So Much More than a Sacrifice

Micah 6:8. Familiar words. “What does the Lord require of you? To do justice, and love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.” All 613 commandments boiled down to 3 rules of life. I’ve seen it painted, calligraphied; I’ve heard it sung and quoted. I’ve heard it used as a way to say, “God doesn’t really want any more than for you to do good things, and be nice, and wear a cross around your neck.” I’ve heard it interpreted as saying God doesn’t expect sacrifices from us; God just wants us to walk with him.

Presbyterian pastor Angela Ying says about this verse, “I must confess that I have been troubled by how the church has all too often taken the poignant and radical words of Micah, …, and makes the words come out sweet, breathy, as if at any moment we expect music from a violin. And though I may be mistaken, when I read the book of Micah, he is not a happy camper.”

When we don’t pull Micah 6:8 out of context and hang it as an encouraging word on our kitchen wall, and instead we read it in the context of Micah’s whole prophecy, this verse challenges and admonishes us.

So, let’s put it back into context: The prophet Micah lived around 700 years before Jesus was born. The Northern Kingdom, Israel, fell to Assyria in 722. The Southern Kingdom, Judah, where Jerusalem is, had not fallen. And some Southerners felt really good about that. In fact for quite some time, life has been like livin’ on Easy Street in the Southern Kingdom. The economy is strong. Crime is low. Threats from other nations and people have been minimal, and the people are well-controlled. For nearly 50 years, God’s people have lived in relative peace and prosperity. People go to Jerusalem and make their sacrifices. God is happy. Priests are happy. Politicians are happy. Businessmen are happy.

So, why isn’t Micah a happy camper? Why would Micah prophesy that the Lord is coming from his dwelling place, planning disaster against his people to destroy the cities of the land and tear down all their strongholds? What is going on? Why is God saying, “Stand up and plead your case?” Why is the Lord making a case against his people?

Because Easy Street has come at a price. Prophets, priests, and rulers are all available for purchase. During this 50 years of not being engaged in wars with other nations, the prosperity of landowners and religious and political leaders has grown. And so have their corruption and abuse of power, their oppression of the poor, dishonest business practices, and bribes. They have taken advantage and used their positions for profit. So Micah is not a happy camper because, even though the Southern Kingdom did not fall, it wasn’t because God was happy. God is not happy.

The tension in the words Micah speaks is palpable. You know that conversation that happens when a child forgets that they are the child and the parent is the parent? “My people, just what have I done to you? How have I burdened you? Answer me. I have done so much for you. You were slaves and I brought you out of Egypt. I sent Moses and Aaron and Miriam to lead you. Remember?”

They have forgotten. They have forgotten that what they have is a gift. They have forgotten being slaves and what it was like to be forced to make bricks all day in the hot sun. They have forgotten the struggles that they once faced. They built a Temple and put God in it. They come to visit. They buy sacrifices to purchase God’s favor and to cover for their sins. They have forgotten what God has done for them. They have forgotten about having a relationship with God. And now their question is just “What is it that God wants?” “How can we keep God happy?”

God knows they just see coming to the Temple as bargaining with God. It is as if they approach asking, “What do you want, God? Would a pigeon be too small? A burnt offering, consume it all so there’s not even something to eat afterward? Tell you what – how about a calf? You know, you can sacrifice a calf at 8 days old…but wait, how about a year old? Not enough? How about thousands of rams? King David offered a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs. Ten thousand rivers of oil? I mean, really, how much do you want, God? Everything? My firstborn? You want a human sacrifice?”

Michael Williams is a pastor and a storyteller. He suggests that “Perhaps when we cry out to God – What do you want from us? – we already know the answer. We almost wish there was no answer, or we wish the answer wasn’t quite so simple. And we wish that living out the very simple answer was not quite so difficult.

The Lord has told you what is good, and what the Lord requires of you. It is so much more than sacrifice. You are invited to walk humbly with your God. Walking is a Biblical metaphor for life journey. You are invited to live your life remembering who God is and who you are as God’s child, made in God’s image, and to embrace that identity. Throughout Hebrew Scripture, we see that God is both mishpat and hesed. Just and loving. Walking with God, living life as God’s child, requires that we work for what is mishpat and hesed, just and loving.

We are required to be mishpat, people whose judgment is justice that sets things right. It’s not easy. It isn’t easy to look at people and situations and see them the way God sees them. It is messy and complicated. It is confusing and time-consuming and risky, and it can be overwhelming. It is easier to just look on the surface and see “I haven’t oppressed anyone” and give ourselves a passing grade on justice. But God’s justice is more than that. It requires us to listen and to speak and to build relationships that can effect change. No one of us can take it all on. But each of us can take on a part of establishing justice. What is your call to do justice? Is it to work at St. Theresa House with recovering victims of human trafficking? Is it to tutor refugee children through Refugee Empowerment? Is it to volunteer at the HUB and equip homeless people with access to mental healthcare and opportunities to work? Is it to write letters to our congressional leaders – 31 of whom right now are Presbyterian – and encourage them to act justly in their legislation? Is it to invite a black or Muslim or immigrant or marginalized colleague or acquaintance to lunch and ask how they are doing and really listen? Do justice. It is what God requires.

And be hesed. Hesed is a hard word to translate into English. Hesed is a word that wraps up the ideas of loyalty and dependability with mercy and loving and kindness. We are to be people of dependable, merciful loving-kindness, even toward people that are hard to love. Hesed is love that is shown unconditionally and loyally, love that isn’t earned or deserved, kindness that seeks ways to do the gentle and the good. Beyond the volunteer hours, beyond the advocacy letters, beyond the lunch, beyond the duty of justice, hesed requires us to align our heart with God’s.

Perhaps we should hang Micah 6:8 on our kitchen wall and ask ourselves, “With what shall I come before the Lord? What will please God?” For you and me to remember that God wants more than anything to walk beside us along life’s journey. For us to remember that God is God and we are God’s children, made in God’s image. For us to let the image of God flourish in us borne out in acts of justice by hearts filled with love.