Good Afternoon. This is the third time today that I’ve tried
to write this.
I admit that sometimes my meditations
may sound “preachy,” but the reading from Micah in today’s lectionary is about
preaching – in part. Like many a prophet
Micah didn’t think that the people were really interested in hearing his
message as he tried to call them back to God.
That was the primary purpose of prophets. They weren’t fortunetellers or soothsayers
who predicted the future. They were
people who pronounced the word of God, the will of God, and tried to call God’s
people back to obedience. The message of
the prophets – all the prophets – was to remind the people that what God
expected of them was the humble pursuit of justice and mercy within their
society and in their relationships with other nations.
Time and again the people who were
supposed to obey the Lord, ignored God’s commands and reduced their
relationship with God to one of hollow, ritual religious observance. In commerce and government greed and
corruption were the order of the day, and mercy and justice were thrown aside. In
the first part of today’s reading Micah mocks their complaints against him: “‘Do not preach’—thus they preach— ‘one
should not preach of such things; disgrace will not overtake us.’” In other words he tried to warn them that
their behavior would bring them disgrace and ruination, and they didn’t want to
hear it. They let their neighbors set
their moral and ethical standards instead of following the precepts set down
for them by the Lord.
Then Micah talks about the kind of preaching that they seem
to want to hear: “If someone were to go about uttering empty falsehoods, saying,
‘I will preach to you of wine and strong drink’, such a one would be the
preacher for this people!”
Have things changed much?
I don’t think so. The Gospel of
Jesus Christ will turn your life around if you let it come into your
heart. You will live a life marked with
humility focused on justice and mercy.
You won’t espouse the greedy selfishness that marks the “followers” of
Ayn Rand or the prosperity Gospel.
You’ll understand that the Ten Commandments are not meant to be
something to post on a schoolroom wall or a courthouse door but are meant to be
written on your heart as God’s advice to you on how to live your life in His
will.
There’s an old saying among preachers: we are called to comfort the afflicted and
afflict the comfortable! If your faith
hasn’t challenged your life lately, then perhaps you need to examine your
faith. If the preaching you are
listening to doesn’t challenge your life but merely affirms that your social or
economic success is a mark of God’s blessing so just keep on as you always
have, then perhaps you too would like to have the preacher “preach to you of
wine and strong drink.” The Gospel of
Jesus Christ calls us to discipleship, and entering onto the road of
discipleship is a journey unlikely to affirm the status quo.
As Micah (as well as every other prophet) says later in his
writings: “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God. [6:8]” Justice. Mercy. Humility. Those things
don’t fit into the popular philosophy of Ayn Rand. Those things are irreconcilable with
egocentric self-interest. In the words
of Psalm 72 we need to “defend the cause of the poor of the people, give
deliverance to the needy. [Ps. 72.4]”
Let us pray: Merciful
Lord, give us the heart and the wisdom to turn back to You. Remind us that our fulfillment and Your glory
come together in those times when we humbly pursue justice and mercy for all
Your children. Forgive us Lord, and
grant us strength and perseverance for the journey of discipleship. Amen.
Today’s readings are Micah 2:1-13; Acts
23:23-35; Luke 7:18-35; Psalm 119:145-176 and Psalms 128,
129 & 130.
Blessings.
Pastor Jim
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