Sunday's Message: The Great Ends of the Church - The promotion of social righteousness

As a denomination, the Presbyterian Church (USA) has some guiding principles that shape our mission. They’re called The Great Ends of the Church, six statements written in the early 20th century that guide both the vision and work of the Presbyterian Church. And that’s going to be our focus during this series. You see, during the next six weeks, we’ll look at each one, seeking to understand what it means and how we can accomplish it within our community. 

• August 11 - The proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humanity
• August 18 - The shelter, nurture and spiritual fellowship of the children of God
• August 25 - The maintenance of divine worship
• September 1 - The preservation of the truth
• September 8 - The promotion of social righteousness
• September 15 - The exhibition of the kingdom of heaven to the world

On Sunday, we continued the series by looking at the fifth great end of the church: The promotion of social righteousness. Below is the text and a recording of the sermon. You can stream the service by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).  You can hear a podcast of the service at the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel or the Sligo Presbyterian Spotify Page. 

Well, even though the calendar says it won’t happen for another couple of weeks, I think we’re looking at some pretty powerful signs that we’re entering fall. I mean, football is in full swing. And even as we speak, they’re not only putting out pumpkins, witches and costumes at Walmart, Debbie told me about some Grinch pajamas he saw the other day. Now, these are some powerful indications that we’re leaving summer. But for me, the clearest and most definitive sign of all is this: we start noodling on September 16. I think that says it all.

And as it relates to our worship services, over the next two weeks, we’ll be now looking at the last two of what’s called The Great Ends of the Church. And although I don’t think I’ve mentioned it, we’ve used a different banner to represent each of the first four, with each banner reflecting one of the “great ends.” For example, on the first banner, we’ve got a dove rising from the Bible  and this represents “the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humanity.” And then, second, we’ve got a dove covering outstretched hands, reminding us that the church is about “the shelter, nurture and spiritual fellowship of the children of God.” And then, on the third banner, there’s the same dove above a cup, three drops of water and hands lifted in praise, which represents “the maintenance of divine worship.” And then, last week, the  fourth banner had the dove coming from the sun, a source of light, and a blossoming vine, two symbols that represent Jesus Christ and the importance of “the preservation of the truth.” Now, that’s what we’ve looked at so far.

And this morning, we’re going to move onto the fifth great end of the church, namely “the promotion of social righteousness.” And on this particular banner, we’ve got, again, a dove above what looks like some kind of waterfall. And even though, on the surface, that really doesn’t seem to have anything to do with social righteousness, it’s actually based on a passage from an Old Testament prophet. You see, as he was teaching some people who just weren’t practicing what they preached, the Prophet Amos said this:

I, the Lord, hate and despise

your religious celebrations

    and your times of worship.

 I won’t accept your offerings

or animal sacrifices—

    not even your very best.

 No more of your noisy songs!

I won’t listen

    when you play your harps.

But let justice and fairness

flow like a river

    that never runs dry. [Amos 5:21-24, CEV]

Now that’s what he said. In other words, for Amos, the people were missing the point. You see, God wasn’t really interested in their offerings or sacrifices and he wasn’t all that impressed by their singing and music. For him, those things weren’t most important. Instead, he simply wanted his people to be just and fair. In other words, reading from the New Revised Standard Version, he wanted them and he wants us “[to] ...let justice roll down like water and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” [Amos 5:24, NRSVUE], something we can see on the banner. 

And that’s going to be our focus this morning. You see, we’re going to talk about “the promotion of social righteousness.” And as we’ve done before, we’ll look at what it means, you know, what social righteousness is all about. And then we’ll answer the question, why is it important to promote social righteousness? And finally, we’ll think about how we can actually do it, in other words, how we can make the kind of difference in our world that Amos challenged the people of Israel to make in theirs. Now that’s the plan.

But of course, before we can start doing much of anything, we really need to nail down the “what,” you know, what does the term “social righteousness” mean? And I’ll tell you, even though it’s all over the place in the Old Testament, I think the Prophet Isaiah summarized what we’re talking about when he wrote this:

I’ll tell you

what it really means

    to worship the Lord.

Remove the chains of prisoners

    who are bound unjustly.

Free those who are abused!

Share your food with everyone

    who is hungry;

share your home

    with the poor and homeless.

Give clothes to those in need;

don’t turn away your relatives.

Then your light will shine

like the dawning sun, and you

    will quickly be healed.

Your honesty will protect you

    as you advance,

and the glory of the Lord

    will defend you from behind.

When you beg the Lord for help,

    he will answer, “Here I am!”

