Micah 6:1-8
1 Hear what the Lord says:
Rise, plead your case before the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice.
2 Hear, you mountains, the case of the Lord,
and you enduring foundations of the earth,
for the Lord has a case against his people,
and he will contend with Israel.
3 “O my people, what have I done to you?
In what have I wearied you? Answer me!
4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt
and redeemed you from the house of slavery,
and I sent before you Moses,
Aaron, and Miriam.
5 O my people, remember now what King Balak of Moab devised,
what Balaam son of Beor answered him,
and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal,
that you may know the saving acts of the Lord.”
6 “With what shall I come before the Lord
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good,
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice and to love kindness
and to walk humbly with your God?
8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?
This passage, from Micah, has become one of the iconic slogans of the civil rights movement. It has been used so often that it’s easy to overlook the powerful impact of this simple message.
God isn’t interested in grand gestures. God wants our hearts and our obedience to God’s Law of Love. Prayer is the most powerful action we can take in service to our neighbors, when we actually do it. Empty promises of “thoughts and prayers” with no follow-up are offensive.
If you, like me, are feeling paralyzed by the immensity of the challenges we’re facing in our country today, don’t lose heart. Each of us must prayerfully determine how God is calling us to respond. Then, and only then, each of us must respond.
I can’t tell you how God will use you to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God. I don’t even know what God is calling me to do yet. What I do know is that following Jesus – REALLY following Jesus – involves speaking truth to power in love. Those who follow Jesus never allow themselves to devolve into violence, always respond to hate with love, and never lose sight of the fact that every human being is a beloved child of God.
Choosing to follow Jesus’ path of non-violent resistance isn’t easy, but those who are out there doing it are changing the world with the power of God’s love in action.
Prayer: Lord Jesus: Show me where and how you want me to follow you today. AMEN