Word to the Wise
Monday, July 20, 2020 - Monday in the 16th Week in Ordinary Time
[Mic 6:1-4, 6-8 and Matt 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]
There are some moments in the prophetic literature in the Old Testament that seem to stand out, at least to me, above others. Micah 6:8 has always been one of those.for me, so much so that I put it on one of the commemorative cards I presented at my ordination to the priesthood. The translation I used at the time (1971) was the original Jerusalem Bible English translation (1966), which is not the current way as quoted above. It said, "Act justly, love tenderly, and walk humbly with your God." I have quoted that to many an engaged couple as a good way to think about their marriage! Faith, love and justice go together to sum up the right relationships between humans and with God.
The verses just before that line show how many in Micah's time thought they should behave toward God. The emphasis is on sacrifice and worship, but Micah, like so many of the prophets, moves the emphasis to love and justice. What should mark a Jew and Christian is not how they worship, but how they treat one another and how they relate to God: love of God and neighbor! Worship should spring from that. The "Final Judgment" scene in Matthew 25:31-45 is a graphic reminder that what we do to our neighbor, we do to God! Micah is a good reminder to us of this fundamental truth. AMEN