"Farmer Amos and the Carpenter’s Son”

(The CROP Walk Sermon)

The Rev. Leah Schade

Oct. 14, 2012

Texts:  Amos 5:6-7, 10-15 -  “You trample on the poor . . .”

Mark 10:17-31 – “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

Farmer Amos has been puzzling on something for a long time.  Day after day, year after year, he tends his flocks and cares for the fig trees his grandfather planted a generation ago.  He takes his harvest and the choicest cattle and sheep from his flocks to the market to sell.  He knows there is plenty of food.  And yet all around him, people are hungry.  They languish, begging, along the side of the road, or suffer silently in their homes.  But in the market place, the wealthy who pass these beggars along the road as they travel in to the market from their estates, they proceed to buy wine and grain and the best cuts of meat and the fattest figs from his trees.  Then they go back to their luxurious homes, barely glancing at the ones along the road, and prepare feasts for their festivals.

Farmer Amos had been puzzling on this for quite some time.  Until one day, something seized him.  As he arrived at his stall in the market, and began to set up his goods to sell, it all became clear.  He couldn’t not say anything anymore.  He wasn’t sure what he was going to say, but he knew something needed to be said.  So on that day he left his stall and marched straight to the court of the king. 

No one was ever quite sure what set him off.  Maybe it was because he was one of the few who still worshipped at the Temple and honored the Sabbath, and observed the Torah.  Some say that the Word of the Lord came to Amos that day, that the Spirit of the Lord came upon him.  So focused was Amos on his task, that he didn’t realize his fellow farmers were following him.  They all noticed when Amos just up and left his stall.  This was such unusual behavior, and Amos had such a look of determination on his face, that they just had to see what he was up to.

Finally he arrived at the court of the king.  And he began to speak.  “Seek the Lord and live, or he will break out against the house of Joseph like fire, and it will devour Bethel, with no one to quench it.  You step all over the poor, and you take the food right out of their mouths.  You can build your mansions, but you won’t get to live in them.  You plant your vineyards, but you won’t drink the wine.  You take bribes and ignore the needy.  I’ve been silent for too long.  But I can’t hold my tongue anymore.  We better change the way we are living, and quick, or we’re headed for disaster.”

Amos said a whole lot more that day.  You can read it all in here [hold up Bible].  But I can tell you, the king and the priests were none too happy with what he had to say.  “Get out of here, you prophet,” they screamed at him.  “You’re talking against the king.  You better stop causing trouble!  You’re being unpatriotic!  You’re a radical!  That kind of crazy talk will destroy our economy!  Go someplace else with your protests and marches!  Let’s look at the facts and not stir up unnecessary fears.  You’re never going to change things anyway – we’re the ones in control, and we’re going to keep it that way.”

Undeterred, Farmer Amos said to them, “I’m a farmer, not a prophet.  But I know what I see, and I’m calling you out.  Or rather, God is calling you out.  Mark my words – if things don’t change, and I mean fast, we’re all headed for a heap of trouble.  But if we do as God has told us to do all along, and rebuild this society in a way that’s fair to everyone, and stop rationalizing why it’s okay for you to be super-rich and super-powerful while there are children hungry all around you; and if we start following the way God has called us to in the Ten Commandments, then maybe we can turn it around in time.”

Two years later, when the earthquake hit, and the mansions fell, and the vineyards were destroyed, many remembered the words of Farmer Amos. They even wrote down what he said.  And it was passed on through many generations.     

--------------------------

Hundreds of years later, there was a carpenter’s son who began puzzling on some things.  Day after day, year after year, he followed in his father’s footsteps learning the trade, building fine things with wood that he and his father took to the market place.  He knew that God’s love for him was plentiful.  He studied the Torah and the prophets, including the writings of Amos.  He knew God’s grace was all around him, everywhere.  And yet all around him, people were hungry.  They languished, begging, along the side of the road, or suffered silently in their homes.  But in the market place, the wealthy who passed these beggars along the road as they travelled in to the market from their estates, they proceeded to buy wine and grain and the best cuts of meat and the finest pieces of furniture from his father’s stall in the market.  Then they went back to their luxurious homes, barely glancing at the ones along the road, and prepared feasts for their festivals.

The carpenter’s son had been puzzling on this for quite some time.  Until one day, something seized him.  As he arrived at his stall in the market, and began to set up his goods to sell, it all became clear.  He couldn’t not say anything anymore.  He wasn’t sure what he was going to say, but he knew something needed to be said.  So on that day he left his stall and marched straight to river Jordan to be baptized by some crazy prophet named John.  And from that day on, he walked.  He walked all over the countryside, speaking about God’s love and speaking up for the poor and speaking out against injustice in the Temple and the government.

 

No one was ever quite sure what set him off.  Some say that the Word of the Lord came to the carpenter’s son that day at the River, that the Spirit of the Lord came upon him.  So focused was that young man on his task, that he didn’t realize people were following him at first.  But they all noticed when he came up out of the water and a voice came like thunder from heaven. This was so unusual, and the carpenter’s son had such a look of determination on his face, that they just had to see what he was up to.

Once he was speaking in a place located not too far from where Farmer Amos had delivered his speech so many hundreds of years ago.  And on that day the carpenter’s son said:  “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God.  Why it’s easier for a camel to fit through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.  I’ve been silent for too long.  And I can’t hold my tongue anymore.  We better change the way we are living, and quick, or we’re headed for disaster.  All of you who are first are going to be last.  And the last in line are moving on up.”

