Trinity Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Sermons 

Title: "Course Requirements"

Text: Micah 6:1-8

So why are we hearing about Micah today, on the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time in Year A? Why not next Sunday?

As some of you may remember, three years ago – when last we were in January of year A of the Lectionary cycle – Julie and I preached a series of sermons on First Corinthians rather than on the Gospel texts. And, to make matters worse for the prophet Micah, next week we have the Beatitudes from Matthew chapter 5 as the Gospel text. What, then, to do with the prophet? We decided to modify the Lectionary sequence and move up him to this morning. We encourage you to listen carefully to the prophet this morning and then be here next Sunday morning to hear how Jesus transformed the traditional ideas of the prophets into a new understanding of justice and mercy.

That said, let us go back to the eighth century BCE, when a man called Micah (whose name is a shorter version of "Micaiah," which means "Who is like [Yahweh]?) appears in the Biblical record. At the beginning of the short book named after this man, we learn virtually all that we know about this prophet:

The word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem (Micah 1:1).

Historically, it seems likely that Micah’s work as a prophet took place just before the fall of the Northern Kingdom in 722 BCE and continued through the period of the Assyrian invasions during the rest of that century. Some support for this chronology comes from a passage in Jeremiah 26:18, written a century later:

Micah of Moresheth, who prophesied during the days of King Hezekiah of Judah, said to all the people of Judah: 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height.

The late eighth century BCE in which Micah lived was a time of war and threats from outside forces. It was a period of great economic uncertainty and hardship for many people, especially the rural peasants and the urban poor. The leaders of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah spent vast fortunes on armies and armaments as they tried, without success, to deal with external threats. After the fall of the Northern Kingdom, thousands of refugees came to the southern kingdom (Judah) and its capital city, Jerusalem. Thus, the situation in the south worsened in the last two decades as people from across the border streamed into the cities and countryside.

Micah raises a number of important theological issues. In the first half of the book, we hear through the prophet that God knows the sins of the chosen people. The people, and especially their leaders, will be held accountable for their misdeeds. Like reading aloud a legal brief, the prophet laments the impending doom and condemns the rulers, the priests, and the false prophets who caused the mess in which the nation finds itself. Listen to these words from Chapter 3:

Listen, you heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel! Should you not know justice?-- you who hate the good and love the evil, who tear the skin off my people, and the flesh off their bones; who eat the flesh of my people, flay their skin off them, break their bones in pieces, and chop them up like meat in a kettle, like flesh in a caldron. (3:1-4).

The prophet certainly doesn’t pull any punches! In fact, he makes our present-day talking heads, whether on the left or right of the political spectrum, sound like a bunch of wusses!

And, unlike our present-day prophets of doom and gloom, Micah goes on to offer words of hope to the people. The possibilities for peace and harmony among the peoples of the world are to be found even in the worst of times:

He shall judge between many peoples, and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more . . . (4:3-4).

When we finally arrive at chapter 6 of the book of Micah, the prophet demonstrates the complexity of the relationship between the people and their God. In this closing section, judgment and hope are in constant tension. As we heard earlier this morning in our Old Testament lesson, Chapter 6 begins with the Lord making a covenant lawsuit, a legal case against the people and their leaders for failing to abide by their covenant with God. To make the case stronger, and even more one-sided, the prophet recites the legacy of good deeds that God has done for the people over many generations. The prophet declares, on behalf of God:

"O my people, what have I done to you? In what have I wearied you? Answer me! For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and redeemed you from the house of slavery; and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. . . ." (6:3-4).

God continues to speak through the prophet, with pain manifest in his voice, pleading for the people to awaken from their disobedience. The prophet wonders what limits – even including the sacrifice of a first-born son – we have to reach to satisfy the Lord’s demands upon us, saying:

"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 ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" (6:6-7)

The chapter ends with what surely is the best known question/answer exchange in Micah, if not among all the prophets:

What does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (6:8)

There is no beating around the bush here, no misdirection, no ambiguity. Micah speaks directly and clearly. This ancient "soundbite" has survived the ages and become known far beyond its prophetic source.

