Do Justice, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly with God!

Micah, of Moresheth, was a prophet of social justice “in the days of Kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah."   He spoke “the word of the Lord” boldly to “Samaria and Jerusalem.”  (see Micah 1:1)  Micah spoke out against the oppression of common people by both political and religious leaders.  He was a contemporary of Isaiah and their prophecies seem quite similar.  However Micah, coming from a rural area, seemed to have a greater interest in the poor than Isaiah did.  

This week’s lectionary passage, Micah 6:1-8, echoes other portions of scripture that interpret God’s interest in who a person is rather than what a person does … in contemporary terms.    That message is highlighted in one of scripture’s most famous verses, Micah 6:8, through which God says “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?”

John Wesley, in his explanatory notes to the scriptures, unpacks this verse for us.  He says, “God has already told you with what you ought to come …

• To do justly - To render to everyone their due, superiors, equals, inferiors, to be equal to all, and oppress none, in body, goods or name; in all your dealings with men carry a chancery in your own beasts, and do according to equity.  
• To love mercy - To be kind, merciful and compassionate to all, not using severity towards any. 
• Walk humbly with thy God - Keep up a constant fellowship with God, by humble, holy faith.”

As sweet and easy as this verse sounds, I find God’s message through Micah’s words quite daunting.  What does justice and mercy look like today?  What does a humble, holy, and faithful life look like? 

When you are ready to lean into our passage for lectio divina and pray with me, take a few moments to center yourself by engaging in a simple breath prayer like this one (or one that emerges from within yourself) until you are focused on God.

Breathe in ... God of Justice and Mercy 

 Breathe out ... Let me Walk with You 

Then pray for illumination of the text:  God of Justice and Mercy, how often do I wander through life not certain which way to go?  You call me to rise, to listen, and to act on what I hear from you.  So be it.  Amen.

Step 1: Lectio/Reading … Reading
Read Micah 6:1-8 slowly and reverently, letting the words steep in your mind. Perhaps you might imagine yourself listening to a prophetic voice who knows God through his or her own deep prayer life.  Know that you can trust the person who speaks these words to you.  Listen for a word or phrase that catches your attention.  Gently focus on that word or phrase.  Repeat it several times and allow it to be sifted through your heart and mind all the way to your soul.

Hear what the LORD says: Rise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice.  Hear, you mountains, the controversy of the LORD, and you enduring foundations of the earth; for the LORD has a controversy with his people, and he will contend with Israel.  "O my people, what have I done to you? In what have I wearied you? Answer me!  For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and redeemed you from the house of slavery; and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.  O my people, remember now what King Balak of Moab devised, what Balaam son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the saving acts of the LORD."  "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?  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?"  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?

Step 2: Meditatio/Meditation … Receiving
Read the passage a 2nd time ...
Continue to focus on just a word or a phrase (it may be different on this reading)
Pay attention to the thoughts and feelings the passage evokes within you.
What images emerge in your imagination?  What memories come to your mind?
Ask God to continue to speak to you through the word or phrase you've been drawn to.
Listen for God’s voice deepening the message as you move through your day

Step 3: Oratio/Prayer … Responding
Consider any thoughts or feelings or desires that have been awakened.
Perhaps you have found an area of your life that needs attention.
Do not rush ... how are you drawn to respond to God?

Step 4: Contempatio/Contemplative Silence … Resting
Allow yourself to rest in the silence.
Allow your mind to settle into the silence.
Allow your heart and breathe with the silence.
When you feel the time to move on ... pray: 

God of Justice, Mercy, Mountains, and Hills ... speak to my heart and guide me as I listen to your voice and walk with you.  Amen.  

If music is a pathway for you, listen to "Walk Humbly with Your God" sung by Marilla Ness.

Lectio & Labyrinth: Seek the Face of God

“Seeking the face of God in everything, everyone, all the time, and [God’s] hand in every happening; This is what it means to be contemplative in the heart of the world. Seeing and adoring the presence of Jesus, especially in the lowly appearance of bread, and in the distressing disguise of the poor.”   ~ Mother Teresa, In the Heart of the World: Thoughts, Stories and Prayers

  “If a person has nothing but nature, 

then nature is enough to reveal something about God.”  

