“It’s the end of the world as we know it.” —R.E.M.
Henry Palace always wanted to be a police detective—to see justice done. He’s trying to do that in Ben Winter’s The Last Policeman. A lot of people, including his peers, are puzzled by his dedication. The reason? Everyone has recently learned that a huge meteor is on its way to destroy all life on the planet. They don’t quite see the point.
Why pursue law enforcement when, six months along, there may well be nothing left? Most think Henry should just cool it. Yet, in the face of such resistance, Henry continues to insist he is a police detective and must press on.
Two people in this week’s Mark and Amos passages encounter similar push back: John the Baptist and Amos the “non-prophet.”
In the Mark passage, King Herod had broken God’s Law by marrying his brother’s wife. There were circumstances under which that might be permitted; Herod’s marriage didn’t qualify. Herod threw John in prison for just telling the truth. That might have been the end of it had Herod not talked himself into a corner. With one ill-considered promise, and too much pride to take it back, Herod endangered his world—as he knew it.
Perhaps if John had stopped sooner, he might have kept his head. Of course, John couldn’t stop. God had sent him to call Israel to repentance—and that included the King.
In the Amos passage, local leaders made it clear Amos was not welcome. They wanted him—and all his talk of justice for the poor—to move along. They begged him to peddle his prophesying elsewhere. Amos balked. All because of one word: prophet. You might think one word would not make such a difference. Amos rejected it, declaring, "I am no prophet!”
Why would God’s prophet reject the title of prophet? Because it was an insult. The title of prophet had fallen into such disrepute that Amos, God’s actual prophet, could not abide being called one. It implied you were just spouting whatever message would earn you some money—telling people whatever they wanted to hear just to get a payday.
Still, despite his reservations about being called a prophet, Amos responded to God’s call. He went where he was sent and said what he was told to say. It was not a popular message: death and destruction were on their way—the end of their world as they knew it.
Like Detective Palace, Amos pursued justice in the looming shadow of destruction. His ask: that people do right by one another despite what was to come. It was almost certainly the end of the world—as they knew it. That was no excuse, though, for continued injustice.
Amos and John the Baptist persisted in their missions despite the resistance of those to whom they were sent. On one side, people doing what God sent them to do. On the other, people who should have welcomed them and respected their message.
What about us? Which of those people are we like when it seems our world is ending? Yes, there were circumstances. Aren’t there always circumstances, though? Perhaps it really was the end of the world—as they knew it.
Wouldn’t that be an ideal time to do what God calls us to do?
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PHOTO CREDIT: Steve Orr’s 2012 calendar
Skeeter Davis sings “The End of the World”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjYJUBO0XWU
PLUS - Somehow, we keep missing the end of the world. Here’s a nifty little story about the end of the world and the Mayan calendar … with a twist!):
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Waco is the place to be Friday mornings. The location is Our Breakfast Place or on Zoom**. DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast is the event. The reasons we gather are food, fellowship, scriptures, and a lot more laughter than one might reasonably expect.
Join us at 8:00 for an hour like no other.
Blessings,
Steve
**Zoom link (Zoom allows you to mute the camera and the microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard.):
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89947678414
SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK
Find them here:
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=210
Print them here:
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Bx_Proper10.pdf
2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19
Psalm 24
Amos 7:7-15
Psalm 85:8-13
Ephesians 1:3-14
Mark 6:14-29
Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
Proper 10 (15) (July 14, 2024)
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