Reflecting on this simple question and answer, I could not fail to notice a parallel to what happens every year on the first day of classes at SMU, where I labor in the teaching field. Without fail, on the first day of class at least one student arrives about 15 minutes late, breathlessly whispering to all in range a myriad of excuses for being late. Within a few minutes of arriving, this same student is certain to raise a hand to ask: "What are the requirements for this course?"

Then, after class, such a student will try a more subtle question. It usually goes like this, "Professor Kemper, I heard what you said in response to my question during class, but what I really want to know is, ‘What are the real course requirements to get an ‘A’ in this course?’

This question is usually followed by one of two explanations. In the old days, it went like this, "You know, I really need an ‘A’ grade in this course so that I can pledge the sorority my mother used to be in. Otherwise, mother is going to be so devastated."

These days, I often hear something like this: "You know that I am a pre-med and I must maintain an ‘A’ average in order to get admitted to Harvard Medical School."

At this point, I attempt to explain what the words in the course syllabus mean. For example, if the requirement is "a course paper of 15 pages length comparing two books listed on the course website," I explain that it means what it says – the student must select two books from the list in order to receive full credit, much less an "A" grade. And so it goes with such a student, from the first day to the last day of the semester – and sometimes even longer, if the final grade turns out to be below the coveted "A" level. Even after the final exam, such a student will come around to inquire, "Isn’t there some extra credit project I could do to earn a few more points – and thus achieve the grade of ‘A’ I need." It takes my breath away!

The prophet Micah is here with us this morning to make absolutely clear the requirements in the course called "Life." The requirements are simple, straightforward, and only three in number: (1) do justice; (2) love kindness; and (3) walk humbly with your God. What could be easier! If only the people of God weren’t always trying to find a way to weasle their way through the course.

Let’s take a quick look at these course requirements. First, "justice" is to be done. It is not enough to contemplate it, think about it, or even believe in it. In the same way that the student in my class actually must write a 15 page paper on the assigned topic to receive full marks, the prophet Micah declares that it is required for God’s people to do justice. The corollary also is clear: Don’t do injustice!

While doing justice and avoiding injustice seem straightforward, the second requirement is a bit more subtle. To "love kindness" (as the Hebrew word is translated in the RSV and the NRSV) is often rendered as "love mercy" (as in the NIV). This Hebrew word may also be translated as "steadfast love" or "lovingkindness." This is a very common word in the Scriptures, but its full range of ancient meanings is difficult to equate with a single modern English word, because its meanings span a wide range of affect and emotion from love and loyalty to faithfulness.

It may seems odd that this second requirement does not say "do kindness." It simply demands that we "love kindness." But this love is not passive or distant. To "love kindness," means being involved in the active pursuit of steadfast love and mercy.

The last requirement is even more curious than the second. In ancient times the idea of walking with God was simple enough. Life was thought of as a pilgrimage – literally, a walk – with an ever-present God. Those among us who believe in the wisdom of the saying, "It’s not the destination that matters; it’s the journey that counts" can appreciate the requirement to "walk . . . with your God."

What may be hardest for some of us is the "humbly" part. Frankly, I cannot imagine walking "proudly" or "arrogantly" with God, although perhaps you know someone – or some nation – that might be capable of it.

For nearly all of us – unless, perhaps, we were born with the proverbial silver spoon in our mouth – "Life" is a hard course. There is are a lot of exercises to master, a lot of paperwork, and it never seems to let up. Even the so-called holidays can be real tests! And just to make it more challenging, a lot of the requirements go beyond our own abilities. We have to learn to work with others rather than just depending on ourselves.

Ultimately, if we can remember "to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God," we will reflect to all who see us that we are God’s people. And, when it comes time for each of us to face our individualized final exam in the course called "Life," we will be able to say that, with God’s help, we did our best to satisfy the course requirements.

Amen.

© 2005 Robert V. Kemper (e-mail: rkemper@trinitypresdallas.org)