neighboring kingdoms- in the north, Israel, and Judah to the south- were prospering and at peace. But in the second half of that century, both nations

Transcription

1 Micah 6:1-8 The Saving Acts of God Around the middle of the 8 th century B.C. in the Middle East, two small neighboring kingdoms- in the north, Israel, and Judah to the south- were prospering and at peace. But in the second half of that century, both nations experienced upheaval, internally- with the short reign of a series of weak kings and palace intrigue, and stresses from outside- as larger countries began to grow powerful and aggressive. With the result that, in a very brief time, Israel fell to the Assyrians, in 722 B.C.- only 20 or so years from stability to ruin. It was during this time that these first prophets wrote and preached, not just during the time of unrest and defeat, but also before, during the days of success and comfort; and left behind writings that still today we read. Amos and Hosea and Isaiah and Micah, God s prophets who did what prophets do: saw deeply into the spirit of the age and brought to light the rottenness within. In chapter 6, Micah gives us the word of the Lord before the dangers had arisen from outside Israel, when seemingly all was calm and life was goodbusiness growing, trade with other nations, and status was quo. But here is what Micah sees, described in verses 10, 11, 12: the merchant with deceitful scales, so that when he measures your grain or meat or weighs the silver you use to pay, it

2 will always be a cheat to his benefit; Micah notes the wealth hoarded into the houses of the evil ones- treasures of wickedness, he calls them; Micah knows that the rich are full of violence, that the people speak lies in order to justify their evil deeds. To the prophet, this is not life or business as usual, it is a spiritual problem, and it will result in God s anger and the destruction of the people; as he tells it in verse 13, the smiting of the Lord is coming; it will not be pleasant. So how to explain such greed and selfishness? A spiritual problem? Perhaps so. In these first verses of our text, God speaks as a prosecuting attorney, or as one party in a legal dispute with the other party, calling for people and for the universe to bear witness that the Lord has a controversy with his people, verse 2. And it centers on this contract between God and the chosen people. Look at the evidence detailing how God has upheld his obligations under the agreement: brought you out of Egypt, redeemed you from slavery, gave you leaders to guide and teach, defeated the enemies who would keep you from your promised home and your national destiny, forgave you those times you went after other gods- like that time in the wilderness at Shittim ; you should know the saving acts of Godit s your history and the basis of your existence as a people; but you don t remember, and that s the beginning of your failure to keep your side of the bargain.

3 So instead of justice and kindness and humility, those key spiritual attributes of verse 8, the people try to make amends the easy way, they focus for example on how big a sacrifice they should offer: something they can measure, something they can boast about. And if it s big enough, it will cover up their violence and greed and their lies; maybe they had convinced themselves, anyway- that s how people think. A big contribution to a charity- that s good publicity, a scholarshipthat s just a few thousand a year, building a community center- gets my name on the structure forever: and I m still the good guy; and they won t notice when I crush the union or ship jobs overseas to avoid taxes and safety regulations. But the word of the Lord is this: that the human half of this contract with God, our part in the covenant- that s the Bible word for it, covenant- is not met by obeying the letter of the law, and not by even extravagant sacrifices or donations, not by giving gifts out of those treasures of wickedness ; but rather remembering what God has done, remembering those saving acts that then must inspire and cause us to do justice and kindness and humility. Of course, we know that obedience to God is never about good intentions, but about our actions. And so we read verse 8 and see these verbs, how God requires that we do and love and walk. And we re correct to understand

4 faith is not just what we think or profess, but what we do. But that isn t the complete story. Because there are amazing nouns connected to these verbs: justice and kindness (which is often translated mercy or love), and humility. These are not simply good things that good people do, not just actions that the most sincere religious people do, or that the best Christians do. These are attributes of God. So the true meaning of verse 8 is not found in the demands of religion or in always striving to do better, or trying to fake it- to look like we re kind, or trying to call attention as we contribute a percentage of our excess treasure. Verse 8 tells us rather, that what God requires of us are God s own attributes in us. And God is pleased only when we are as just and merciful and humble as God is. Uh-oh. Yes, that s impossible. I can t be good enough or holy enough. So should we fake- and try to fool ourselves at the same time? No, here s the key: the covenant. Our relationship with God. That God has called us and has delivered and redeemed and healed and forgiven, in the past and long ago, and every day; that God has promised his love and his presence; that God is with us, and when we remember those saving acts and give thanks for them- that is, when we willingly place ourselves in covenant with God- then we are in the correct relationship with God so that we not only do good acts, but we are being just and kind and humble;

5 that, in covenant, we are in fact returning love to God and giving love to those God is reaching through us. In a real sense, God is saving and redeeming and loving and forgiving the world in us; God is just and merciful and humble through us, by our actions on behalf of others, and by our attitudes about other peoples. And it happens as we maintain a grateful and intimate relationship with God. Let us come now to the Lord s Table and share communion, because truly, here is one way we keep covenant with God. The 23 rd Psalm was Thelma Grammond s favorite scripture, and a few years ago, I don t know if you remember, but I asked the congregation to provide sermon texts for me to preach on: your favorites, or those difficult passages that perhaps troubled you, or passages you hoped would give me trouble. Thelma s funeral on Friday made me want to read this short passage from my sermon of January, 2009, based upon her suggestion of Psalm 23. I think it might help us understand our proper response to God s saving acts on our behalf. There are times when the relationship with God is very close and we know we are perfectly watched over and cared for. But there are also times when dangers threaten and darkness descends- hurts and losses and doubts may confront us. God is there as well, and not just as a friendly shepherd, as a kindly leader, but

6 mighty and powerful, with weapons to defend us and bring us through safely. In our experience, we likely recognize God s protection after the danger has passed; then we realize God s strong love was with us all along. This psalm is very personal, but we are wrong to let it ever become just me and God. There is an important social and communal element, too: think of this feast in verse 5, a table prepared in the presence of my enemies. The table, that calls us to share the kindness and steadfast love of God, but with enemies! And since they are foes and not friends, we should understand better God s great mercy to all people, and the demand upon us to share the Good News of the Good Shepherd with others. So this is the way we dwell in the house of the Lord, as the psalm closes with such assurance: that we live in God s presence- never forsaken- and that we follow our Lord with many other people, so that we pass on to one another the goodness and mercy of this loving Lord who has done everything for us. Isn t this an affirmation of Micah s word of God s requirement: to be just and merciful and humble? Let us commit ourselves to giving thanks for what God has done, and to sharing love with one another.