Central Lutheran Church - Elk River
Central Lutheran Church - Elk River
Life Lessons are Many but Requirements are Few with Sonja Knutson
Micah, the prophet from a small town with a big message, challenges us to question: What does it truly mean to live justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God? Join me, Sonja Knutson, as we uncover the profound lessons from this seemingly quiet but powerful figure in our winter sermon series, "The B-Side." Through personal stories and reflections, we illuminate Micah’s call for justice and repentance, a message as relevant today as it was in ancient times. We delve into the context of Micah's era, where greed and oppression were rampant, and how his words pushed against the status quo, igniting change within our hearts and communities.
In this episode, we journey into the heart of Micah’s teachings and explore how they align with the simplicity and profound challenge of living out Micah 6:8 and the Beatitudes. Embracing the role of "salt and light" in the world, we face the daunting yet rewarding task of embodying these timeless principles. Let’s explore how a life of humility, justice, and kindness can transform not just our personal journeys but also the lives around us. Inspired by the St. Francis prayer, we strive to bring hope, love, and joy into the world, transcending mere words with active faith and service.
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My name is Sonja Knutz and I'm the Pastorial Associate here at Central Lutheran Church, and it is a privilege to be sharing with you today, as we are in the third week of our winter sermon series called the B-Side, which introduces you, all of us, to the eight minor prophets that are found in the Old Testament. We named it the B-Side to represent those prophets who are less popular, less well-known. Now, if you're new here, or even to the Bible, a prophet is a messenger from God and there are many of them all throughout the Bible the major prophets or the A-side prophets. If you were looking at a vinyl record, the A-side tends to have the more popular songs. The A-side of this record is showing the more popular prophets would be men and women of the Old Testament that we're more familiar with, such as Moses we all know that he was God's favorite or Solomon the wisest, isaiah, jeremiah, daniel, deborah yes, a woman made that list. I wonder if she's coming to the bonfire next Friday night or even prophets like John the Baptist, all more well-known.
Speaker 1:The minors may not be the most popular, but they are not nothing. They're kind of odd and strange prophets. If you've been hearing the last couple weeks, they've been known to walk around naked. They talk to burning bushes. They build really big boats. When God tells them to build really big boats, they cook over animal dung. That's an interesting one, right. They've been known to lay on their sides. So, yes, they are strange and it kind of makes us wonder why would we follow someone like that, right? Who wants to listen to someone who acts or is strange like that? But Ryan shared a quote from Rabbi Abraham Heschel that reads the prophets were some of the most disturbing people who ever lived. These were men and women whose inspiration brought the Bible into being, the men whose image is our refuge in distress and whose voice and vision sustain our faith. The significance of Israel's prophets lies not only in what they said, but also in what they were, so we hope this B-Side series brings light to who they were and what they were called to do, which is to inspire, interpret and predict the future, including the coming of Christ, the fate of Israel and the destiny of humanity.
Speaker 1:So far, ryan has preached about two of those minor prophets Zechariah, who is known to be an encourager, and last week he talked about Habakkuk, who teaches us to trust and to wrestle with God when something is going wrong. This past couple of weeks we've had a lot of deaths here at Central and if I were in that family and I've been there before the question would be like why is this happening to me? And Habakkuk is saying wrestle more than just asking the question, why? Because why doesn't necessarily change the event that has happened, but maybe wrestle with God and say how and when and where and how can I apply this to my life and to my future kingdom work. Today we will be talking about the book and the prophet, micah, and my sermon title is Life.
Speaker 1:Lessons Are Many, but Requirements Are Few. Let's begin in prayer. This morning, father, we thank you for these minor prophets and the major prophets who you used well to grow your kingdom way back in the day, but also today we learn from them constantly. I pray that we see ourselves in the prophets and we recognize that we too have been given gifts to build your kingdom. So this morning, god, we pray that we could humble ourselves under your word, this word, and we would live in justice and in kindness. We love you, jesus. In your name we pray, amen. So life lessons are great, aren't they? And sometimes the lessons that we learn in life are easy and sometimes they're a little bit harder. When I was in third grade I learned about paying attention to my surroundings. As I was walking by or in front of a swing set and a boy that was swinging swung out, kicked me in the head and knocked me out. Good life lesson at a very young age, amen.