The carpenter’s son said a whole lot more that day.  You can read it all in here [hold up Bible].  But I can tell you, the king and the priests were none too happy with what he had to say.  “Get out of here, you prophet,” they screamed at him.  “You’re talking against the king.  You better stop causing trouble!  You’re being unpatriotic!  You’re a radical!  That kind of crazy talk will destroy our economy!  Go someplace else with your protests and marches!  Let’s look at the facts and not stir up unnecessary fears.  You’re never going to change things anyway – we’re the ones in control, and we’re going to keep it that way.”

Undeterred, the young man said to them, “I’m a carpenter, not a prophet.  But I know what I see, and I’m calling you out.  Or rather, God is calling you out.  Mark my words – if things don’t change, and I mean fast, we’re all headed for a heap of trouble.”

Even his closest friends said to him, “If things are that bad, who can be saved?”

And the carpenter’s son said:  “For human beings it is impossible, but not for God.  For God all things are possible.”

Two years later, when the earthquake hit, and the curtain of the Temple was torn in two, and the carpenter’s son was crucified, many remembered his words. They even wrote down what he said.  There’s even talk that the impossible did, indeed, happen – that God raised the carpenter’s son from death, and that he is alive to this day.  And it was passed on through many generations.     

-------------------------------

Thousands of years later, there was a group of people who began puzzling on some things.  Day after day, year after year, they tried to follow in the footsteps of the carpenter’s son, learning the faith, building fine churches, singing beautiful hymns about the death and resurrection of the carpenter’s son.  They knew that God’s love for them was plentiful.  They studied the Torah and the prophets, including the writings of Amos, and the books of the New Testament.  They knew God’s grace was all around them, everywhere.  And yet all around them, people were hungry.  They languished, begging, in soup kitchens, and government assistance offices, or suffered silently in their homes.  But in the market place, the wealthy who passed these beggars along the road as they travelled in to the market from their estates, they proceeded to buy wine and grain and the best cuts of meat and the finest pieces of furniture for their homes.  Then they went back to their luxurious homes, barely glancing at the ones along the road, and prepared feasts for their festivals.

This group of people had been puzzling on this for quite some time.  Until one day, something seized them.  As they arrived at church that morning, and began to set up for the service, it all became clear.  They couldn’t not say anything anymore.  They weren’t sure what they were going to say, but they knew something needed to be said.  So on that day they left after the service and marched straight to the center of town to join other groups of people.  And on that day they walked.  They walked all over the town, speaking about God’s love and speaking up for the poor and speaking out against injustice in society. 

No one was ever quite sure what set them off.  Some say that the Word of the Lord came to the people that day, that the Spirit of the Lord came upon them.  So focused was that group of people on their task, that they didn’t realize others were following them at first.  But everyone noticed when the streets were blocked off and traffic was rerouted and hundreds of people filled the streets to walk.  This was so unusual, and the people had such a look of determination on their faces, that they just had to see what they were up to.

And when the walk was over, the people decided that more needed to done.  And they went on to write letters to their representatives and their congressmen and their president and the ones who controlled the water and the land and the air and the energy that the people used. The spoke up and they said, “We have had enough.  Stop poisoning our streams and rivers.  Stop drilling and mining for these fossil fuels that are causing this climate crisis.  People can’t even eat the fish because of the mercury and black spots and lesions.  Don’t you see that there is a connection between the health of our soil, air, water and our food supply, and this is one of the causes of hunger in our world?  Don’t you see that degradation of the environment will lead to more hunger?  You’re exploiting us and God’s creation for profit, and now global climate change is devastating the people who are the most vulnerable, and have the least resources to cope.”

“Seek the Lord and live, or our earth is going to be consumed like fire, and it will devour everyone, with no one to quench it.  You step all over the poor, and you take the food right out of their mouths.  You can build your mansions, but you won’t get to live in them.  You put in your drill pads, but you won’t get to profit from them.  You take bribes and ignore the needy.  We’ve been silent for too long.  And we can’t hold our tongue anymore.  We better change the way we are living, and quick, or we’re headed for disaster.”

The people said a whole lot more that day.  You can read it all in here [hold up computer, phone].  But I can tell you, the king and the CEO’s were none too happy with what they had to say.  “Get out of here, you prophets,” they screamed at them.  “You’re talking against the government.  You better stop causing trouble!  You’re being unpatriotic!  You’re a radical!  That kind of crazy talk will destroy our economy!  Go someplace else with your protests and marches!  Let’s look at the facts and not stir up unnecessary fears.  You’re never going to change things anyway – we’re the ones in control, and we’re going to keep it that way.”

Undeterred, the people said to them, “We’re teachers and moms and kids and factory workers and pastors. We’re not prophets.  But we know what we see, and we’re calling you out.  Or rather, God is calling you out.  Mark our words – if things don’t change, and we mean fast, we’re all headed for a heap of trouble.”

Even among themselves they spoke to each other in worried tones, “If things are that bad, who can be saved?”

But they remembered the words of the carpenter’s son:  “For human beings it is impossible, but not for God.  For God all things are possible.”

We don’t know what will happen two years from now, or twenty.  But I can tell you, no matter what happens, many will remember your words and your walk. Some may even write down what you say and what you do.  And maybe the impossible will happen - that God will resurrect this dying planet, and that generations after us will live without hunger.  And if this happens, they may say that, in part, it was because of what we did today.  Because of what Farmer Amos did thousands of years ago.  Because of what a carpenter’s son did two millennia ago.  Because of what God is doing today.  And it was passed on through many generations.     Amen. 

“The opposite of poverty is not wealth; the opposite of poverty is justice."--Bryan Stevenson