“When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
- Luke 2:15 I had a job once that I absolutely dreaded. I worked in a warehouse that wasn’t climate-controlled, so it was hot in summer and cold in winter. Since it was a food warehouse, sometimes my work sent me into the cooler (which was around 40°F), and sometimes I also had to go into the freezer (where it was around 5°F). Besides the conditions, some of the people there were difficult to work with. One fellow eventually got fired for being so rude to staff and volunteers. It was easy to criticize him, but looking back I can remember that I wasn’t always easy to work with either. There are reasons why people get grumpy; workplace conditions can aggravate tempers. Plus the tasks of the job were stressful. I was managing both tons of food product and also leading volunteer teams that worked on it. We were getting it ready for the organizations that feed the homeless and the needy. So it was a good cause, but it was difficult work. Have you ever been in a situation like that? The conditions are harsh, the tasks are stressful, the circumstances are aggravating, and the people are difficult. If so, perhaps you can relate to the shepherds that are mentioned in Luke 2:8. Their work was outdoors in difficult hours. And certainly there were attitudes against them in the popular culture – the type that elites have toward the working class. Bigotry causes all kinds of pain in this world. Perhaps the best way to respond is to do what the shepherds did: Shift your focus from your troubles to “what the Lord has made known to us”. Faith is all about responding positively to what God has revealed to you. In the case of the shepherds, it came in an angelic theophany (in Luke 2:9-13). The angels gave news of a savior who was born in Bethlehem. It would be confirmed by the sign of a baby in a feed trough – which was not something you see every day. There were lots of babies in Bethlehem; but when they saw that one, they’d know they’d come to the right place. Faith is a core part of the Christian life. Sometimes it appears in a sequence like what we see in Luke 2:15…
Hebrews 11:1 tells us that “…faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Rarely does a person get to see some great theophany. Jesus made this clear when He told the doubting disciple Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen and have yet believed” (John 20:27b). True faith goes beyond what is seen. But that doesn’t mean that we’re totally in the dark. God has His ways of making things known – through His word, through the lives of Christians around us, through His Holy Spirit, and in any number of other ways. We do well when we focus on that. Yes, life has its difficult circumstances and there are difficult people. But our focus is on what God has shown us, and responding to that in faith. And God always gives us what we need to make the journey. God bless you, Pastor Andrew McHenry
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Life is full of messy situations. They can happen in families, in marriages, in sibling rivalries, in workplaces, and even in churches. What does the Bible say about messy situations?
Amos 7:10-17 gives a good example of a messy situation. It was a clash between the prophet Amos and Amaziah, the chief priest at Bethel. (Bethel was the sanctuary worship site that had been established by Jacob after he saw his famous ladder in Genesis 28:10-22). This narrative is found amidst four separate visions that God gave to Amos:
First, he engaged in triangling. Triangling happens when a third party is brought into the conflict before the other person has been addressed directly. Jesus counseled His disciples to go directly to the person before you go to other people (in Matthew 18:15). It appears that Amaziah didn’t do this. He first sent his complaint straight off to the king (in Amos 7:10-11). Part of the problem is that this leads to a distorted presentation of things. Second-hand versions are notoriously unreliable. In this case, Amaziah painted a picture of Amos as a conspirator against the king. He exaggerated his prophecies of exile as if they were made out as death threats against the king, which wasn’t true. (Compare Amos 7:10-11 with 7:8-9.) Amos had prophesied a national exile, and that happened in 722 BC when the Assyrians conquered and destroyed Samaria. He made reference to the king as the leader of the nation, but it was not a personal threat. Of course that didn’t matter to the priest when he sent out a false version of the story. Lies can go out quickly, and they can be hard to control. A second problem was in the manner of confrontation. There is a place for biblical confrontation, particularly if the first attempts at conversation have not succeeded (cf. Matthew 18:16-18). But it can also be done poorly. Amaziah’s confrontation (in Amos 7:12-13) was laced with both an insult and with geographic prejudices. His reference to the southern kingdom would be like someone from the American South saying, “Yankee, go home!” And his reference to eating bread (which implies earning a living) was something that maligned Amos’ motives; it suggested that he was only interested in earning a salary. Fortunately, Amos’ response shows us how we can stick true to the word of God in a messy situation. It’s an ancient account, but there’s much to learn from it for today. I’m thinking of three things… 1 – Identity: When other people have been talking about you, it’s important to have good, well-developed self-concept. Other people aren’t the ones who have the right to define you. That goes back to who you are and what God has called you to be. So Amos started out by making his history clear (in 7:14). He wasn’t part of the old prophetic cohorts who did political assassinations. And he wasn’t simply out to draw a salary; he had other ways of doing that (specifying his background as a herdsman and working with fruit trees). It wasn’t up to Amaziah to define what kind of prophet Amos would be. Other people may try to mischaracterize you, but don’t overreact to that. God knows who you are. 2 – Direction: It’s important not to let your detractors throw you off course. If you understand your life direction and calling, stick to it. Amaziah told Amos to go away, and to leave his ministry in Bethel behind (in 7:12). But Amos remembered how God told him to leave his flocks behind and to go and prophesy. Amos was going to obey God, not men (7:15, cf. Acts 5:29). 3 – Truth: There will always be attempts to silence prophetic voices, but ultimately they can’t succeed in suppressing the truth. Truth is always more powerful than falsehood – which is something that’s important to remember in an age when lies and liars are celebrated. And this links up with the prophecy to Amaziah in Amos 7:16-17. Amos gave a direct word to the priest. It was harsh: it anticipated suffering, death, and unspeakable desecration. But it was vastly necessary. And it was true to the conditions of the exile that came in 722 BC. Life is full of messy situations, but remember this: God’s Son came into the world to endure the worst of the mess for our sakes. The religious and governing authorities came after Him and killed Him. But they still couldn’t stop Him. In His resurrection we find that truth is more powerful than all the lies. As Jesus said, the truth sets you free (John 8:32). God bless you, Pastor Andrew McHenry |
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
February 2024
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