October 11th - Reflection

Amos 9:5-15 (NRSV)
Sweet wine from the mountains

The Lord, God of hosts,
he who touches the earth and it melts,
and all who live in it mourn,
and all of it rises like the Nile,
and sinks again, like the Nile of Egypt;
who builds his upper chambers in the heavens,
and founds his vault upon the earth;
who calls for the waters of the sea,
and pours them out upon the surface of the earth --
the Lord is his name.

Are you not like the Ethiopians to me,
O people of Israel? says the Lord.
Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt,
and the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir?
The eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom,
and I will destroy it from the face of the earth
-- except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,

says the Lord.

For lo, I will command,
and shake the house of Israel among all the nations
as one shakes with a sieve,
but no pebble shall fall to the ground.
All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword,
who say, "Evil shall not overtake or meet us."

On that day I will raise up
the booth of David that is fallen,
and repair its breaches,
and raise up its ruins,
and rebuild it as in the days of old;
in order that they may possess the remnant of Edom
and all the nations who are called by my name,
says the Lord who does this.

The time is surely coming, says the Lord,
when the one who plows shall overtake the one who reaps,
and the treader of grapes the one who sows the seed;
the mountains shall drip sweet wine,
and all the hills shall flow with it.
I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel,
and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine,
and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.
I will plant them upon their land,
and they shall never again be plucked up
out of the land that I have given them,

says the Lord your God.

Reflection
We come before God as sinful beings. We come before God knowing that we deserve nothing but death and damnation.

It is a privilege to come before God in the first place. A God so powerful and awesome that even a touch to the earth could melt all that is physical like wax melting from a candle. God sees our sinfulness but is looking for holiness.

But God will not let evil overtake us. We are all sinners this is for sure. But do we mourn over our sin?

God looks at the sinful and cannot tolerate the one who believes that sin is an way of life.

But there is a reversal to the effects of sin. It is our sin that has destroyed our earth and our way of life. But it is God alone who can reverse our sin and bring about life. God will redeem us through Jesus. As we humbly turn to God and appeal to God based on our sinfulness, God chose to give us life through Jesus and build us up.

Save us and give us life. Life that overtakes the one who sows the seed. Life that continues on in ceaseless praise to what God has done for us. Life eternal through God's own act of love and grace. Thanks be to God!


Prayer
Lord, here I am, humble and once again in your presence. Forgive my sin and take me and make me into what you would have me be. Teach me to do what you would have me do. Change me into what you want, that I may live with you today... tomorrow... and forever. --- Amen