 ~Max Lucado, Grace for the Moment

Come, my heart says, seek God’s face. Psalm 27:8a

Weaving together the ancient spiritual practices of Lectio Divina with walking the Labyrinth, let us pray with Psalm 27:1, 4-9 as we contemplate seeking the face of God as we pray.  Do you have easy access to a Labyrinth that you could walk?   If not, you can take this Link to a finger Labyrinth that you can download and print: PDF File/Labyrinth.  If you prefer, I'll give you a link below to an online labyrinth within your experience of Lectio.  

 

As we read the lectionary selected verses of Psalm 27:1, 4-9, we remember “The Psalms” as the poetic prayer book of the Jews. We find the Psalms in the Writings of the Hebrew Bible.  Reading closely these verses from Psalm 27, we find held within these beautiful verses of praise and thanksgiving equally beautiful images of God.  In Psalm 27, God is light, salvation, fortress, beautiful, one who inhabits the temple, keeps us safe and hidden and helps us in our distress.  

What are some of the images of God that you hold in your mind, your heart and your soul?  I have heard from many spiritual writers and mystics that we become like the God whom we love.  Is this an insight that disturbs you, gives you pause, or one that makes your heart soar?  Why?

Psalm 27: 1, 4-9 also recounts the response of the Psalmist to God.  God speaks/acts and humanity responds.  These are the movements we experience in Lectio Divina and in walking the labyrinth.  God speaks and we respond.  In our labyrinth walk, we acknowledge our need to prepare our hearts to hear the word of God.  We release on our way in, we listen for God as we pause at the center to receive what God has for us, and we respond on our way out.

When you are ready to move into the text, settle into a place of loving openness within yourself with a simple Breath Prayer.  Use this one or allow one to emerge as you breathe in and breathe out. 

Breathe in ... God, my Light and my Love (Your Name for God)

Breath out ... Let me Gaze upon your Beauty (Name Your Desire)

Pray: Yahweh God, you are my light and my salvation!  The love I feel from you and the love I feel for you grow as I read the bible and learn more about you.  I simply want to be in your presence at all times in my life.  Let me see your face in the face of all people I meet.  Amen.

Read Psalm 27:1, 4-9 as you engage in Lectio Divina, Praying with Scripture.  Allow yourself to be drawn deeply into God’s Presence as you read and pray and listen for the whispers of God.   Allow yourself 

YHWH, you are my light, my salvation— whom will I fear? You are the fortress of my life— of whom will I be afraid? One thing I ask of you, YHWH, one thing I seek: that I may dwell in your house all the days of my life, to gaze on your beauty and to meditate in your Temple. You will keep me safe in your shelter when trouble arises, you will hide me under the cover of your Tabernacle— you’ll set me on a rock, high and out of reach.  Then I’ll be able to hold my head up, even with my enemies surrounding me. I will offer in your tabernacle sacrifices of great joy— I’ll sing and make music to you, YHWH! Hear me when I call, YHWH! Have mercy on me and answer me! You say to my heart, “Seek my face,” and so it is your face I seek!  Don’t hide your face from me; don’t turn your faithful one away in anger. Don’t reject me, don’t desert me, O God of my salvation, for you are my only help. (The Inclusive Bible)

Read this passage again slowly.  Consider where God is calling your attention.   Reflect on just a word or phrase.  Spend time with your word or phrase and listen to the whispers of God through the words that have drawn you into the text ... Listen!    

And walk, or run, or dance ... take your word or phrase onto a Labyrinth, perhaps you could find one at a local church or another venue.  You could use a printed labyrinth or take this link and choose an online virtual labyrinth.   OR ... You might spend some time outside in nature with what you are hearing from God.   Find a place to sit quietly.  Keeping in mind Mother Teresa’s words, you might want to talk a walk down a busy street or drive by an intersection where you often pass by a homeless man or woman holding a sign.  Look into someone’s eyes you normally wouldn’t and seek the face of God.  Some persons find that God's voice is clarified as they walk and move with the Word.  Simply let the Spirit of God guide you and get your body involved in your prayer, reflection, and seeking! 

