Based on Jonah and the Minors: Chapter 3—Amos
Juliette Alvey
Dear Grown-up,
At the appearance of any kind of sweet treat, my kids suddenly become mini judges. They put on their white wigs and pick up their gavels and speak authoritatively, trying to drown out the arguments of the others. These debates are usually reminiscent of the parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18:21-35), who, though he was forgiven a huge debt, still demanded payment from someone else. Typically one of the kids claims that another got more, and then I remind them that they went to a birthday party earlier that day and received way more sugar than their sibling. Then they tell me their sibling went to a birthday party the day before, so really they are even on the birthday front. The arguments could go on forever, but finally my husband and I remind them that trying to make everything fair will make them miserable. Receiving good gifts, with gratitude, is the key.
As humans, we have a longing for justice; it is built into our DNA by our just Creator. The problem is, we are not always very good judges.
In the Jonah and the Minors zine, Amos speaks to God’s people about this:
Amos: Leaders of Israel and all God’s people… hear this! God seeks your hearts. You can do all the fancy things you like but God notices the small things.
The People of Israel: Surely God wants the best-dressed priests and showy prayers…
Amos: Wrong! God cares about what your hearts love and how you care for your neighbors.
The People of Israel: Our neighbors? That is not our job!
Amos: Wrong again! God wants what’s best for all the people in the lands: Let justice flow like a river, and let goodness flow like a never-ending stream.
What beautiful words God gave to Amos! Justice flowing like a river and righteousness like a never-ending stream (Amos 5:24)... we desperately want this. Amos also commands, “Hate evil” and “love good” (Amos 5:15). Sounds simple enough. We want justice and we want good in the world, but even despite good intentions we are flawed, biased judges. And like my children measuring desserts, it many times comes back to what was unfairly done to us.
So what do we do with Amos’s message about justice and righteousness when we know we can never carry it out perfectly? We read over and over again in scripture that our God is “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love” (Psalm 103:8). How can God be both merciful and just?
The answer is found on the cross. There, and only there, is where God’s righteous judgment becomes good news.
During this season of Lent, we remember that Jesus took all of God’s righteous judgment on himself. The cross is what brings it all together: justice, righteousness, hating evil, loving good, mercy, compassion, and love. The cross brings us back together in relationship with a perfect and just God and Father. And lastly, the cross brings us back in relationship with one another, unified by the same undeserved gift.
When we have an endless gift, we can take off our white wigs and set down our gavels and freely give away this gift of God’s love, which is not limited like birthday cake, but only increases as it is given away.
