Instead of discussing the Gospel passage this week, I’m going to take a closer look at the reading from Micah 6:1-8. This past Sunday I had few conversations with folks who were confused by what was happening in this text. We read the last verse which tells us to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God, and we think that sounds nice. But there is more to learn from this passage.
Through the prophet Micah, God is speaking to the Israelites who have are frustrated with what’s happening in their world, and thus, mad at God. In response to this, God reminds them of just a few of the ways that God has come through for them in the past, even when the people were unfaithful. God does not berate them for complaining or questioning, but simply reminds of them of God’s faithfulness. What we can take from this is that it is okay to be mad at God, to voice our opinions, and ask why the world is the way it is right now.
Importantly, the people then ask what they need to do. But their ideas are not what God is looking for. They suggest a burnt offering, or calves and rams, even rivers of oil. These are all things that they can do once and then check it off their list. They could say, “I offered God my best sheep, so now everything is going to be fine.” But what God wants is a way of living. Doing justice is not one a time thing; you can’t attend one protest and then check “justice” off of your to-do list. In the same way, kindness is an ongoing action. Being kind to each other and the planet is a thousand different small offerings throughout the day, not a one time offer of a thousand rams. Finally, walking humbly with God entails a relationship, a journey, with God. Again, not a one time thing to check off our list, but rather something we do each and every day that fundamentally changes the way we live our lives. And when we work together in this way, we can make a big difference in the world.
