Kindness

But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah,
   who are one of the little clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
   one who is to rule in Israel,
whose origin is from of old,
   from ancient days.
Therefore he shall give them up until the time
   when she who is in labour has brought forth;
then the rest of his kindred shall return
   to the people of Israel.
And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord,
   in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great
   to the ends of the earth;
‘With what shall I come before the Lord,
   and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings,
   with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
   with tens of thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
   the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?’
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?

I love all forms of asters.

Years after having been raised in the Christian faith, years into bible studies with my peers, years into my own vocation as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ, I heard this passage for the first time. It is the only place I can tell where requirement is used in relationship to God. What does the Lord require of you? And the kicker is that it gives us an answer. It's not a rhetorical question. The prophet MIcah asks it and answers it according to the word of the Lord he has received, in his context, for the people of God at the time.

What does the Lord require of you?
Do Justice
Love Kindness
Walk Humbly

These three things are our requirements as people of God. There is no mention of believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. Of course Jesus hadn't been born yet. There is no mention of believing in Messiah. There is no mention of keeping the commandments or the law. There is no mention of going to church. What does the Lord require of you?

Do Justice
Love Kindness
Walk Humbly

Which of these three is most difficult for you today? For us Presbyterians, "doing justice" is something we talk about all the time. So, I'm playing around with the middle requirement - Love Kindness.

What does it mean for us to love kindness? What kind of life would we lead is kindness was the backdrop of everything we did and said? How would our relationships change if we loved inserting kindness above all else? Would our perspective on life change, and in what way, if we sought out kindness?

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I was reminded of this 80's song by Leslie Phillips that focuses on the beginning of Romans 2, Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgement on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things. You say, ‘We know that God’s judgement on those who do such things is in accordance with truth.’ Do you imagine, whoever you are, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgement of God? Or do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not realize that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

It's always been God's kindness that leads us to repentance. It's always been God's steadfast love that continues to call us into right relationship. This was true for Micah; it is true for us. How might kindness draw us into right relationship one again with God?