“The Party ‘s Over!”
It can mean, “Wow, it’s 2:00am and I've got to go to work in six hours!” It can mean, “There’s nothing left to eat or drink. Time to go!” Or it can mean, “It’s all over, the Fat Lady has sung, the curtain has gone down, and Mighty Casey has struck out!”
It ‘s this third sense of “The Party is Over!” that coincides with the context of Amos 9:11-15, namely God’s judgment of the temple in the prophet’s fifth and final vision. Hear the word of the LORD from Amos 9:1, “I saw the LORD standing beside the altar and he said, ‘Strike the capitals until the thresholds shake.’” Make no mistake about it, the party is over!
And yet, after God’s judgment in our text from Amos 9 God states, “In 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.” What God is directing Amos to proclaim to the people is that judgment will give way to mercy. Death will give way to resurrection. God’s promise is that he will raise up the falling tabernacle of David!
This blessed Easter morning we celebrate that he has done just that! You see, there is nothing dead about Jesus. John’s gospel is full of verses tying Jesus to life. In John 1:4 he writes “In him was life, and that life was the light of men.” John 6:35 quotes Jesus saying “I am the Bread of Life.” Later in that chapter we find Peter saying “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Chapter 10 again quotes Jesus saying “I have come that they may have life.” And then in chapter 11 “I am the Resurrection and the Life.” And yet again in chapter 14 “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.” Even outside of the gospels we find Paul capping things off as he throws a triumphant fist up in the air while he proclaims to the people of Corinth, “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
Friday night we remembered Christ’s being hung to die on the cross. For those who were there, watching as their teacher, son, and friend suffered and died, things surely seemed bleak. Things seemed hopeless. It seemed as though the party was over. But as testified to by our gathering here this morning, we know that far from being over, this party has just begun. And without a doubt, the very same Jesus of Nazareth who was put to death on Good Friday is the life of this party. He’s not some fable or fairy tale that we’ve made up inside our head. He’s God and Son, he’s risen from the dead!
But every party brings a certain set of questions. The first question is, who is invited?
John Carlson is a Lutheran pastor in Minnesota. A few years ago he noticed that in his town on the night of the Senior Prom only the preppy, powerful, and popular kids went to the party. So he came up with the idea of holding a celebration for kids who couldn’t get a date because they weren’t a part of the in-crowd and felt like they didn’t belong. This prom was for them. Now Timex gives out watches to the kids who attend, other companies have joined in, and now it's more popular than the real prom! Carlson calls it the Reject Prom.
Been rejected lately? Told you don’t belong? Feeling second rate? Do you know about partner rejection? Peer rejection? Parental rejection? Parishioner rejection? Do you know about deep running personal-rejection? All are invited.
Amos stresses this when he speaks of including “the remnant of Edom.” For the people of Israel, this would have been shocking! The people of Edom were some of Israel’s most ancient and hated enemies. Inviting Edom to the party would be like the Cardinals or White Sox inviting the Cubs to join them in celebrating a World Series victory. Nevertheless, the Lord promises that a remnant of Edom, along with peoples of all nations will be made a part of the restored kingdom and invited to the eternal celebration.
The next question, what about my appearance? Answer, come as you are. But, you say, “My face bears the marks of worry. My shoulders are stooped from burdens. My lips are dirty from slander. My heart is hardened toward my spouse and children. My fingers are stuck accusing my brother. My arteries are clogged with bitterness and resentment.”
A hen-pecked husband was advised by a psychiatrist to assert himself. “You don’t have to let your wife bully you,” he was told. “Go home and show her you’re the boss.” The husband decided to take the doctor’s advice. He went home, slammed the door, shook his fist in his wife’s face, and growled, “From now on you’re taking orders from me. I want my supper right now, and when you get it on the table, go upstairs, and lay out my clothes. I’m going out with the boys tonight, and you’re going to stay at home where you belong. Another thing, you know who’s going to tie my bow tie?” “I certainly do,” said his wife calmly. “The undertaker.”
Our sin shows up most in marriages and in families when we foolishly attempt to manipulate, bully, and control each other.
So you’re thinking, “What do you mean? Come as you are? I'm a spiritual mess!” So am I. So were Jesus’ disciples. So was Israel. Israel of Amos’ day was clothed with this same disgrace of sin. Most of Amos’ ministry, and really most of the ministry of the rest of God’s prophets, was one of judgment. Of calling for the people to repent for their sinful ways, and announcing God’s punishment on them for failing to do so. No doubt about it, Amos was preaching to a sinful, disgraceful group of people. But in spite of their sin, he is still called to proclaim that “God will restore the fortunes of his people.” His people who had rejected Him and His Word time and again. His people who would see their nation taken away from them and be taken into captivity. It was to His sinful children that he promised restoration and eternal prosperity.
What we have lost in sin, God restores in resurrection. This is what allows you to come as you are! In the parable of the prodigal son, the Father eagerly and lovingly welcomes his son home by proclaiming, “Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet let's have a feast and celebrate!” The Father, our Father provides the proper attire for prodigals and sinners. He provides us with Easter baptismal robes washed white in the blood of the Lamb. Come just as you are. By His love those who are dirty and stained are made clean and spotless.
The third question is, what about party gifts? How often are you invited to a gathering or dinner and ask the host, “What can I bring?” In every church I’ve ever been to, potlucks have been something of a way of life. It’s no secret that Lutherans love a good meal. And I have yet to attend a potluck that wasn’t bursting at the seams with tasty treats. Everyone brings something. Usually, you can count on many people providing their same signature dish. It’s a fun, delicious time in which everyone provides something for the feast. But when it comes to this feast, when we ask what it is that we can provide, God’s response is “nothing.” For this celebration we can bring nothing. He provides it all.
Luke 14:17 says, “At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited,’ Come, for everything is now ready.’” Amos speaks of a coming day when the harvest would be so plentiful that there would be no break in the cycle of plowing-seeding-and harvesting. He says that the mountains will drip sweet wine, pointing to how the blessings of the Messiah’s kingdom will be overflowing. Truly, as we celebrate the empty tomb, as we gather together to eat our Lord’s supper we celebrate that abundance is ours!
We bring nothing but ourselves because our great God puts everything on the table. These gifts which he so richly pours out on us His people were purchased at the cost of spitting, mocking, whipping, nailing, bleeding, sweating, and dying. And now the resurrected and victorious Jesus lives to give the gifts on this table. And what awesome gifts! What a magnificent feast! True body and true blood through which we receive washing, cleansing, healing, and the gift of eternal life!
It’s common to say at the end of a party something like, “All good things must come to an end.”
Not today! Not this party! This is a feast which will never end. Amos says it this way, “I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them.” God promises that his people will live securely. Though we may face fierce opposition and challenges, we shall not be moved. The prophet Isaiah writes of those who are called into a relationship with the Savior, “they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
Christ our Lord was dead, but now he lives! And he is sitting at the right hand of His Father in His eternal kingdom. A kingdom which has no end. A kingdom into which he calls and welcomes all of His children, so that we may join Him in eternal glory.
The feast is ready! Come to the feast, just as you are. Come and be made clean. Come and be robed in the righteousness of God! Come and be glad. Greatest and least, come to the feast! Amen.
-Pastor L
