Sermon - Micah 6:1-8

I know many of us have favorite passages in scripture, certain passages that have deep meaning for us.  I also know there are some passages that are essential for all of us as we walk and live this journey of faith.  And, one of those passages is today’s reading from Micah. 

While we do not know a lot about the prophet Micah, we do know the justice issues he faced during the eighth century B.C. were not unlike some of the issues we face today.  Micah lived in the land of Judah during a time of great wealth and prosperity.  On the outside it appeared that God’s people were thriving, but on the inside, they were rotting to the core. Political corruption was pervasive.  Economic exploitation was rampant!  Ethical violations were voracious. The nation had drifted so far from God they could no longer tell the difference between good and evil. Even though they were going through the outward motions of worship, their hearts were far from the Lord.  Much like America today, their society was characterized by overconfidence and self-indulgence.  Most of the wealth was concentrated in the hands of the ruling elite while the poor were scraping to get by. Unbridled greed and arrogance made those in power callous to meting out justice fairly and evenly.  People were talking the talk, but they were not walking the walk.  Consequently, their words were empty.

So, Micah blew the whistle on this blatant hypocrisy by announcing God’s ensuing judgment on God’s people unless they repented from their sin.  His whistle blowing prophecy blends a harsh message of judgment with the hope of future restoration at the coming of the Messiah.  Through it all, he pleads with his people to come back to the Lord.  And, Micah 6:1-8 forms the climax of his prophecy.  He reminds the people that God is not interested in hollow sacrifices or empty acts of worship and he sums everything up in verse 8 saying, “Israel would please God by simply acting justly, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God.”

Micah’s words take the form of a legal controversy.  And, as we look at verses 1 & 2, even the world of nature is asked to enter the dialogue.  The mountains and the hills are the everlasting foundations of the earth and they are called to be witnesses of what has happened to the God-Israel relationship. They have been around longer than the Israelites and have witnessed the Lord’s faithfulness and Israel’s rebellion.  This seems to heighten the drama and intensify the sarcasm of the passage.

Once the court scene is set and the witnesses are in place, the legal procedure begins with the Lord’s accusations against God’s people in verses 3-5.  The Lord’s indictment begins with a series of scathing interrogatives and their tone is sarcastic, for God already knew God was not guilty of anything.  God had been totally faithful to God’s own people, but the people had abandoned God. Not only has the Lord not harmed God’s people, God has also lavished grace and mercy upon them.  Verses 4 and 5 provide three illustrations of the Lord’s faithfulness to the people, God was faithful to God’s covenant promises even though the people were not.  That is always the story of God’s great love for humanity.

Then, after a direct address from God, the prophet speaks.  In verses 6-8, we hear Micah speak some of what I believe are the most empowering words in scripture.   Micah offers four rhetorical questions with increasing severity.  The first question is vague and general: “With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God?”  Micah asks this question on behalf of the Israelite people.  They wanted to know what they must do to please God. The second through fourth questions specifically ask about sacrifices, about giving “things,” stuff, even children to God.  Micah employs hyperbole to heighten the effect of his line of questioning.  And, the implied answer to all these questions is “no.”  God was not impressed or interested in thousands of animal sacrifices, nor “things,” or any other form of empty religion.  God certainly would not have been pleased with the pagan practice of human sacrifice.  God wanted something much deeper.  What does the Lord want from God’s people?  How does God want them to live?  What is pleasing to God?  In verse 8, Micah finally answers the questions he raised – God wants people’s hearts.

If Judeo-Christian ethics had to be summed up in a short phrase that could be placed on a button, verse 8 is the verse that fits the bill.  “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”  The ultimate point of this passage is that we should be faithful to the Lord because the Lord is faithful to us.  We show our faithfulness through right ethical actions, not empty religious rituals.  If we want to live a life that pleases the Lord, we must act justly, love kindness, and walk humbly with God.

Now, like the land of Judah in Micah’s day, America is experiencing a time of abundant wealth and prosperity; but our country is plagued by the sins of overconfidence, self-sufficiency, self-indulgence, economic injustice, racism, bigotry, hatred, greed and much more.  Outwardly, many have more money and resources than at any other period in history, yet we have drifted dangerously far from the Lord.  Some people still go to church, but why are they there?  Is it because they really want to worship and live for the Lord, or is it just the habit of empty religion and empty words, with no change in the way people actually live their lives?    

So, what are we to do about it?  How do we change from simply going through the motions to genuinely living for God?  Does our relationship with God entail any expectations?  How can we live a life that truly pleases God?  Well, Micah answers these questions by showing us the three things God wants most: to act justly, love kindness, and walk humbly with God’s very self.  In this answer, the orientation of our expected response is toward both neighbor and God.  This is very clear.

            To act justly means to do what is right and truthful according to God’s Word.  We are each presented with decisions like this all the time.  When we see injustice, will we do something about it and work to bring about change, or will we ignore it and pretend it isn’t happening?  To act justly may mean blowing the whistle on unethical practices at our workplace, in our community or even in the country; it might require calling the authorities on a neighbor who is physically abusing his wife, children or girlfriend; it might mean refusing to laugh at an ethnic joke; it might mean confronting racism and bigotry when we see it.  Justice is something we do.  No concept is more Christian than is the demand for justice. Wherever there are people who face oppression – whether it is political oppression, economic oppression, racial oppression, or whatever form that oppression may take – we are called to raise our voices and do justice.

            In addition to acting justly, we also please God by loving kindness and showing mercy.  There are so many ways we can live showing our love for kindness and mercy.  This is the most basic, minimal requirement of all religion, that we should treat other people as we would like to be treated. It can be as simple as volunteering at a homeless shelter.  But it can also be as difficult as forgiving someone who has wounded you with their words or injured you by their actions.

            These first two requirements emphasize our relationship with people, our horizontal relationships with all others.  But, the third desire of God focuses on our relationship with God.  To walk humbly with God is to live in awe of God, in relationship with God, and live honoring God. 

Friends, we have three jobs: Do justice, Love Kindness, Walk Humbly.  And, living into these ideals enables us to get a glimpse of the kind of world Jesus is talking about in today’s gospel reading, a glimpse of the world as God sees it. This, in the end, is the true goal of our discipleship – to be a part of the vision for the world that Christ already sees as a reality. And when we do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with our God, our very lives and beings become a part of that picture Jesus shares. We will become living depictions of what God’s presence in the world looks like.