The 8th Sunday after Pentecost

Proper 10B

Mark 6:14-29

St. Matthias

July 15, 2018

           Every time I build something, whether it’s a bookshelf or furniture or even a Habitat for Humanity house, making sure whatever it is – is level – straight up and down is pretty important.  I don’t care how good you are – if it’s not straight, everything else will be off.  When building walls, you need a plumb line.  They have electronic versions, but the old ones work best.  There is a weight on the end of a line and when it hangs down straight, you can tell if the wall is perfectly vertical.     

          

           Now Amos was an Old Testament Prophet and a sheepherder who cared for Sycamore Trees on the side.  A prophet was an everyday ordinary person like you and me who was called to bring the Word of God to the people.  Sometimes their messages were good, and the people liked the prophet.  Then there were the messages that were not so good, and this was one of those times.  Amos told the people of Israel that they had forgotten their God who had led them out of slavery in Egypt.  This was the God who had given His Chosen People the Promised Land, the Ten Commandments, and the Covenant.  But the Israelites no longer worshipped God.  Oh – they pretended to be religious and were quite good at acting holy, but they did not love God or their neighbor.  They talked long and loud about the commandments but cheated one another, worshipped foreign idols, and generally ignored the God of Israel altogether.  So, God sent Amos.  And Amos’ message was simple – as God’s people, we are called to live LIFE straight up and down.

           And it's easy when we are here at St. Matthias.  You can’t help but feel closer to God as we sing hymns, pray, proclaim our faith, and receive bread and wine that becomes to us the body and blood of Christ.  Here the distance between heaven and Tuscaloosa becomes so much closer – straight up and down – with nothing in the way of our relationship with God.

           But then comes Monday and stuff gets in the way – and our connection with God can become fuzzy.  It’s never really anything big.  We have no problem with the big stuff like - Thou shalt not commit murder or thou shalt not steal.  No, it’s the small stuff and after a while, it all begins to add up.  We feel that distance between heaven and earth – between God and us – and it seems to grow.  We tell ourselves we can fix it on our own, but deep down we know that we typically just end up feeling frustrated and further away from God. 

           And then Amos came with a message for the People of God.  Amos did not tell the Hebrews to just do better.  He called them to BELIEVE.  Amos reminded the people that God is our Guide and that in Him we find THAT constant in life that brings us a whole new way of living.  When we are rushed and stressed, we need to listen to the voice of God speaking to our hearts – reminding us that with God we find the peace that passes all understanding.  When we are lonely or afraid in a world full of people, Amos calls us to remember that when 2 or 3 are gathered in HIS Name rather it is Monday or Friday or any day – God will be with us as well.  In those dark moments of life’s sadness, sickness, or despair – we see the light of Christ as the star over a manger in Bethlehem and the glory of an empty tomb on an Easter Sunday morning.  This is vertical living in faith – believing IN the God who is the plumb line of all life – an eternal, almighty, constant Savior who calls us to BELIEVE. 

           Think this kind of living is just overly religious dreaming – pie in the sky and not possible in our world?  Well, it happens all the time.  This week Phyllis and I were in Denver.  On Friday we decided to join a tour out to the Rocky Mountain National Park.  The views were amazing – the mountains left me breathless.  We saw elk and a Yellow-Bellied Marmot and even an American Dipper which is a small gray bird that literally goes swimming underwater in rushing streams.  I was this close to one on Friday afternoon.  It was a moment when I just knew that God was there.  Tell someone you love them, and you can’t help but feel God’s love.  Remember, we know how to love because God loves us first.  Pray randomly during your day – giving thanks for all your blessings. Soon you will begin to feel the distance to God grow smaller and smaller.  As you breathe think about the Holy Spirit within you giving eternal life with each breath.  You will soon realize that you are living a Vertical life.  Consciously look for Christ in everyone you meet.  No one will know but you.  And you will see Christ at work in our world.  Others will see Christ at work in you. 

You see - Amos was pointing out to the Hebrew people and to us that so often the best thing we can do for our spiritual life is just to pay closer attention to the fact that God is always in our world and in us.  It’s that simple.  It’s vertical thinking and vertical living – up and down – straight as a plumb line to God.  AMEN.