Speaker 1:Early in my marriage to Jeff, I learned about perspective in disagreements because I just assumed I was always right, right women. But in this agreement my husband and I have always had an agreement from day one that if it's getting a little heated we'll just separate, go our separate ways. He went downstairs into the basement and I was doing laundry upstairs, steaming, throwing laundry down the laundry chute, and I could hear him talking to somebody and I'm like, oh, he called somebody to complain about me. But the truth was he was just talking to himself about his own perspective of the argument. So when he came back upstairs a little bit later I'm like, hey, can we just readdress that issue? So I learned about perspective and there's two sides to every story. I also learned that clotheshoots could be a great listening device.
Speaker 1:As a young parent I learned that permanent markers are permanent because I gave my three-year-old a permanent marker to distract him on a piece of paper, and later I found his little handprint traced on my wall, in my pantry and on the back of a leather chair. As a grandparent, I have learned from my granddaughter that you're never too old to play, as we build forts and we make snow angels and we crawl around on the floor, and even from my dog I've learned some life lessons that when life gets really hard and it fills you with crud, you just kick some grass on it and move on. All are great life lessons, but none of them are required to live a good kingdom life Today. Our book of Micah is a beautiful example of Hebrew poetry that teaches many life lessons to the people of the northern and southern kingdoms in just seven short chapters, and it presents a true picture of our God, who uses Micah to share life requirements that will grow us closer in his kingdom plan.
Speaker 1:Now, in summary, this book devotes itself to describing God's judgment on the sins of Israel and Judah and their capital cities, samaria and Jerusalem, like fraud, greed, theft, oppression, heresy, injustice, and the list goes on and on. Oppression, heresy, injustice, and the list goes on and on. Chapters 1 and 2 focus on the kingdoms and chapters 3 and 4 focus on the leaders and the false prophets. And then the chapters take a shift as Micah tells the people to stand tall and to brace themselves, as if he was a lawyer and God is the judge, ready to cast down doom and gloom for how they have been living their life, and no religious act will save them. No burnt offering, no sacrifice, no idols, which tends to be their go-to. What can I do to make things right when I've wronged God? Should I sacrifice a goat? Should I sacrifice a chicken? Should I sacrifice my child? But Micah shares firmly what God requires. He urges them to repent and do what is right. Then the book ends with promises and restoration, as it closes with a declaration that people from everywhere will come to the Lord, even from the hated nations.
Speaker 1:Micah sounds like a pretty powerful leader, doesn't he? So why is he on the B side? Well, who is Micah? Micah lived in a small town called Marsheth, southwest of Judah in the southern kingdom, during the reigns of Jotham Ahaz and Hezekiah, and he prophesied roughly between 745 and 700 BC. This is the timeline that Ryan's been sharing the last couple weeks and we will continue to share through this sermon series. You can see Micah right there, scribbled in. He is right before the fall of the northern kingdom, the fall of Jerusalem, and 700 years before Jesus is born.
Speaker 1:Now, an interesting side note Isaiah, one of the more popular prophets, was also prophesying about the same time that Micah was, and chances are they knew each other since they were from the same tribe of Judah. Often as I've been reading the Bible, I feel bad for Micah, because Isaiah, if you know him and you know the Old Testament, is kind of a big deal. So when you're flipping through the Bible and trying to find a book you know Genesis, exodus, leviticus, da-da-da, isaiah, isaiah, isaiah, isaiah, micah. New Testament you recognize that Isaiah gets 66 chapters and Micah only gets seven, even though Micah provides one of the most significant prophecies of Jesus in the Old Testament. So what's the deal? Was Isaiah like a football captain? Was he homecoming king? Did he happen just to sit at the right lunch table? Was he just that much more popular than Micah? And if that's the case, I would say Galinda from Wicked should teach Micah a few things. Amen, you know what I'm talking about. Popular, you want to be popular. It's a really good movie and soundtrack. I'm just saying the mom in me just wants to hug Micah and I want to say it's okay, buddy, what you do matters. You do have a big voice, even if you're a simpleton and a country boy.
Speaker 1:He is a bit of a bumpkin in the eyes of the religious establishment in Jerusalem. He probably looked more a little like the rustic character Haas from the old TV show Bonanza. How many of you know him? Thank you. I was doing the slides with Olivia and she's like who's that? I'm like what are you 20-nothing? I mean, how do you not know Haas? But he probably looked like this instead of a well-polished preacher.