Don’t mistreat others

or falsely accuse them

    or say something cruel.

Give your food to the hungry

    and care for the homeless.

Then your light will shine

    in the dark;

your darkest hour will be

    like the noonday sun. [Isaiah 58:6-10, CEV]

Now that’s what Isaiah wrote. 

And I’ll tell you, based on this, I think we can say three things about the kind of righteousness God wants his people to show. I mean, it certainly involves fighting for justice, you know, doing what we can to make sure no one is falsely accused and kicked around and that everybody is treated fairly, with equity and impartiality. In other words, although no one should be above the law, no one should be abused by it either. But you know, more than that, according to the prophet, social righteousness is also about caring for others, particularly for those who, for whatever reason, aren’t able to care for themselves. I mean, it’s about giving food to the hungry and shelter to the homeless. It’s about sharing some of what we have with those who have so little. And you know, it’s really interesting, when we’re doing these things, I mean, when we’re fighting for justice and caring for others, we’re also worshiping God, aren’t we? In fact, we’re offering him exactly what he wants. Remembering what Amos wrote, when we’re worshiping, our primary focus shouldn’t be on offerings and sacrifices or songs and music, not that there’s anything wrong with those things. Instead, together we’re worshiping God when we’re “...[letting] ...justice and fairness flow like a river that never runs dry.” [Amos 5:21-24, CEV] Now, for me, that’s what social righteousness is all about. 

And why is it important? Why is it important for us to promote social righteousness? I mean, why is it important for us to fight for justice and to care for others as our way of worshiping God? Well, I think there’s one reason that’s head and shoulders above any other possibility, and it has nothing to do with anything that we might get by doing it. You see, based on what I read in scripture, I believe we’re called to promote social righteousness because it’s the right thing to do. I mean, it’s right for us to make sure people are treated with fairness and impartiality. And it’s right for us to give and to share. In other words, it’s right for us to worship God in the way he wants to be worshiped. 

As a matter of fact, I believe that’s exactly what we’ve been called to do as a nation, and I’m talking about as a people whom God has blessed with all kinds of resources and advantages. And I’ll tell you, I think that’s something we need to take seriously as Americans; my gosh, our future may depend on it. I mean, just listen to what Jesus said in the very last lesson he offered his disciples in the Gospel of Matthew. He said, 

When the Son of Man comes in his glory with all his angels, he will sit on his royal throne. The people of all nations will be brought before him, and he will separate them, as shepherds separate their sheep from their goats.

He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, “My father has blessed you! Come and receive the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world was created. When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, and when I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was a stranger, you welcomed me, and when I was naked, you gave me clothes to wear. When I was sick, you took care of me, and when I was in jail, you visited me.”

Then the ones who pleased the Lord will ask, “When did we give you something to eat or drink? When did we welcome you as a stranger or give you clothes to wear or visit you while you were sick or in jail?”

The king will answer, “Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me.” [Matthew 25:31-40, CEV]

I’ll tell you, this is something that’s right for us to do as a nation. 

But it’s also the right thing for us to do as a congregation. You see, according to scripture, we have a special obligation to our community as well as our world. I mean, although we can’t do it all, I think God certainly wants to address the challenges we face and the needs we know. In fact, we can see the kind of engaged and involved Christian community we were called to be in the church right after its birth. Just listen to how Luke described what was happening in Jerusalem according to Acts:

The group of followers all felt the same way about everything. None of them claimed that their possessions were their own, and they shared everything they had with each other. In a powerful way the apostles told everyone that the Lord Jesus was now alive. God greatly blessed his followers, and no one went in need of anything. Everyone who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the money to the apostles. Then they would give the money to anyone in need. [Acts 4:32-35, CEV]

You see, just like we said about the nation, as a congregation, it’s right for us to promote social righteousness.

But I’ll tell you, it doesn’t stop there, because as individual believers, we also have this same responsibility. As a matter of faith, when you get right down to it, the ultimate buck may actually stop with us, because if we choose to do nothing, who’s going to move our nation or our congregation to do anything at all? And I think that explains why, in his letter, James was so clear and focused when he wrote this:

My friends, what good is it to say you have faith, when you don’t do anything to show you really do have faith? Can this kind of faith save you? If you know someone who doesn’t have any clothes or food, you shouldn’t just say, “I hope all goes well for you. I hope you will be warm and have plenty to eat.” What good is it to say this, unless you do something to help? Faith that doesn’t lead us to do good deeds is all alone and dead!  [James 2:14-17, CEV]

No, we’ve been called. We’ve been called as nations and congregations and individuals. We’ve been called to fight for justice and to care for others and to worship God. Man, this is the right thing for us to do. And for me, that’s why promoting social righteousness is so very important. 

