Good morning…
As we met on Sunday to discuss the first five chapters of Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, we discussed the central Bible verse, highlighted here in various translations.
Micah 6:8 – English Standard Version
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness,[a] and to walk humbly with your God?
Footnotes
a. Micah 6:8 Or steadfast love
Micah 6:8 – New International Version
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly[a] with your God.
Footnotes
a. Micah 6:8 Or prudently
Micah 6:8 – The Message
But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what GOD is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don’t take yourself too seriously—take God seriously.
Micah 6:8 – Amplified Bible
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you except to be just, and to love [and to diligently practice] kindness (compassion), and to walk humbly with your God [setting aside any overblown sense of importance or self-righteousness]?
Revealing a mysterious overlap, one friend shared the words of wisdom brought to life in the Episcopal lectionary for the day.
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SUNDAY, January 29 – The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
Micah 6:8 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?
One of my nun friends says that false humility and pride are merely two sides of the same coin. True humility is to know the reality of how God made you: neither better nor worse than anyone else. It reminds me of the famous story about Rabbi Simcha Bunim, who taught that we should all walk around with two pieces of paper in our pockets. One reads, “the world was created just for me,” while the other reads, “I am but ashes and dust.” Wisdom is learning when to read which slip of paper.
It is no accident that the prophet today pairs walking humbly with doing justice and loving kindness. Micah first addresses us as mortals: human beings made in the image of God, out of mere dust but made alive through God’s very breath. We are thus invited into God’s plans for the whole universe: justice and loving-kindness. Each of us is called to share in this work in our own way and context. None of us can do our part without others or God’s grace.
MOVING FORWARD: In light of Rabbi Bunim’s story, which piece of paper do you need to read today?
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Does my selfish pride need to read, “I am but ashes and dust?” Does my beat-myself-up false self need to read, “The world was created just for me?” Might I center myself down into true humility as I walk into this day with God?
- I am neither better nor worse than anyone else.
- I am made in God’s image, just like everyone on earth, a creative concoction of mere dust and God’s very breath.
- In our own way, each and every day, we are all invited to share in God’s plan for the whole universe: justice and loving-kindness.
So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t (Romans 12:5, MSG).
…Sue…
