Sunday Stretch: Vol. 97

Start off your week with a grounded take on Bible, prayer, the world, and your life ...

Hi Readers,

And a special welcome to new subscribers, especially all of those joining from my presentation at Grace Lutheran Church in River Forest, Ill. (Chicago) last weekend,

We are entering into the home stretch, in a few different ways.

September - October is always a busy time in our family, with the return to school and the church program year, and also both kids’ birthdays falling in late-September, early October. And flag football seasons. And winter basketball team tryouts and the start of practices.

This year, the season was complicated: personally, for our family with the death of my father-in-law after being diagnosed with cancer just six months ago.

And nationally and internationally, as we confront an impending U.S. presidential election marked by the growing prominence and threat of Christian Nationalism - in the midst of a climate crisis hastened by record October heat and a devastating hurricane that has wrought destruction nearly 500 miles inland to mountainous western North Carolina and Appalachia.

Four years ago, I made a really special trip to North Carolina as part of some of the first stops on my book speaking tour for Red State Christians. At the time, most people weren’t yet talking about Christian Nationalism, and there was a real hesitation to bring “politics” into the church. I’m so grateful to the people of the North Carolina Synod and to Lenoir-Rhyne University for being some of the first to engage with my book research and host important conversations. I will always remember speaking in the chapel at L-R, and learning that the local NAACP had helped to publicize and attend my event. I’ve always been so inspired by organizers, especially Black Christian organizers, who I’ve worked with in North Carolina, like the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, who leads the Poor Peoples’ Campaign, and like the Rev. CeCee Mills, who is a steadfast activist and leader for justice in the North Carolina Synod of the ELCA.

There are so many others doing important and critical work for justice, for the arts, for the Church in North Carolina and Appalachia (I bet some of you are reading this newsletter right now). So I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you, and to send you my deep personal prayers and support in this time of destruction and rebuilding. If you’re reading this - and your area has been affected by the storm - please do send me a note. Would love to find a way for this community to offer support to you in tangible ways.

It’s hard to believe that four years after those first events in North Carolina, I am still getting the opportunity to speak to groups about the threat of Christian Nationalism. Of course - much has changed since then - and the frustrating part about that fact is that the threat just continues to grow, and many in government and media still misunderstand what’s really going on. With that being said, I’m so grateful for the time I spent in Chicago last week, with the people of Grace Lutheran in River Forest, and all those of you from the Chicago - Indiana area who traveled to attend the forum on Christian Nationalism - and how to rebuild trust - last weekend. I was inspired by your willingness to engage (even during a Bears game!) and your commitment to learn, pray, and work together with God’s help to fight back against this pernicious threat. You gave me so much encouragement and hope! Hope to come back again to the Chicago area this spring or fall as I begin to speak about Disciples of White Jesus, and I look forward to seeing you again soon.

PS: If you don’t know the history of Grace in River Forest, like I didn’t - I urge you to check it out! It’s a testament to the best of Lutheran theology: courage and witness for the sake of the Gospel.

And now - as we all muddle through this full and occasionally glorious fall (we are finally getting some 50-60 degree weather in Minnesota, and the leaves are turning!) - we need God’s Word more than ever. I know I do. Let’s get to the texts!

Amos 5:6-7, 10-15

Amos 5:6    Seek the LORD and live,

or he will break out against the house of Joseph like fire,

and it will devour Bethel, with no one to quench it.

⁷ Ah, you that turn justice to wormwood,

and bring righteousness to the ground!

Amos 5:10    They hate the one who reproves in the gate,

and they abhor the one who speaks the truth.

¹¹ Therefore because you trample on the poor

and take from them levies of grain,

you have built houses of hewn stone,

but you shall not live in them;

you have planted pleasant vineyards,

but you shall not drink their wine.

¹² For I know how many are your transgressions,

and how great are your sins—

you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe,

and push aside the needy in the gate.

¹³ Therefore the prudent will keep silent in such a time;

for it is an evil time.

Amos 5:14    Seek good and not evil,

that you may live;

and so the LORD, the God of hosts, will be with you,

just as you have said.

¹⁵ Hate evil and love good,

and establish justice in the gate;

it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts,

will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

I always get excited - and maybe a little bit nervous - when the Prophet Amos turns up again in the Lectionary texts. Amos is known for his commit to calling for justice. He does not spare words when it comes to calling out people of faith for engaging in empty rituals, and for ignoring those suffering right in front of us.

Here again Amos warns about the ways in which naysayers and doubters, those who would sow hatred, violence, and evil, try to break down those who speak the truth. This reminds me of when I teach on Christian Nationalism, using the Gospel text of John 18:33-38, and show how those who want to distract from the truth of Jesus’ call to care for the poor and treat one another with compassion, often try to diminish our faith in the truth itself. They know that they cannot win the day with the truth, because their arguments are propped up by lies. So instead they attack those who dare to speak the truth.

Questions to Ponder

Re-read verse 10. What do you think Amos means by “the one who reproves in the gate?”

Following up on the first question - it seems to reference those who sow lies and injustice specifically in courts of law. Why might these instances have been particularly concerning to Amos?

How do you feel about justice being done in courts of law in your community? Is there a possibility for things to be more just?

Hebrews 4:12-16

Heb. 4:12   Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. ¹³ And before him no creature is hidden, but