“New Year, New Direction:
Doing Justice, Loving Kindness, and Walking Humbly with God”
January 29, 2023
Dear brothers and sisters, grace and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
I’d actually like to go back to one of our Readings from last week, and talk about what God says through the Prophet Amos in chapter 3 verse 3: “Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?” Where that actually starts is with God. Each one of us are sharing a life and walking together with God. We are all walking with God in different ways, but we are still walking with God. One of the many promises He made to us in Baptism, as we were reminded last week, was that He would always be with us throughout every moment of our lives – and He still is. Also, last week, as Josie and Liana were baptized, and Tish was received as a new member, we together made a commitment to support them as they continued to grow in their faith in God and lives as Christians. It was also a reminder that, even as we made those promises for Josie, Liana, and Tish, we have also made those promises to each other.
And you’ve probably noticed that, for the past few weeks, I’ve been talking a lot about our life together as a church family. Well, there’s a reason for that: the beginning of this year is a perfect time for us to be thinking about what direction we want to go as a church family, as we’re still walking together, even after everything that’s happened. There’s been one major thing we’ve been able to rely on for the past few years as we’ve struggled: God has been with us. We’ve been sharing a life with Him, and He has been good to us in many ways. He’s sustained us and provided us with everything we’ve needed to get us to where we are now, because He’s had a wonderful plan for us all along. But now, as we’ve been coming out of almost all the pandemic conditions, it’s time for us to get back on track and refocus on what matters – being together and walking together again. When we gather together every week, we are sharing a life together. We’re also looking forward to even more opportunities for fellowship in this coming year – and, if any of you have any ideas for ways we can get together, feel free to bring them up. By virtue of our being here and continuing to worship together each week, we are committed to walking in the same direction together. While we are walking together, we do not expect ourselves to walk in lock step with each other: we are all at different places in our lives, facing different struggles, having different needs, going through different experiences, and having different attitudes. But just like in any family, want to know that we are part of a group where we are loved, accepted, and supported.
As we are also reminded in today’s Second Reading from First Corinthians, Jesus’ mission was bringing people to a personal relationship with God, and bringing a change in life as a result of being in that relationship. Ultimately, His ministry was about dying on the cross to be the sacrifice for our sins, showing that how we are saved is not about anything we do, but instead about everything God does. What Jesus did was bring God down to earth – literally. He walked with us so we could be able to walk with Him, and so walk with God, a lot more easily. He also showed us that following Him, and being a Christian, is really very simple. It’s not living by a strict set of outward rules or laws, but simply living by His guidance every day. Walking humbly with God simply means relying on Him for direction, and recognizing we need His help to be who He wants us to be. As we walk about in our everyday activities, Jesus is also still walking with us, guiding us in the direction He wants us to go, and also guiding us to minister to other people as He did. By walking with Jesus every day, we also become more like Him – as today’s First Reading from Micah says, doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God.
Justice in this case is actually not a political term, nor does it mean handing back what has been dished out to us, especially hurts or wrongs people do. Especially after what has happened with the aftermath of Tyre Nichols’ arrest and death in Memphis, Tennessee, and the reaction to it, we have to be very careful that we do not confuse the justice system, or what we usually think of justice as being, with what God desires. We certainly do pray for the right and just outcome to this whole case; for any upcoming court trials to be conducted in an equitable manner; a day when all people will be treated kindly and fairly; and for an end to violence. Yet at the same time, we also, especially in our communities, are to continue to support and encourage our local police, as they carry out their often perilous duties in keeping us, our families, and our neighbors safe. While we also might have our personal opinions on this whole event and the people involved, we have to be seeking peace, calm, and unity in our communities for the good and safety of all. Instead, in a spiritual meaning, justice means instead acting towards others as God has acted towards us. Instead of punishing us for our sins, God instead put our punishment on His Son, which means that our punishment has been taken away. Therefore, because God has done this to us, we do not seek to punish or take revenge on anyone who has wronged us, or we think has wronged us. Instead, we act justly, that is, rightly, towards others. God’s justice is not the same as how we think of justice: instead of giving us what we deserve, God has instead given us the opposite – mercy. And mercy is giving someone exactly what they don’t deserve: it is giving kindness despite meanness; help despite hurt; and love despite hatred. So the best way we can give out justice is to be merciful and forgiving, even to those who have done us wrong. And all this comes from walking humbly with God: asking Him each day to help us forgive and show mercy to those who have hurt us in any way, and, instead of asking for Him to avenge us, to have Him help us to act justly, or, correctly, to those who have done us wrong. Even among ourselves, while our relationships will never be perfect, and we will have disagreements from time to time, we hopefully will be able to overcome those through forgiveness, showing mercy to each other, and remembering our commitment to continue to walk together in our church family.
In the Beatitudes, which we hear in today’s Gospel Reading, Jesus also shows us what a life transformed by a relationship with God, and walking humbly with Him, looks like. We also have our personalities and actions changed into people who comfort those who mourn; show mercy, even to the unmerciful; seek to be pure in heart, especially in how we regard and act towards others; and seek peace among ourselves in our homes, community, and world. While it may not always be popular to do so, and we may even face ridicule, exclusion, or even persecution because we do so, we still continue with doing so because we walk with God, and want to go in His direction. Which means that, as we follow God, we follow where He leads, out into the world He has us walk in.
Each week, one of the main reasons we come to church is to take time out from our busy lives for an hour or so. But we also have to be reminded that that’s not the only reason we’re here. While such things as our worship service and everything else we do on Sunday morning are certainly important, what is of greater importance for us now, as we have emerged from our previous situation, is that we begin to focus on going fully outward again. Although our resources may be limited, there are plenty of other ways we can be reaching out.
We can say that we walk in here each week so we can walk out to reach out. It’s time for us, as we’ve walked in here to be fed by God’s Word, to take what we learn each week, and walk out of the worship service to feed it to other people. It’s time to take our Christian faith out of our church building and back out into our communities – where it belongs. Our faith isn’t something we’re meant to keep to ourselves – it’s supposed to be something to benefit everyone, and which we, with God’s help, are to bring people to. And it’s also time for us to be focusing on our outreach, how we can meet the needs of those in our community, and our surrounding area. The reason we exist as a church family is for the sake of other people – people who now need us, and what we have to offer, more than ever. And we have a lot more to offer than we may realize. Just as with fellowship ideas, if any of you have any suggestions for ways, even new ways, we can reach out and serve our community, please feel more than free to bring those up as well. Even as we are walking together here in church, it’s time for us to be walking out into our community again, and freely walking as Christians among those we meet. Even though we were encouraged to maintain social distance during the pandemic, it’s time for us to get up close and personal with people and show them how we live as Christians again. Notice also I didn’t limit what I said to any one particular community: even though our church building may be located in Farmersville, many of us live, work, and go to school in many other communities, and there are plenty of ways we can be bringing God’s love and help among those whom we walk every day. God will lead us to ways we can bring justice and mercy to people, and encourage them to walk humbly with Him – if we continue ourselves to walk humbly with Him. So, let us keep on walking together with God, acting rightly and with love and kindness towards all people, and keeping on supporting, encouraging, and showing mercy to each other, as we continue to walk together.
Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
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