“Listen to this! It’s God speaking! Are you listening? Here are the requirements. Act justly, love kindness, and be humble. That’s it! It’s that simple. This is the word from God.” The prophet Micah spoke those words, or ones like them. They were true then, they are true now.

Micah is a prophet for the rest of us. He spoke plain truth and did not accept conventional wisdom. Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah and Hosea, who came from the hill country southwest of Jerusalem. He had the perspective of a prophet apart from the seats of power. He was not persuaded that national prosperity meant justice for poor and vulnerable people. He understood the simple requirements of righteousness, and he spelled them out simply and clearly. “God 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) What part of that is too difficult to understand? Act justly, love kindness, and walk humbly with God. It’s as obvious as the nose on one’s face.

The Book of James, as rendered by Eugene Peterson, makes the imperative to act justly very clear. “Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words, but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, ‘Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!’ and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup – where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?” (James 2.14-17)

In our world, as in Micah’s, there is often a disconnect between what is right and what a person does. The prophet knew people in his time were exploiting each other. He knew that political leaders were making alliances with foreign powers which would lead to Israel’s downfall. He knew prosperity was not shared by all people. He knew the religious leaders were worshiping false gods. He also knew that God was speaking to him and telling him to speak truth to power.

When political and religious leaders drift into sin, they often manipulate religious language to suit their needs. Micah said, “For all the people walk each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.” (Micah 4.5) In our time, the very word Christian has been twisted around to exclude anyone who does not follow a very narrow set of doctrines. Anyone who believes differently is judged an unbeliever. All Christians believe that Jesus is God’s son. That’s the basis of our faith. It’s time to reclaim that belief for all of us, and the faith it represents.
Micah says it is the duty of every righteous person to do acts of justice, the same thing James advocated. Justice is fairness and equality of all, especially those who are vulnerable. In our time, justice has been equated with punishment. This is a perversion which cannot be allowed to stand. When justice is done people are not punished, they are treated fairly. When a person acts justly equality is served. It’s as simple as that.

The recurring scriptural theme of justice for poor people is difficult to reconcile with the reality of the world. God’s blessing is for people who are poor and vulnerable, for widows and orphans, for all of those who are marginalised by society. Micah says, “In that day, says the LORD, I will assemble the lame and gather those who have been driven away, and those whom I have afflicted. The lame I will make a remnant, and those who have been cast off, a strong nation, and the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion now and forevermore.” (Micah 4.6-7)

The concept of a faithful remnant of people who persevere in their faith when popular religion blesses wealth and national power also runs throughout scripture. The remnant are not people who go to mega churches or worship wealth. They are people who act justly, show acts of kindness, and walk humbly in their faith. They are never large in numbers, they are mighty in faith.

We know the lame did not become a strong nation in Micah’s time, nor will they in ours. But it is those who limp faithfully in accord with God’s word who carry the faith. It is their voices which speak truth to power although power only wants to speak to power. The faithful also speak to the poor who are still at the margins. The persistence of those who know they are poor but faithful, act as witnesses for God in ways that popular preachers never can. Nelson Mandela spoke truth against the overwhelming power of apartheid from his prison cell in South Africa until the weight of his witness changed that evil system.

New England Congregationalists who advocated the abolition of slavery were not large in numbers nor powerful in the government. They were often chastised for trying to disrupt the prevailing social system and destroy the economy. Congregational churches split over the issue. A number of members of the Second Congregational Church of Biddeford, left their church, and formed a new congregation dedicated to abolishing slavery. They built a brick replica of their former church on Main Street, and called it, “The Temple of Reason.” Years after slavery had been abolished, that church closed and became the McArthur Library, but the abolitionists prevailed because of the justice of their cause. They acted justly, showed kindness, and walked in humble in obedience to God’s word.

It is often demanding of one’s soul to discern the just thing to do. Our General Synod has asked us to honor equality in marriage for all people, including gay people. This is difficult for many Christians to accept. It is a stumbling block for many, because it is not an idea which is discussed rationally. It stirs visceral emotions. It is something Christians should wrestle with no matter what their feelings are about it. It will cause some people to question the meaning of marriage, but it will not threaten marriage. Some will wonder if the United Church of Christ has abandoned its faith traditions. But some will see it as an act of justice and kindness.

We must be very careful how we use the words of our faith. We need to exercise true humility lest we mistake ideology for theology. When the words and symbols of faith are changed to suit ideological goals, it is necessary for prophetic voices to speak for truth. Some religious leaders today, as in Micah’s time, equate wealth with God’s blessing. That is the exact opposite of God’s word throughout scripture. Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt. 5.3) Jesus often mingled with those who were powerful, but he never let one of those occasions pass without teaching a lesson about humility. Micah and Jesus were listening to the same words from God.

Micah, like all the prophets, heard God speaking. He heard God speak the way people today hear God speak, through their hearts. God speaks today to all who will listen. Micah listened and then spoke prophetic words. They were not comfortable words for people to hear, especially for those in power, who believed in their own righteousness. Micah said they had false religion in their hearts and on their lips. He could see where alliances with the Assyrians were leading, – to exile in Babylon.
The leaders of Micah’s time, as do many leaders today, talk themselves into leading people into disasters. They do not listen to God speaking, but to misguided advisors who have their own personal agendas. Micah listened with his heart.

The poor people in our world cry out for justice from the Sudan to Honduras, from Afghanistan to East Timor, from Niger to the hearts of our nation’s cities. Their cries rise to God, who hears them, but do we? Is the noise of our world so loud that we cannot hear, or is it that we do not want to hear, for if we heard we would have to act. The words of the United Church of Christ bumper sticker say, “Those who believe care; those who care do.” It is the doing that is most important. Act justly. God is still speaking.
AMEN

written by
Rev. Carleton Gunn
North Parish Congregational Church
United Church of Christ
Sanford, Maine