This sermon was delivered on Sunday, February 3, 2002.
A few years ago, “what would Jesus do” bracelets were all the rage. Every good Christian had one. I’m sure you remember them, “WWJD” they said. Whenever we had a problem, or a question, we were supposed to look at the bracelet and think, now what would Jesus do. I always thought that there was just a little something wrong with these bracelets, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Recently, Michael Reese, a classmate of mine, helped me figure it out. Those bracelets really should say, WWGHUD. – W.W.G. H.U.D. What would God HAVE US Do? Today’s scripture answers that question. God requires things of us. God requires a response for all we have been given. God wants something from us. The prophet Micah tells us that God does not want our stuff, our burnt offerings, but rather God wants us to do three things: Do Justice, Love Kindness and Walk humbly with our loving Creator.
- We should do Justice. God requires that we practice justice. Justice is not an option; it is a requirement. We live in an unjust world. People die unfairly. The powerful oppress the powerless. Laborers are exploited; governments are corrupt. While we think of justice as a legal term, in the Old Testament, justice refers to the basic needs, requirements, and rights of people living together in community. To do justice means to work for Equality for all people. Let me say that again, to do justice means to work of equality for all people. To practice justice means working to solve the problems in our society that allow people to be oppressed to the point where they are deprived of the basic needs, requirements and rights that allow them to function as part of our community. When F.C.C. put together and delivered Christmas Baskets, we were working for justice. When we support Basic Mission Finance and Week of Compassion, we are working for justice. When we exercise our right to vote, we are working for justice. All people are our brothers and sisters in Christ; we are all members of God’s family. Just as we want the best for our immediate family, we should also want what is best for our adopted family of God. As members of this family, we must do justice. God requires us to practice justice. And we should require it of ourselves
- The second requirement is to love kindness. God requires us to be kind and compassionate. We should nurture kindness in our lives and our relationships. Loving kindness means being committed to a quality of life that is governed by the principles of mutual respect, helpfulness, and loving concern. In the movie, Pay it Forward, Trevor McKinney is given an assignment to come up with some idea that will improve humanity. Trevor decides that he will do one significant favor for each of three people and ask those people to “pay-it-forward” with one favor for three more people. He starts with 3 people, and three acts of kindness. I won’t spoil the ending for those of you who haven’t seen the movie, but suffice it to say that one random act of kindness can have a huge ripple effect. Most people think that indivuals can’t make a difference in the world, and therefore, they don’t even try. But God mandates that we make a difference and demonstrate the power of kindness in our lives, in the lives of our children, and ultimately in the lives of people we have never met. But how do we show each other that we indeed love kindness? Sometimes it’s the little things that make the biggest impact. Send a card to someone “just because”. Pay for the person behind you in the drive through line at McDonalds. Buy lunch for a homeless person. Hug your child, your neighbor, your mother, your brother, your sister, your friend. Hug someone who just looks like they need it. Share a sack of Oreo’s with a child. Say I love You to someone special. Be the rock that starts the ripple, that becomes the wave, that changes the world. As God’s people we are called to live in a community of mutual respect. Kindness is completely necessary in human relationships. God insists that we love kindness.
- God asks us to walk beside our loving Creator. We need to learn to walk humbly with God. "Walking a path" is a common biblical metaphor for living a certain kind of lifestyle. In our more modern context, walking with God means spending time developing and cultivating a relationship with the Author of our being. But the prophet Micah does not just tell us to walk with God, he tells us to walk HUMBLY with our God. Walking humbly means allowing God to pick us up when we stumble. Walking humbly means leaning on God when the road gets a little bumpy. On our ski trip this weekend, the worship service focused on God as our ski poles. When skiing, poles help you keep your balance. If you fall, you need poles to help you get up. You need poles to get on the ski lift and rise to the top of the slopes. On one of our trips up the lifts, Alan Keating lost one of his poles. He stood at the top of the hill and said, “I can’t ski without poles. I’ll fall over”. No, most people can’t ski without poles and shouldn’t even try. No one can truly walk the path of life without God, and no one should try. We need God in our lives. We need to learn to ask for prayers. We need to learn to ask for help. But above asking for these things, is having the strength to be humble. Being humble means being willing to accept the prayers and help we have asked for. Being humble does not mean being weak; rather being humble is a sign of great strength. God gives us our strength. God says, hold my hand, look both ways, and lets cross this street together.
- God gives us everything we need to have a faithful relationship with our loving Creator. If we can do what is required of us, we will have a stronger relationship with God. God does not require burnt offerings or sacrifices. This doesn’t mean that you can stop putting your envelope in the offering plate. But along with your monetary gift to the church, consider what God else god is asking you to do. God does require that we do Justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our Lord. We can do Justice by providing for the basic needs of humanity. Work at Loaves and Fishes, donate to a food bank, go on a mission trip. We can love kindness by helping others. Both the Girl Scout and Boy Scout oaths teach that kindness is important. We can learn from the example of these young people. Finally, we walk humbly with our God when we learn to lean on God as our creator and friend. When we are walking or skiing, running or sleeping, God’s hand is outstretched, waiting for us to come along for the journey.