalits at the Eucharistic
celebration. Some Catholic churches in Madras dioceses like Trichy and
Pondicherry even have separate communion rails and separate cemeteries, and
Christians are endogamous, families only accepting matrimonial proposals of
their own caste. As a result, even after hundreds of years of their existence
in the Church, Dalits remain on the periphery of the community.
B.
Biblical Principle to handle oppression
1.
Do not be oppressive
Bible
strongly forbids the oppression of the poor and oppressed. It is not
appropriate for God’s people to practice oppression in their midst. In Exodus
God commanded Israelites “not to oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it
feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt” (Ex. 23:9). We can see
the warning in proverbs 14:31 “He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for
their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God”.
2.
Deliver them in times of trouble
We
are not only to be oppressive, but biblical principles instruct us to be active
in seeking good for the lowly. Bible says “If there is a poor man among your
brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you,
do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother” (Deut. 15:7). It
further says “Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the LORD delivers him
in times of trouble” (Ps. 41:1).
3.
Help the weak and oppressed
The
Old Testament as well as the New Testament principle is that “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”
(Js. 1:27). Paul further instructed the elders in Ephesians “In everything I
did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak,
remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: „It is more blessed to give
than to receive‟” (Acts 20:35).
III.
Sexual Immorality among the Israelites v. 7c
The prophet’s
complain here is that fathers and sons were having sexual intercourse with the
same women and defiled God’s Holy name. It is impossible know specifically to
what sexual sin the Lord here refers.
A.
It may be the sin of Incest.
If
that is the case, the laws against incest would apply: “Do not have sexual
relations with your Father’s wife; that would dishonor your father” (Lev.
18:8). It could be that both father and son were having an affair with the same
woman, but she wasn’t related to either one.
B.
It may refer to temple prostitution
It
could refer to temple prostitution — father and son were having sexual
relations with the same woman to honor some pagan deity. Whatever sin it may be
the important thing here to notice is that the Israelites by and large, didn’t
care about sexual immorality. They defiled God’s Holy name.
D.
Do we care about Immorality?
In
Western countries the parents and the teachers are teaching their children how
to have safe sex instead of prohibiting them from such an immoral behavior. The
child is giving birth to a child portrays the worst condition of the western
countries. The Indian National
Commission for Women figures out that there are two million sex workers in
India. The number of child prostitutes
as a percentage of the total is also quoted as being high. It has been
suggested that 40% of female prostitutes begin selling sex before they are
eighteen.
1.
Gay and lesbian issues
Do
we care about immorality in our society and Church? What is our response to
emerging support for gay and lesbian marriage in India? The Supreme Court of
India is in dilemma whether to legalize or to prohibit gay and lesbian marriage.
It shameful to say that whenever such issue comes it is Hindu fundamentalist
who raise their voice first. The churches and Christians in India never raise
their voice against this. In some part
of Western countries legalized the same sex marriage. You can see many pastors
and bishops posted their application in gay sites in search suitable gay
partners.
2.
Pornography
The
recent research says that every second - $3,075.64 is being spent on
pornography. Every second - 28,258 internet users are viewing pornography.
Every 39 minutes: a new pornographic video is being created in the United
States. What is your response to pornography viewers? Many youngsters are
trapped by pornography and struggling to come out of that. Do you really care
about them?
3.
Aids
India
has a population of 1.2 billion, around half of whom are adults in the sexually
active age group. Previously it was thought that around 5 million people were
living with HIV in India - more than in any other country. The recent research
says that now thought that around 2.39 million people in India are living with
HIV. Sexual immorality is one of the major reasons for HIV AIDS in India.
IV. The
sins of Idolatry and Hypocrisy v. 8
A. Idolatry in the pagan altar
The Israelites were open
to idolatry (Amos 2:8). Wealthy
men took their debtors' garments as pledges but did not return them at sundown
as the law commanded (Ex 22:26-27; Deut 24:10-13, 17). Instead, these rich
sinners visited pagan altars, where they got drunk on wine purchased with the
fines they exacted from the poor. Then, in their drunken stupor, they slept by
the altars on other people's garments, defiling the garments and disobeying the
law. The officials were getting rich by exploiting the people, and then were
using their unjust gain for committing sin.
B.
Hypocrisy in the House of God
Amos
2:8 “And they drink the wine of the
condemned in the house of their god” While in the NIV and the KJV “god” is
not capitalized, it is in the RSV and NRSV that means these Israelites were
going into the house of God and drinking wine they had collected from the poor.
They
were going into the house of God and getting drunk. I think the key to our understanding is that
they were doing this before God — they were totally disregarding God’s
instructions, but they were coming before God to worship as though everything
was ok. They didn’t care about hypocrisy — they didn’t care to come before God
with pretense, pretending to be one thing they really weren’t. The
hard-heartedness to the willfully forgotten poor is compensated by a little
church-going. Or in other words the Cat went to pilgrimage after killing thousand
rats.
C. Do we
care about our act of hypocrisy and idolatry?
In our
context idolatry can be any things which sidelines God and Godly things in our
lives it may be our education, money, power, status or desires. In all the
circumstances we are expected to give first importance to God. Let
us not be hypocrites — let us not come before God with pretense — let us come
before God genuinely. You remember the strong words Jesus had for the
hypocrites. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You
clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and
self-indulgence” (Mt. 23:25). “Woe to
you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like
whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are
full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean” (Mt. 23:27).
Conclusion
God brought judgment
upon the Israelites because of their sins. Their sins were ill-treatment of the
poor, inhuman treatment of the oppressed, immorality and idolatry. They
committed themselves to these sins because they were negligent to the needs of
the poor, to the cry of the oppressed. They also showed laxity to repent from
their sins of immorality and idolatry. Today the word of God confronts us not
only to care for the poor and needy but also care for our spiritual and moral
life. Are we willing to respond God’s call to care?
Prayer
Lord, make me an
instrument of Thy peace,
Where there is
hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is
injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt,
faith;
Where there is
despair, hope;
Where there is
darkness, light;
Where there is
sadness, joy;
O Divine Master,
Grant that I may
not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
To be understood
as to understand;
To be loved as
to love.
For it is in
giving that we receive;
It is in
pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that
we are born to eternal life. (Francis of
Assisi)
GeeVarghese Mar
Osthathios, “Mission in the context of endemic poverty and in situations of
affluence”, Mission Studies, Vol. 3 1986, 44
Bureau.http://jezebel.com/5041324/new-statistics-show-violence-against-women-is-on-the-rise-inindia
(accessed on 20.03.2012)
John C. B. Webster “The Dalit Situation in India Today,” International Journal of Frontier Missions 18:1
Spring (2001) 16
P. Surya Prakash Christianity in India: A Promised Land for Dalits? Online-Texte der Evangelischen Akademie Bad
Boll | www.ev-akademie-boll.de
(accessed on 20.03.2012) 3