Speaker 1:So he was hard to take seriously on the surface level, but the words of his message brought serious consideration, as Micah saw clearly the roots of Israel's problems. He could see the destructive path of his people. He saw how religious ceremonies were a front to cover up lies, injustice, arrogance and the abuse of power. He saw the disconnect between religious talk and secular lives. So, even though he was a small fish in a very big religious pond, he followed the call of God that was placed on his heart and he acted on it. Micah, whose name in Hebrew is pronounced Mika, which means who is like God, knew the people of Samaria and Jerusalem were not following God.
Speaker 1:So, after five chapters of rebuking the leaders, micah steps up and presents God's case against his own people with the requirements that we heard today from Beth. It reads he has told you, o mortal, what is good and what does the Lord require of you? But to do justice, to love, kindness and to walk humbly with our God? He is saying look enough. No more whining, get your life together and start doing what is right. God has had it with all of you. You know there are times when the Bible challenges us and corrects us and rebukes us, but this verse does all three.
Speaker 1:And this morning I would love for us to take a moment and to meditate on what this verse really means in our lives, in our relationships, in our workplace, in our communities with strangers that we encounter, and in our walk with Jesus. So as you were walking in today, I hope you received a little white card. Looks like this On the front. It says act justly, love mercy and walk humbly. If you don't have one, you could raise your hands and I'm pretty sure the rushers would jump up and wait on you hand and foot, because that is the just thing to do. Anyone need one. See, look at that. Here they come, raise your hand high, they will bring one to you.
Speaker 1:And we're going to work through this verse today together. We're going to start with do justice, which means to do what is morally right or fair, and this isn't something that you just talk about or you require of others, because in this entitled world that we live in, we tend to do that right. We're quick to point out the injustice of others, but this is actually world that we live in. We tend to do that right. We're quick to point out the injustice of others, but this is actually something that we require of ourselves. To do justly is seeing the world. I need one right up here, guys. Thank you, doug. To do justly is seeing the world with God's sense of fairness, not the world's view. It is seeing the acts of injustice and doing what is needed to be corrected. It's not enough just to talk about it or just feel bad about it. We actually have to do something.
Speaker 1:Watching the news this past week, I felt bad for this country, its leaders, our families, our future, as I heard about yet another school shooting, the LA fires, the lack of housing for displaced people in the cold temperatures and the muddiness of our government on both the state and the national levels. But my sad feelings do not fix the injustice. I need to put those feelings into action. If I'm living in this kingdom and in God's requirements, I may not be able to unpack every act of injustice, but I can invest in things that weigh heavy on my heart. As Cindy was up this morning talking about open door, that weighed heavy on my heart. No student should be displaced from their home. No student should have to couch surf. So if that weighed heavy on my heart, I'm going to stop at that table and I'm going to talk about how can I help build this house so these students have somewhere to go.
Speaker 1:If it weighs heavy on my heart to feed the hungry, I can buy groceries and I can take them to care, or I can disperse them in this community. I can volunteer at care or other places that offer food. I can donate right If the elderly are impacting my heart, people that can't take care of their own homes and their yards. My neighbor across the street is like that. I can take my rake and my shovel and I can go across the street to help her take care of her home.
Speaker 1:That is God's message, through Micah, to the people of Israel and to you and to me. We are called to act justly and to do something, and in that then we begin to build peace. Martin Luther King Jr said True peace is not merely the absence of tension, it is the presence of justice. My actions, our actions in this injustice of the world builds peace and tears down walls of tension. So take action and do what is right, and love kindness or love mercy, as many Bible translations read, now this one, I think we can wrap our heads around. When we benefit from it, amen. It's when we need to extend it that we start looking for an alternative.
Speaker 1:This past week, a friend of mine who I actually work with texted me and said oh, I'm just really struggling with this. Her employees were frustrated and angry with her because she had sent out an email that needed to be shared and had, and it hurt some feelings, and so they were mad at her. They were angry at her, they were ignoring her, and she's like what should I do? My text back, love kindness, go up and be kind to them. Love on them. Her response back to me Nothing, cricket, and I get it. Until later she came around.
Speaker 1:When someone treats you poorly, it's hard to share kindness, but this requirement is very clear To love kindness means you put aside your hurts and thoughts of harming others. You put aside the idea of revenge and retaliation. It's when you turn the other cheek to someone that has harmed you and instead you share compassion and forgiveness and love. Is it popular way of doing life? No, not at all. In fact, when Hollywood needs a film that will generate quick income, they don't produce the nicey-nice movie. They look for the good revenge story, because we love in this culture and we are obsessed with punishment. But God's requirement wants us to love kindness, because it's the only way that we become people who naturally respond with grace and goodness and we become people that walk into a space that expects a fight but instead we offer forgiveness and healthy communication and resolution and grace.
