“Go to church? Why, if I went to church the roof would cave in!”
This is a common expression from people with either no history or with a very distant history of going to church. It’s usually given in good humor – as a teasing way of making an excuse for not being in church. In one of my previous churches we actually put a new roof in while I was there. It needed to be done, so the church Trustees took bids and chose a competent company. After it was done, I went on the radio with a church ad telling everyone that we had a new roof. “I promise you: The roof’s not going to cave in. It’s in good shape, so if that’s been your excuse, you’ll need to think of a better one. Or better yet, come and join us for worship at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday.” I thought of this while I was studying Amos 9:1-4, where the prophet had a vision of the sanctuary roof caving. The setting was likely at the altar of Bethel – an old historic worship site going back to Jacob’s famous vision of his ladder there (in Genesis 28:10-17). Years later it was the site of a famous confrontation when the high priest tried to run Amos out of town (in Amos 7:10-13). This is the last of five separate visions that come towards the end of Amos’ prophecies. The first two (in 7:1-6) are of catastrophes that inspire Amos to respond immediately with prayer. They are testimony both to the grace of God, and to the power and value of intercessory prayer. Sometimes if you see something bad coming, you just need to pray for it to stop. The second pair of visions (in 7:7-9 and 8:1-3) are of regular things that are then interpreted by God as signs of national disaster; these are described in graphic terms. The overall sense is that bad consequences are coming. Prayer might help, but it won’t remove them. Sometimes there are bad things ahead – whether by our own mistakes, someone else’s choices, or things that are beyond anybody’s control. This last vision is different from the previous four; it especially serves as an indictment of bad religion. This can happen when people assume their piety gives a false sense of security: “God has blessed this place! Surely nothing bad will ever happen here. Whatever else is going on in the rest of the world, God will protect us here!” Not every popular religious idea is a good one. In this case, Amos’ vision of the roof caving in was a counter-sign that God was not pleased with what He saw at Bethel. And the vision of the earthquake leading to the cave-in was then followed by that of a war – all of it expressing divine judgement. Amos quotes God as saying this: “I will fix my eyes on them for harm and not for good.” The inescapability of it all (in 9:2-4) brought to mind a song I learned in grade school: “So high you can’t get over it / So low you can’t get under it / So wide you can’t get around it / You must go through the door.” But there’s another song I’ve learned from years of leading worship services since then: “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me…” If divine oversight can be taken as a threat, it can also be taken as a comfort when we have faith and ask for forgiveness. It’s true that God is omniscient (i.e. He’s all-knowing) and omnipresent (He’s everywhere). We have no secrets with God, but if that’s threatening to us, we can talk that over with Him. God is gracious. We know of this because of what He’s done for us in Jesus Christ. We can let our sins be nailed to the cross forever and live in reconciliation with Him. And if we do that, there’s no reason to feel threatened. We can trust in the God who is good, and who has a good future in store for His people. (cf. 9:11-15). We can take comfort in knowing that even if the rest of the world forgets us, God still has His eyes on us. Hear this as good news, my friends – whatever roof you may be under right now. God bless you, Pastor Andrew McHenry First Congregational Church of Oroville
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Andrew McHenryI am a husband, a Congregational pastor, and a native Kansan currently living in Thermalito, California. In the past I have also been a prison chaplain and a youth pastor. Interests include reading, railroads, prog rock, KU, and the KC Royals. Archives
March 2024
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