But none of that matters, if we don’t know how to do it, does it? I mean, if we don’t know how to do what God wants us to do, then, let’s face it, we’re pretty much up “a river that never runs dry” without a paddle. And even though I think there are probably a whole bunch of different ways we can promote social righteousness, let me briefly offer three steps that sort of make sense to me. 

You see, in my opinion, we can start being active promoters by, first, rejecting the idea that we have to choose between social righteousness and evangelism. In other words, we’ve got to put aside the idea that somehow, for some reason, we have to decide whether we’re going to stand up for Christ and share the gospel or fight for justice and care for others. I’ll tell you, we’ve got to get past the idea that we can’t do both. Of course, rejecting this “either-or” business, man, it makes a lot of sense, especially given what we’ve already read and discussed from both Amos and Isaiah, you know, based on what they said about the kind of worship God prefers. As a matter of fact, according to the Prophet Micah,

What offering should I bring

when I bow down to worship

    the Lord God Most High?

Should I try to please him 

by sacrificing

    calves a year old?

Will thousands of sheep

or rivers of olive oil

    make God satisfied with me?

Should I sacrifice to the Lord

my first-born child as payment

    for my terrible sins?

The Lord God has told us

what is right

    and what he demands:

“See that justice is done,

let mercy be your first concern,

    and humbly obey your God.” [Micah 6:6-8, CEV]

You see, first, to do what’s right, I think we’ve got to reject the idea that we have to choose between social righteousness and evangelism.

And once that’s done, second, I believe we then have to prioritize the needs of others above our own wants. In other words, I think we need to be willing to put ourselves second when we’d rather be first and to listen when we really want to be heard and to give when we really believe, in our heart of hearts, that we deserve to receive. As a matter of fact, it’s actually putting into practice these word that Apostle Paul offered to the Philippians:

Christ encourages you, and his love comforts you. God’s Spirit unites you, and you are concerned for others. Now make me completely happy! Live in harmony by showing love for each other. Be united in what you think, as if you were only one person. Don’t be jealous or proud, but be humble and consider others more important than yourselves. Care about them as much as you care about yourselves and think the same way that Christ Jesus thought: [Philippians 2:1-5, CEV]

You see, after rejecting this idea of having to choose, I believe we need to prioritize the needs of others above our own wants. And that’s the second thing we can do.

And then, third, we can decide, right here and right now, that we’re going to work together to get the job done. We’re going to work together to fight for justice and to care for one another. We’re going to work together because that’s the right thing for us to do as a nation and as a congregation and as  individuals. Man, we’ve got to decide that we’re going to work together to make our world a better place, and I’m talking about the kind of place God created it to be. Together, this we can do. And when we do it, when we roll up our sleeves and clear a little space on our calendars, we’ll actually be following a pretty powerful example, as a matter of fact, the greatest example of them all. Just listen:

Jesus went back to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and as usual he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath. When he stood up to read from the Scriptures, he was given the book of Isaiah the prophet. He opened it and read,

“The Lord’s Spirit

    has come to me,

because he has chosen me

to tell the good news

    to the poor.

The Lord has sent me

to announce freedom

    for prisoners,

to give sight to the blind,

to free everyone

    who suffers,

and to say, ‘This is the year

    the Lord has chosen.’ “

Jesus closed the book, then handed it back to the man in charge and sat down. Everyone in the synagogue looked straight at Jesus.

Then Jesus said to them, “What you have just heard me read has come true today.” [Luke 4:16-21, CEV]

You see, this is the work we’ve been called to do. And when we decide to do it together, with the help of God, it can be done. And for me, this is how we can do it.

And you know, that may be something for us to remember as we move into a new season. I mean, as our focus shifts from the summer to something else, let’s remember that, according to Amos, we’ve been called and equipped to “...let justice and fairness flow like a river that never runs dry.” [Amos 5:21-24, CEV] In other words, as Christians, our job is to fight for justice and to care for others and to worship God in the way he wants to be worshiped. And based on his words, this is simply the right thing for us to do as a nation and as a congregation and as individuals. And this is something we can do the minute we decide that we’re going to reject the idea that we have to choose between social righteousness and evangelism and then that we have to prioritize the needs of others above our own wants and finally, we have to work together to get the job done. And so, as we’re watching football and shopping at Walmart and of course, noodling next Monday, we can also be taking seriously the fifth great end of the church, and I’m talking about the promotion of social righteousness.