Sermon - Matthew 25:1-13

<p>This past week has been a hard one for all of us.  Throughout the week, I have been grieving the brokenness in our world, and I continue to grieve the deep brokenness in our country, our community, and our very lives. As I grieve, I remember Dr. King’s words when he said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”  Friends, I so deeply long for God’s justice and righteousness to become a reality in this world, and I have been finding it hard to wait. Longing, working, and waiting for God’s justice for all people is becoming excruciatingly painful and I ask, “What shall we do as we wait?”</p> <p>As we listen to the prophet Amos this morning, it seems he lives in a world that is broken. The people of Israel are calling out for the Day of the Lord, a day of victory for them against whatever enemies they can conjure up. However, when we look at the historical record and cultural context of that time, there was no war, no famine, no invasion, and a competent king was on the throne. Religious rituals were being carefully observed, but they were rituals without meaningful action in the world, empty rituals without changed hearts that produce justice in the world. Anyway, Amos is a prophet and, as prophets do, he sees under the surface, under the present context and current state of the world, to see the true reality. Nothing is broken in Amos’ world, and yet everything is broken!  God does NOT want the people’s empty platitudes and empty rituals.  God DOES want to see justice and righteousness lived out by the people! Amos reminds us that living out God’s restorative justice and righteousness for ALL people are essential elements of a faithful life. This is what God desires.</p> <p>The people to whom Paul was writing were also waiting, waiting for Jesus’ return.  So, Paul writes words of encouragement and hope.  His mystical vision of being caught up in the clouds when Jesus comes again is NOT intended as a prophecy about factual details in some distant future; it is NOT meant to be taken l