Micah 6: 1-8
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?
What is good? That’s a great question isn’t it? The term “good” can be defined from the world wide webs as:
“better or best…having admirable, pleasing, superior, or positive qualities; not negative, bad or mediocre: a good idea; a good teacher. morally excellent or admirable; virtuous; righteous: a good human.”
Our passage this morning is a conversation between three different groups of folks:
- God (verses 1-5)
- Worshippers of God (verses 6-7)
- Micah (verse 8)
It seems like God is wanting to convey a message about being upset that folks aren’t getting a message in verses 1-5. God’s making a statement that folks are not listening or being what they were created to be. God’s telling them that God’s brought them out of slavery, out of the empire that was telling them that they were less than human. That’s been the story throughout history really, God created us to be free and to live in equity and love with all of creation…and not stuck in a system, or an empire way of thinking that dehumanizes us and others and reduces us to simply being cogs in a wheel…or living in the proverbial rat race…
So, God is a bit frustrated.
In verses 6-7, folks are asking, what do you want God? Sacrifices? I mean, look at what they are offering! Their firstborn, the fruits of their body? All sorts of things.
Talk about missing the point. God is frustrated, and I think that frustration leads God to a deep sense of sadness. We try to make it up to God, but God simply wants us to be a better version of ourselves…to be persons who love ourselves and others well.
It reminds me of a time when I was a kid. I was in Canada on vacation. Our family would vacation with my best friends family, Rob Waddles! Loved Rob. One day were playing and I accidentally gave him a black eye. I felt horrible. I did not know what to do…I asked him if there was anything I could do to make it up to him. He simply replied in his 10 year old self, it hurts. Trying as hard as I could, I could not make it right on that level.
Here’s the good news though, in verse 8, Micah, the prophet, reminds folks what God requires. Oh human, mortal, I have told you what is good…it is to love kindness, do justice, and walk humbly with God. God is not interested in our sacrifices, but wants us to be good.
When you meet folks who love kindness, do justice, and walk with humility within themselves and with others…with God and the Universe in which God resides, you know it. God wants Israel, and wants us, to simply do that…to be human as God intended, which, if you remember when God created humanity, and creation, he said it was good from the beginning…Micah is telling us what “good” looks like.
We just had our Totenfest remembrance. We do it every year the first Sunday after All Saints Day. We remember folks that have passed, and their memories and presence in our lives…even after their death. It’s actually an ancient practice that goes back thousands of years…our ancestors, like God, actually, in communion with God, are calling us to be the people were created to be as described by Micah.
I have been remembering many folks this week, especially my best friend Robbie who died of either suicide or an overdose of opioids that were prescribed to him by his doctor for a back issue. In his life, he had that humility, that kindness, and a deep sense of justice for all people, which he expressed through music in a beautiful way… He demonstrated that with me in so many ways over the years…and, it’s made me a better human and the desire to do the same. He believed in me and still does. Today, and most days, I remember Rob, and his spirit, his essence is still with me in amazing ways as he encourages me on my journey.
God’s spirit is also with us on our journeys. God is giving God’s self to us constantly, throughout history…God gets frustrated, but does not stop loving us and believes in us…just wanting us to be simply us…to be good. And, we can’t help but being good at our core because God lives in us and all around us and God is good. We just have to live in that recognition and let that love flow. We can get into places where we get stuck from time to time…but, God is constantly working to get us unstuck and to remind us that we are connected with all things and people, we are in in communion…
That’s good news to me, and I hope good news for you.
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