32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Proper 27), Year A

Her eyes are closed. She is the color of all the weather and days that have past. Her hand is either protecting the flame or being warmed by it.

Is she to be dreaming of wisdom? Is she to be dreaming of the future? Is she to be dreaming of a future of peace? Is she dreaming of a future of liberation?

We don’t know, do we. We can only look and imagine.

We hear Amos this week, in one of his most convicting passages, one that every worship preparer reads with fear and trembling.

…I take not delight in your solemn assemblies…Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
BUT let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Using poetry and rhythm, Amos asks the question: Is your worship for your own enjoyment or self-importance, or is it to lead you to work for God’s justice?

How does this offer us a clear lens for our worship and for our lives as we are sent out?

One more question: If you had to pick a word to describe what you think God’s desire is for the world, would it be “peace” or “liberation?” Chew on that for a bit, and bring that meal with you to worship.
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Come and worship. In-person or online.

 
Readings: Amos 5:18-24 † Psalm 70 † 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 † Matthew 25:1-13
 
About the Art: Lamp of Wisdom, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=54977 [retrieved November 8, 2023]. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rowanbank/5815103193/.​

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