When you are on your way, turn your word or phrase or image over in your mind. Let God speak into your heart as you listen.  Take time to "Release" anything that emerges that you need to let go of in order to move on in your prayers.

Come to a time of pause … at the center of the Labyrinth or wherever you are.  Take time to "Receive" and welcome God's word for you. Consider these questions or others that may arise in your time of pause:  Where is God speaking into my life through my word or phrase?  How is my prayer life touched by my word or phrase?

 

Before you begin your journey anew from the center or from wherever you are, slowly read the passage again if that seems good to you.   Turn your attention to your word or phrase.  Know that it is ok if you are being drawn in a different direction on this reading!    

Consider how you will "Respond" to what you have heard from God … 

As you walk or move out of the center along the same path you took that brought you to your pause, know that you are gaining strength for your continuing journey of life.  Who is God calling me to see in a new way?  How am I newly being called to seek the face of God?

As you reach the end of the Labyrinth pathway, it is time to Rest in the silence of God's Presence.  Allow God to draw you deeper into the shining sunlight of the Holy Presence and into the prayerful sense of God’s Spirit, ever holding you and loving you.  Let all the words fade away and stay in this lovely place as long as you can. 

Simply BE with the God who always hears your prayers.

Be aware that you may find a desire to express what you have received.  This is a wonderful time to journal.  Write about your experience, thoughts, feelings, and insights.   Some persons find that God’s voice is clarified through the writing process.

If music is a pathway for you as you are seeking God, listen to this beautiful arrangement of harp music, a song called "Seek the Face of God" on youtube, composed by Linda Larkin.  I first found this beauty at a J Philip Newell Conference and on his CD Praying for the Earth, chanted by Suzanne Butler.   Sink into the music and then ... Pray:  Yahweh God, you are my light and my salvation!  You know I run to you when my life overwhelms me.  You know I seek your face when things are rough.  Help me to seek you even when I am managing my life well.  Help me to dwell in your presence wherever I am, in all ways and in all times so that I begin to see your face, every which way I turn.  Help me to see you in nature.  Help me to see you in each person I meet.  I pray in the name of Jesus the Light-Bearer, Amen. 

Called and Chosen to be the Love and Light of God to the World!

Have you ever felt "called."  When did you feel called?  What does it mean to you that you are called?  Called to do what?  Called to be what?  This week we look at the concept of "call" through the eyes of the Jewish Community told through the "prophet" Isaiah.  The school of Isaiah prophets who have woven together the book of Isaiah lived through a tumultuous time in Jewish history.  The Jerusalem temple had been destroyed in 586 BCE and the people had been carried into exile to the land of Babylon.  The people are captive.  Are they still God’s people?  Without a temple how do they keep their faith and worship God?   They were in crisis and so strongly identified as “God’s People,” they must have been asking themselves many questions, such as “Who am I?”

 

Have you ever been in a community who was in the midst of natural disaster?  After Hurricane Katrina, I drove down the street and saw mounds and mounds of carpet at the curb in front of house after house after house.  It occurred to me that these were not just scraps of soggy carpet, these were people's lives laying on the street.  My heart broke.  "Where are you God?"

 

Have you ever been in such a crisis that you have questioned your faith in God?  If so, then approach this reading as a sign of hope and remember how the roots of your faith grew deeper through your experience!   If not, then spend a few moments preparing your heart to journey with others who have experienced crisis of faith.  When you are ready to sink into the text and listen with ears attuned to the situation of the returning exiles seeking the Presence of God, breathe deeply and pray a Breath Prayer.  You can use this one or allow one to emerge from within yourself.  

 

Breathing in ... God of Restoration
Breathing out ... Strengthen my faith in You

When you are ready to enter the narrative through Lectio Divina, pray ... God of Restoration, we are called but when times get rough it can be hard to grasp.  It sometimes doesn't feel good to be called because it's hard to understand what that means.  Send your light, fill my community, and let us be a modern light for others.  Amen.

 

Step 1:  Read Isaiah 49:1-7 (Priests for Equality. The Inclusive Bible) slowly and reverently ...What word, or phrase calls for your attention in your reading?  Spend a few moments pondering how God may be inviting you through this word or phrase ... 

