Lectionary for Epiphany 4
God has shown us what is good: to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God. Micah 6:8
Collect. Father in heaven, from the days of Abraham and Moses until this gathering of your Church in prayer, you have formed a people in the image of your Son. Bless this people with the gift of your kingdom. May we serve you with our every desire and show love for one another, even as you have loved us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Reading. Micah 6:1-8. Micah was a contemporary of the prophet Isaiah, in fact some of their prophesies have a similar ring, suggesting that God was speaking an important message to both of them. Like Isaiah Micah was concerned that God’s judgement was about to fall on the kingdom of Judah, thus his message urged significant reform. The matters within the society which troubled him were; unfaithfulness towards God leading to immorality and injustice. It is injustice that is being addressed in the short passage for today. In the first part of the reading God is challenging his people. The setting is like a court room and God is the prosecuting counsel, searching for answers from the guilty party, in this case the people of Judah. Micah is trying to focus the people’s attention when he relates that God is demanding an answer when God declares. “Answer me!”
Then the voice changes as the people reflect on their lives and so ask the question, “What shall we do, shall we bring more sacrifices?” The reply comes back, do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God.
We often read these verses as a personal directive and that is quite legitimate; however in the context of Micah the directive is to the whole of society. For us today as we read this passage we need to consider the direction of our society for much of our behaviour does not subscribe to the three rudimentary principles that Micah is advocating. In so many ways we see Christian principles being put aside in favour of easier options. Perhaps we feel that there is little we can do about our societal movement away from a traditional Christian stance, of course that is far from the truth. One of the things we are urged to do as Christians is to pray for our leaders and those in authority.
Another common feature of our society is distain for those in authority, even those who are charged with helping and assisting people in need or trouble. We are called to respect those in authority. This is linked to the understanding that only God is to judge those who have authority for God is in control of all things and we are therefore called to trust him. In God’s economy our need to judge is put aside.
Yet the reading does also challenge us on a personal level for each of us is an important part of our society and so God’s word does place an obligation on us as believers. How we chose to live does make a difference to the way society develops. Long ago a friend of mine used to say, “A drip of water wears away stone!” Not that it is right to think of anyone as a drip but we should never discount no matter how small the influence we have on others as we live our lives acting justly and kindly; always trusting in God to judge and guide. We have to put aside the idea that we can do anything to please God and understand that what he wants from us is our obedience. The way we live needs always to be in keeping with God’s way.
Prayer. Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” (Genesis 18:25.) Gracious Lord. Righteous in all things, we thank you for the wisdom you use to guide your people. We thank you for your mercy and love which surrounds us day by day. We thank you for your protective grace which follows us all the days of our lives. Forgive us when we presume upon your kindness, forgive us when we chose a different path. Fill us with your Spirit that in all things we may chose to walk in obedience with your plan and purpose, not only for our own lives but for the whole future of the world in which we live. Grant that we may live our lives trusting in you and in your way; always looking to Jesus the Pioneer and perfecter of our faith. Trusting in Him may we live at peace with you and with all those we meet. Grant that we may live in the confidence that through Jesus Christ all things are being brought under your control and may we look forward to that day when the kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. Amen (Rev 11:15)
Reading. Matthew 5:1-12. As we read the bible we should always be aware that the chapter and verse separations are not part of the original writings. The chapter divisions were inserted early in the 13th Century and sometimes they have the effect of obscuring the context of what is written. That becomes more obvious when we read the start of chapter 5 of Matthew’s gospel for it clearly links together Jesus’ teaching programme throughout Galilee, which begins way back in verse 12 of chapter 4. Thus, “great crowds followed him”, and “When he saw the crowds” link the verses together. This then makes more sense of the setting for what we call the “sermon on the Mount”. Crowds followed him but Matthew highlights that as he sat down to teach it was disciples who came to hear what Jesus had to say. In the ancient world the teacher sat and those who listened stood, thus being seated was a signal of the teachers authority and gave added importance to what was being taught.
We remember that in Matthew’s gospel “the Twelve” have not yet been chosen. Matthew will report on a large amount of teaching before Jesus selects the twelve who will make up the inner group. (Chapter 10) Here in this passage the disciples were that large group of people who were willing to hear what Jesus had to teach.
The translation I am using says, “Then he began to speak and taught them, saying”… This alerts us firstly to the importance of what Jesus is about to say. The structure of the sentence emphasises that these sayings are of a serious nature. Moreover the sense from the Greek language is that these “sayings”, are sayings he has often taught. The point is, these are not a one off set of sayings they are at the heart of all that Jesus taught and preached. As such they describe the reality of living in God’s kingdom and are linked to each other. Perhaps we might say they influence each other like links in a chain.
The “poor in spirit” are those who know they are not as closely connected to God as they would like to be and thus have a very humble attitude towards themselves. These are the people who look always to God for everything. Jesus says these are the ones who recipients of the Kingdom. Being aware of their longing to be closer to God these are the ones who are comforted. They are comforted because God blesses them and they inherit all that God has. As God’s people they long to see justice prevail and are merciful towards others for they understand the nature of God and work always for peace. Such people do not live as the world lives but have an attitude which reflects both God’s lordship and his nature. They are out of step with the ways fo the world and so are often persecuted for being different. Jesus says of these people that they are blessed. Blessing is often described as “happiness”, a deeper inner quality which brings inner peace and joy that is able to transcend the prevailing circumstances of life. Thus at the core of Jesus’ teaching was the need for us to be centred on God and what he would impart to us. It is the presence of God and our relationship with Him that brings blessing.
Prayer. Holy Lord; through the ministry of Jesus your perfect plan for the salvation of the world was established. By your power the Kingdom of God took shape. In your mercy we pray that we may be true participants in your Kingdom through the merits of your Son Jesus Christ. Create in us a longing to grow ever closer to you and in word and deed may our lives celebrate the goodness of your grace made known to all people through our Saviour Jesus Christ; To you be all honour and glory, now and forever. Amen
Collect. Christ, in your power and wisdom, you take what is nothing and show that God is there. Give us the desire to know you in the riches of your poverty, that we may rise with you, the source of eternal life now and for ever. Amen.
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