Micah 6 (NRSVue)
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?
7 Will 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?”
8 He 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?
Devotion to God is made known in building community, not performed compliance.
Here are some questions for discussion:
1. In this week’s message Pastor Trey uses the phrases “performed compliance” and “performative exploits” to describe behaviors that do not reflect the message in Micah. How might these phrases help us to see how such behavior falls short of what God truly asks of us? How does this idea of a performance detract from or mask the true essence of our behavior? How does acting a way actually prevent us from being more than that?
2. Can you think of some examples of ways in which the church confuses charity with justice? Why is charity so much easier for the church than justice? Upon whom does the burden fall to change this? The pastors? Elders? Parishioners?
3. Jesus came to show us the way, as disciples we are called to follow that example so that others may learn from us as we have learned. Pastor Trey shows us that the word translated as “kindness” also means “mercy.” When that is added to the recipe, what kind of impact does that have on those we find difficult to be kind to? What does mercy look like in our lives? Near the end of the message we hear about how we are called to build community with Jesus in the middle. How are we each building community? How do we sometimes stand in the way of building that community?
If you’d like to dig a little deeper, consider the following:
1. In many ways, spelling test scores are not the indicator of our character that our dutiful completion of chores represent. Why do we find ourselves constantly striving for accomplishments or results that don’t reflect justice, love of kindness, and a humble walk with God? When you find yourself in such a place what do you do to course correct?
2. Justice over charity is an easy concept to pick up during a major election cycle or immediately after a major crisis, but what about all those days in between? Much has been made of the fatigue we feel when inundated with negative events and crises, how do we faithfully continue doing more than charity feels so daunting and unrewarding
3. What is it about justice that is so important to spreading the message? How does the love of kindness and a humble posture help partner with justice to make a difference today? How is such an effort not aligned with society today? How does this stark contrast between the message in Micah and society today impact our efforts?
4. Going all the way back to the story of Cain & Abel we find offerings as a central focus in many stories. Why do we struggle with this concept of offerings and obedience still? Why do some stories fall short where others don’t? What do the following verses say about the offerings, and why do we miss this so often? “6 The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why do you look so resentful? 7 If you do the right thing, won’t you be accepted? But if you don’t do the right thing, sin will be waiting at the door ready to strike!” (Genesis 4:6-7)
For further contemplation, consider these prompts:
1. To quote the message, “[she] loved me too much to punish me for what I didn’t know, instead she came to where I was to show me the way.” How does a mother’s mercy help us grow as people? How does it show us how much we are loved?
2. Compare the words from Genesis 4:6-7, Micah 6:6-8, and this week's message. What consistent point is shared with all three? How might this fit with the recurring theme in the second half of Matthew 5? “You have heard it said, but I say to you…”?