doing justice

Good evening friends,
I just came home from a truly energizing and challenging evening about educating traumatized children and youth. Truly the challenges of caring for our kids and families, especially in a city like ours with high rates of poverty and violence are serious. The good news is that we are not alone. There are great folks in the schools, churches and other community organizations who are making a difference. Whatever you love doing, God can use you to help our community. We'll talk more about that Sunday. In the meantime, I'd invite you to pray for our kids, parents, teachers and school staff.

Our reading fits right in. God isn't most concerned about our worship or our offering; God is most concerned with our attitude and our action. It doesn't get much more simple than the way Micah puts it. May we take the next step in love and humility.
God bless,
Sam

Micah 6:6-8

⁶“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? ⁷Will 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?” ⁸He 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?

Ramadan

Good morning sisters and brothers,
Today our Muslim brothers and sisters begin the holy month of Ramadan, a time dedicated to fasting, charity, prayer and reading the Qu'ran. As you may know, my brother and sister in law have long been passionate about peace and justice in Yemen. During Ramadan the Yemen Peace Project, an organization they helped start, encourages people who are fasting to donate the money they would have spent on food to people in need in Yemen. For those of us who are not fasting, we can also participate by skipping a meal each week and donating the proceeds. There's more information about the program here; fasting of any kind can be helpful in reminding us of God's blessings and of the struggles many people around the world face.

Our passage for today is a strange one that illustrates the near chaos Israel faced at the end of the time of the Judges. It also reminds us that for many people in early Israel there may not have been a clear division between God and idols. The same can be true today: our spiritual ancestor John Calvin wrote that the human mind is a factory for idols. An idol is anything that threatens to take God's place. Sometimes even things like the Bible or a church building can become idols if they become our focus rather than a way to connect with God.

Blessings on your day,
Sam

Judges 17:1-6

There was a man in the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah. ²He said to his mother, “The eleven hundred pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse, and even spoke it in my hearing, —that silver is in my possession; I took it; but now I will return it to you.” And his mother said, “May my son be blessed by the Lord!” 

³Then he returned the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother; and his mother said, “I consecrate the silver to the Lord from my hand for my son, to make an idol of cast metal.” ⁴So when he returned the money to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver, and gave it to the silversmith, who made it into an idol of cast metal; and it was in the house of Micah. ⁵This man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and teraphim, and installed one of his sons, who became his priest. ⁶In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes.