"With what shall I come before the Lord? What is good, and what does the Lord require of me. To Act Justly, To love kindly, and to walk humbly with God"
Micah
If you have ever visited St. John XXIII Church, you may have noticed a banner over the choir area of the church with this particular quote from the sixth chapter of the prophet Micah.
Too often in church life, we impose expectations on ourselves and others that often go far beyond what is necessary or acceptable. One of the root causes of this is that we get so caught up in what we are doing that we forget the real reason as to why we are doing it. And worse still, we become quite indigent if someone tries to interfere by suggesting an alternative way. When this happens, then we have stepped beyond what is acceptable and forgotten the basics of "acting justly", "loving kindly" and "walking humbly with God".
St. Paul has written a lot about this in his letters to the Thessalonians.
The doctrinal importance of these two short letters cannot be understated. They were written to the small Christian community in Northern Greece to help them focus on what was really important in the practice of Christian faith. It had nothing to do with having the best choir, the best church, the best homilies, or the best program. These things were not even mentioned in the letters. I would like to take a quick look at what St. Paul is emphasizing as important to the new community in Thessalonia.
1. The qualities of faith, hope and love is really what characterizes the Christian way of life. Are you growing in these attributes, and are you encouraging others in these areas?
2. Jesus is our Lord, the Son of God raised to new life. For those who accept and live by this truth share in this promise of new life.
3. God has given the Holy Spirit to assist those who believe in the Good News of Christ.
4. Christians must grow in and live a life of chastity, justice, order and charity, working at our tasks in the expectation of Christ's coming anew.
5. Persecution and resistance is an integral part of the Christian vocation.
6. The nature of the apostolic mission is a commission from God and is to be discharged with a disinterested love, in constant prayer and thanksgiving.
7. Our success in this apostolic mission depends not on ourselves, but on the power of Grace. Confidence in prayer and the Presence of Grace is necessary for growth in the Christian life.
In the Gospels, the ones who created the greatest resistance to this plan were the Scribes and the Pharisees. Woes or warnings were issued to them often. Most of these warning had to do with their insistence of following external practices that lead to an attitude of self-justification for those who practiced them but a burden for those who failed.
"Woe to you Scribes and Pharisees, for you are like white-washed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of bones of the dead."
As a result, they neglected the basics.
"With what shall I come before the Lord: To Act Justly, To Love Kindly, and to Walk humbly with my God."
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