Word to the Wise
Monday, July 19, 2010 - Monday in the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
[Micah 6:1-4, 6-8 and Matthew 12:38-42]You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: only to do the right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God. [Micah]
The prophet Micah gives us one of the most sublime and concise summaries of the Old and New Testament in these brief words! An older translation has it as: To act justly, to love tenderly, and to walk humbly with your God. If one considers what Jesus speaks of as the two most important commandments of the law - love of God and love of neighbor - one finds these commandments contained in Micah's words! We don't have to look far to see how the lack of justice, love and faith has led to destructive wars and the oppression of entire populations of people! That we can find every day in the newspapers or other media! We don't have to look far to find how the lack of justice, love and faith in our own lives can lead us to behavior that is harmful to others and ourselves! Given these realities, why did the People of Israel ignore the prophetic message? History shows what happened as a result. Why do WE ignore the prophetic message? Present day events are showing us how destructive we can be. This would all sound terribly gloomy if we concentrated solely on our failure, but we can always enjoy the fruits of justice, love and faith if we turn our hearts to it. The choice is ours to make! What will God and history say of us? AMEN