 A note from the Pastor 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? – Micah 6:8 Micah was writing during a tumultuous time: the northern kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrian Empire, and it looked like the southern kingdom of Judah would soon be next. There was violence, uncertainty, division, and anxiety abounding. After the news stories that have dominated this past month – stories of violence, division, and injustice – I cannot help but think of these words of guidance given during a similar period in history. When the world is dangerous, we may be tempted to close ranks and retreat to the comfortable and familiar. Yet in this verse we see that God did not rile up the people in defensiveness or aggression, nor did God give them over to complacency or fear. God instead provided them, and us, with a radical command to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God. Make no mistake, it is a radical act of resistance to the world to not be overcome by its ways of cynicism, division, and violence. To do justice, love kindness, and walk in humility is ultimately to trust in their validity, to trust that God will vindicate all that we do out of justice, kindness, and humility. To do these things is not only to resist the world, but it is to show another way that the world could be. We can be an example of a different and better way of being. Rather than closing ranks, this is a posture of openness; openness to one another even amid differences as well as openness to the community around us. May we, in these tumultuous days, extend open arms to one another and the community around us. Rev. Morgan Byars Annual Charge Conference will be held on Sunday, October 5, @ 11:45 AM
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