 

Islands, listen to me! Pay attention, distant peoples! YHWH called me before I was born, and named me from my mother’s womb.  God made my mouth a sharp sword, and hid me in the shadow of the hand of the Most High. The Almighty made me into a sharpened arrow, and concealed me in God’s quiver.The Holy One said to me, “You are my Servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”  I had been thinking, “I have toiled in vain, I have exhausted myself for nothing!”— yet all the while my cause was with YHWH, and my reward was with my God.  Thus says YHWH, who formed me in the womb to be God’s Servant, who destined me to bring back the children of Jacob and gather again the people of Israel:  “It is not enough for you to do my bidding, to restore the tribes of Leah, Rachel, and Jacob and bring back the survivors of Israel; I will make you the light of the nations, so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”  Thus says YHWH, the Redeemer of Israel, the Holy One, to the one deeply despised, the one abhorred by nations, the one enslaved by despots: “Rulers will stand when you walk in the room and court officials will pay homage because of YHWH, who is faithful, because of the Holy One of Israel, who chose you.”

Step 2:  Read your selection again and Reflect ...
How does your word or phrase from this passage illuminate your life or the life of your community right now?  How is God inviting you to change or grow or pray or act?

Step 3:  Read your selection again and Respond ...
What do you say to God about your life and how you feel you are being called?   How do you pray when you consider what God is saying to you?

Step 4:  Rest ...
Come to a place of silence within yourself and just "be" with God.  Try for 10 minutes or beyond ... When you are ready to move on,  pray:

God of all Nations, you are the light of the World.  May I be your servant, a reflection of your love and light to all people.  Amen.

 

 If music is a pathway for you, you might enjoy this children's choir signing "Light to the Nations."

Baptism of Christ

Baptism.  One of the two Protestant sacraments, the other one being Eucharist, or Communion.  A sacrament is a sign of God's "Self-giving" Love, an outward sign of an inward grace.  To know more about baptism, take this link to Baptism: Chuck Knows Church on Youtube, a humorous yet quite informative video produced by General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church. 

When you stop laughing you may be ready to lean into our passage for lectio divina and pray with me.  Take a few moments to center yourself by engaging in a simple breath prayer (6-8 syllables) like this one (or one that emerges from within yourself) until you are focused on God.

Breathe in ... Spirit of God (pause)
Breathe out ... Call me Beloved (pause)
 

Then pray for illumination of the text:  Beloved God, as I read and meditate on your Word, fill me with love and light that I might envision the life you call me to live.  Amen.

The Underground Baptismal Font At Chartres Cathedral © 2008 Cindy Serio

 Step 1: Lectio/Reading … Reading
 

Read Matthew 3:13-17 slowly and reverently, letting the words steep in your mind.   On this first reading, listen with all of your senses.  Let the passage play out in your mind like a film unfolds.  What do you see?  What do you hear?  What can you smell?  What can you taste?  What can you touch and feel?    Allow your senses to lead you into the text.

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented.  And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.  And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."

Step 2: Meditatio/Meditation … Receiving

Read the passage a 2nd time ... Listen for a word or phrase that catches your attention.  Gently focus on that word or phrase.  Repeat it several times and allow it to be sifted through your heart and mind all the way to your soul. Pay attention to the thoughts and feelings the passage evokes within you.
What memories come to your mind?  Ask God to continue to speak to you through the word or phrase you've been drawn to.   Listen for God’s reply as you move through your day

Step 3: Oratio/Prayer … Responding

Read the passage a 3rd time ... Consider any thoughts or feelings or desires that have been awakened.
Perhaps you have found an area of your life that needs attention.
Do not rush ... how are you drawn to respond to God?

Step 4: Contempatio/Contemplative Silence … Resting

Allow yourself to rest in the silence.
Allow your mind to settle into the silence.
Allow your heart to beat with the silence.
Allow your soul to breathe with the silence
When you feel the time to move on ...

Pray:  Thank you, my Beloved God, for calling me Your beloved child, for loving me and speaking to my heart through this passage.  Amen.  

Remember Your Baptism and Be Thankful!  Created April 2010 by Cindy Serio