Speaker 1:A couple weeks ago I was at a caribou in Otsego. That's very busy in the mornings, especially at work time. The drive-thru was busy, so I'm like, oh, I'll just go inside and grab a coffee. So did 40 other people. They had one cashier and we were all waiting, and one woman behind me was just very verbal about her frustration of how long the line was and I'm late for work and I need my coffee. And well, pretty soon a second cashier came in and the cashier looked at me and said I'll take the next person. That was me. I stepped over in line and I'm ordering my coffee and the woman follows me and she's mumbling louder. Oh my gosh, I'm really gonna be late for coffee and I knew I was writing this sermon and I'm like fine, I'll be kind. So I bought her a coffee. It really did come from my heart, but in the moment I'm like I'm very human right now and I'm really mad at you. Shut up, we all have to go to work Either way. I walked out, I bought her a coffee, I got into my car and I was driving away and as I'm driving away from the parking lot, she's coming out of the building and she's like rolled down my window and she's like thank you, and I'm sorry. I'm like have a nice day.
Speaker 1:I did mean it and prayerfully. That act of kindness changed the trajectory of her day and her encounters with others and I believe that when we do that, when we truly act out and love, kindness. We naturally then walk humbly with God, not to be a doormat, but to be Jesus to others and the humble character that God expects from us. Sometimes this type of character can be considered meek and naive and weak, but Jesus wasn't a wallflower who lacked self-confidence. He was bold and active in his humility, from his birth in a barn and a feeding trough to his death on the cross. Naked and beaten and scorned, he held his head high and he killed the world with kindness, even in his last breath when he said Forgive them, for they know not what they do. And although he was known for his gentle demeanor, he was also firm in his teachings of humility. In Matthew we find him teaching Do not pray to be heard by others, do not give publicly just to be noticed, do not fast in a blanket statement to the people of Philippi when he says In other words, our intentions matter and we are not to make decisions based on how it will make us appear or how it elevates us, even when the action is right.
Speaker 1:The action to pray is right, but to do it just to be seen is what he's talking about. The action to give is 100% right. Give, but don't do it to get the pat on the back or the recognition or your name in lights. I love when you give an opportunity or have an opportunity to give online and it's like do you want to put your name out there or push the anonymous button? Push the anonymous button because it doesn't matter.
Speaker 1:To walk humbly with God means that you value and care about the interest of others over yourself, and it means you are willing to take the lowest position and accept the stigma that goes with it, not worried about what someone else might think. And Jesus shared and taught this the best when he washed the feet of his disciples at his last supper. And this is the posture that we are required to have as his followers. My dad modeled this behavior. He served others and he did what was right because it needed to be done, not for the pat on the back or the recognition. And when he died, we greeted over a thousand people at his visitation and his funeral and we were incredibly blessed to hear how he impacted lives of people that we didn't even know. One gentleman shared a story through the visitation line with me that my dad had hired him when no one else would, and my dad worked alongside him at the lowest level, teaching him the ropes, but also just spending time with him to value him and to learn his story.
Speaker 1:My dad's life wasn't about him. It was about service to others, and his posture was one of humility and justice and kindness. He walked humbly with God and I know that he heard the words well done, good and faithful servant, when he passed into Jesus' arms, because he lived in the requirements of Micah 6.8. Central, when we sum up this verse, it's simply and, to be honest, not so simply calls us to an active faith. That is not about empty words. It requires us to intentionally withdraw our hand from our inequities and it directs us to walk in his statute. And with this verse is paired with Matthew 5 and the beatitudes that Jesus shared in his Sermon on the Mount, which are knowing that he blesses those that are poor in spirit, he blesses those that mourn, those that are meek and hungry, and those that thirst for justice and suffer in persecution. We know, then, what is expected as his salt and his light and what matters in the terms of his kingdom. So, central, do justly love, kindness and walk humbly with God. It's not rocket science. In fact, the instructions to program your smartphone are more complicated, and yet these requirements will be the hardest undertaking you will ever encounter to live a kingdom life.
Speaker 1:Well, I want to end this morning with the St Francis prayer. This prayer often fills my head and my heart with God's will in my life and it reminds me of the kingdom work and the requirements that he places on us every day as his followers. You'll find it on the back of your card if you want to follow along with me, and I would invite you to pray with me. Lord, make me, make us an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, light and where there is sadness, joy. Amen.
