“God has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” ~Micah 6:8
Jesus did not come into this world to stroke the egos of the powerful, but to challenge the status
quo and flip tables. Jesus’ ministry was not called into question because of those he excluded, but
because of those he included with radical all-encompassing love that shook the foundations of so
many!
After a week of continuing tragic and dismal events, many of us are wondering what we are being
called to do or say as we reflect on the faith that is so important to so many of us. If you belong
to a denomination that uses the Revised Common Lectionary as your guide to readings, this past
Sunday found your reading either about the presentation of our Lord or the readings assigned to
Epiphany 4C. Either set of readings seemed to have something applicable to say.
From the Epiphany readings came 1 Corinthians 13.
“ 1 If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or
a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all
knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
3 If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not
have love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or
arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does
not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.”
Are we considering our actions or our lack of action in terms of love? Are we loving our neighbor
the way Jesus loves us? Are we feeding the hungry, providing drink for the thirsty, welcoming the
stranger, clothing the naked, visiting the sick or imprisoned?
The Gospel reading from Luke 2, where Jesus is brought to the temple for presentation, is the story
of Simeon. “ Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, ‘This child is destined for the
falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed
35 so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.’”
In a time where rights are being stripped from so many, where actions are being taken in a manner
of hate and fear, our lack of action says just as much as our actions. Are we sitting at tables
that Jesus would have flipped? When each and every human is made in the image of God, what does it
say about us as Christians, as humans, when we treat each other as less than? Let us join together
and make certain that our voices are heard! God calls us to love, and that must be seen in our
actions, not just our prayers. Let us be the love and show the love that Christ shows to us!
Submitted (2/6/25) by Rev. Lisa Robison, Pastor of First Congregational United Church of Christ
in Iowa Falls and St. Paul Lutheran ELCA in Wellsburg.