That's all I want.

Theologians have been debating the connection between faith and deeds for a long time. Lutherans rightly believe that humans are justified by grace through faith in Christ. It's dangerous to take that to an extreme however. If we believe that faith and deeds are not connected we might say through our actions that faith is good and deeds are bad. A poor Lutheran joke has a proud "faith alone" Lutheran telling someone: "Yes I've been saved by my faith alone, and to prove it I've made sure to never perform a good deed in my life."

A careful study of Paul's Letter to the Romans reveals that faith and deeds work together. He could not have imagined separating the two. Your faith must move you to action. Your actions must be a reflection of faith. Without actions you are not faithful. Without faith your actions are insincere.

This was a problem 2,750 years ago in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The people excelled at acting "faithful." They went to the temple, make their sacrifices and received help from the priests. This is what they thought God wanted from them. In the mean time they oppressed the poor and ignored those in need.

The prophet Amos was called by God to express God's anger to the leaders of Israel. They would be punished for the injustices they committed. It's not a pleasant message.

We can learn from Israel's mistakes. Living by faith we are called to act. Yes we act through worship, prayer, study and service... but that's only the beginning. God demands we speak out against injustice. God empowers us to stand against oppressors. The Spirit moves us to walk with our hurting neighbors. Be careful not to get comfortable with your regular routines. When you worship... do it sincerely from your heart. When you give money... do it out of thankfulness. When you help others... do it out of love.

The Message translation makes Amos' words hit home: "I can't stand your religious meetings. I'm fed up with your conferences and conventions. I want nothing to do with your religion projects, your pretentious slogans and goals. I'm sick of your fund-raising schemes, your public relations and image making. I've had all I can take of your noisy ego-music. When was the last time you sang to me? Do you know what I want? I want justice - oceans of it. I want fairness - rivers of it. That's what I want. That's all I want." (Amos 5:21-24)

This is a healthy reminder. Yeah Amos puts it pretty strongly, but we need to hear it. Faith and deeds work together for disciples of Christ, therefore when we have religious meetings they better be for the purpose of serving Christ and loving neighbor. When we organize conferences and conventions they better be for the purpose of serving Christ and loving neighbor. When we plan religious projects and create slogans and goals they better be for the purpose of serving Christ and loving neighbor. Fund-raising schemes? Just who are you raising money for? Public relations? Image creation? Noisy ego-music? How we live, what we say and what we sing better be for the Lord and for the purpose of bringing the light of Christ's gospel to ALL people. After all:

That's what I want. That's all that I want.