The Day of the Lord
Amos 5:18-27
A statement of divine disgust
Doom to those who desire the day of the LORD! Why do you want the day of the LORD? It is darkness, not light; as if someone fled from a lion, and was met by a bear; or sought refuge in a house, rested a hand against the wall, and was bitten by a snake. Isn’t the day of the LORD darkness, not light; all dark with no brightness in it? I hate, I reject your festivals; I don’t enjoy your joyous assemblies. If you bring me your entirely burned offerings and gifts of food— I won’t be pleased; I won’t even look at your offerings of well-fed animals. Take away the noise of your songs; I won’t listen to the melody of your harps. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, house of Israel? You will take up Sakkuth your king, and Kaiwan your star-god, your images, which you made for yourselves. Therefore, I will take you awaybeyond Damascus, says the LORD, whose name is the God of heavenly forces. (CEB)
This is the reading for today’s date in the Lectionary. It’s an interesting passage to consider, especially in this Advent season. We always say we are waiting during Advent. Waiting for what? Well, for Jesus to come. The early apostles were waiting, too. But they already knew Jesus; they were waiting for Him to come again. Meanwhile, reading this passage, I have to wonder if the Day of the Lord spoken of in Amos would be anything like what people think. I’m not going to get into End Times stuff, Left Behind and all that. No, I’m wondering what it would be like if God decided to become incarnate again, right now. Would it be wonderful or terrible? Would we embrace Him, or reject Him, as we did the first time? Would it be accompanied by trumpets, or silent like that night in Bethlehem two thousand years ago?
The passage above begins “Doom to those who desire the day of the LORD!” (I guess that answers my “wonderful vs. terrible” question above.) It would be all to easy to dismiss this kind of language, and lean on the (incorrect) idea that the Old Testament God is a God of wrath, and the New Testament God is a God of love. It would be easy to say, “The prophet is talking about the end of days here, not a special visit from God to check up on us.” That may be true as well. But I am suddenly reminded of Jesus’ parable of the Sheep and the Goats, in which the goats seem to be so surprised that they are not immediately welcomed into the kingdom of God. If God showed up now, tonight, and wanted to review my life and actions with me, would it be enjoyable? I think not. I think I would see the hundreds, or the thousands, of times I had not honored Him or not done His will. I think I would see all of the myriad times I’ve ignored my neighbor in the name of my own interests. I think it would be very difficult. May we remember that as we wait through Advent. May we make our lives a pleasing offering to the Lord, as we wait for his coming.
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