scripture and prayer reflection
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Lyrics
I hate all your show and pretense
The hypocrisy of your praise
The hypocrisy of your festivals
I hate all your show
Away with your noisy worship
Away with your noisy hymns
I stop up my ears when you're singing 'em
I hate all your show
Instead let there be a flood of justice
An endless procession of righteous living, living
Instead let there be a flood of justice
Instead of a show
Your eyes are closed when you're praying
You sing right along with the band
You shine up your shoes for services
There's blood on your hands
You turned your back on the homeless
And the ones that don't fit in your plan
Quit playing religion games
There’s blood on your hands
Instead let there be a flood of justice
An endless procession of righteous living, living
Instead let there be a flood of justice
Instead of a show
I hate all your show
Let's argue this out
If your sins are blood red
Let's argue this out
You'll be one of the clouds
Let's argue this out
Quit fooling around
Give love to the ones who can't love at all
Give hope to the ones who got no hope at all
Stand up for the ones who can't stand at all, all
I hate all your show
Instead let there be a flood of justice
An endless procession of righteous living, living
Instead let there be a flood of justice
Instead of a show
I hate all your show
Amos 5:21-24
21 “I hate, I despise your feasts,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
22 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the peace offerings of your fattened animals,
I will not look upon them.
23 Take away from me the noise of your songs;
to the melody of your harps I will not listen.
24 But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Isaiah 1:11-17
11 “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?
says the Lord;
I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
and the fat of well-fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
or of lambs, or of goats.
12 “When you come to appear before me,
who has required of you
this trampling of my courts?
13 Bring no more vain offerings;
incense is an abomination to me.
New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations—
I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.
14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts
my soul hates;
they have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even though you make many prayers,
I will not listen;
your hands are full of blood.
16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
17 learn to do good;
seek justice,
correct oppression;
bring justice to the fatherless,
plead the widow's cause.
James 2:15-17
15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
Reflection
I do not enjoy argument or debate. Both feel incredibly uncomfortable, even under the best circumstances. My response to tension is often to be quiet, withdrawing inward to avoid awkward exchanges with uncertain outcomes. In moments, this is a gift, helping me to overlook small things and to maintain peace. At other moments, however, it means I neglect to stand up to protect others out of a fear for my own inner sense of comfort. Though inwardly distressed and concerned, I tend to quietly hope that everything will somehow just work itself out, shifting responsibility for exhortation or rebuke to someone else.
Thus, strong and harsh words like these sit very uncomfortably with me. This song is based out of God’s interactions with His people in a specific historical context. But these words display God’s unchanging heart in a way that prompts reflection now, in our day as well. His disgust over empty religious motions should prompt us to self-examination as we seek to follow Christ as a church. We too are in danger of turning our church services into the end of our efforts, rather than a means of engaging with God.
God doesn’t want sacrifice for the sake of sacrifice. Or to contextualize it to our day, He doesn’t want a worship service for the sake of a worship service; rather He wants our hearts to be transformed to be like His. He doesn’t want surface-level, dead faith; rather He wants our faith to be alive, and lived out in the way we learn to care about what He cares about - loving the people around us, seeking justice for the marginalized, extending mercy to those who need it.
These things are part and parcel with what it means to follow Christ. Jesus often butted heads with the Pharisees over the way they followed the letter of the law while completely missing the heart. We too can easily get caught up in the church routine and forget that our faith is meant to impact the way we live the rest of the week too. Because we follow Christ, we get to play a part in bringing about God’s “Kingdom come and [His] will done on earth as it is in heaven”, but that takes an intentional choice. It’s not our default.
Take some time to reflect on your own life. In what ways does your heart mirror what God cares about? In what way do you struggle to care about God’s concerns? What Christian activities are you prone to do habitually without engaging God relationally? How do we nurture spiritual rhythms that don’t become rote? Talk with God about what comes up.
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