A Poem for Sunday, September 21, 2025
Amos 8:4-7 and Thoughts on Money and the Eschaton
Leaning Towards Eternity
After Amos 8:4-7
It is necessary
to live with one foot in the market’s facts
and one in Eternity’s—
but put your weight on that one.
See the tilting scales,
but also see, with different eyes,
how they will be leveled.
See our senseless competitions
and also see a table with the most gracious Host
welcoming all.
Doesn’t the food smell lovely?
God has said, “I will never forget any of their deeds.”
And so the question today remains:
“Where will your treasure be found?”
Both the alternative Hebrew Bible reading from Amos and Luke 16:1–13 remind us how consistently the biblical writers link possessions—or the unjust practices of gaining them—with Eternity. That line from Amos is especially haunting: “I will never forget their deeds.”
In my life and ministry, I often emphasize holy living. I like to think about the importance of daily acts of mercy and piety, but they are almost always detached from the Eschaton. I tend to stress Jesus’ return and the renewal of all things, but that’s only half the story—Jesus will also come again to judge both the living and the dead. This is a sobering reminder and one that is not easy to talk about or popular.
Still, if we avoid this conversation, we might be utterly self-interested in how we handle our possessions. Without this reminder, we can run the risk of slipping into the illusion that money is the ultimate fact, rather than God. Jesus makes this plain: “You cannot serve God and wealth.” Or, as Eugene Peterson paraphrases in The Message, “You can’t serve both God and the bank.”
And yet, if we’re honest—don’t we keep trying?
A great resource for you if you are wrestling with these ideas or if you are approaching stewardship season in your church is Andrew Root’s latest podcast episode, “In God We Trust (But Also Money!)”