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The Lord has shown you
what is good
"The Lord hath a controversy with his people, and
he will plead with Israel: "O my people, what I have done
unto thee? And wherein have I wearied thee? Testify against me.
For I brought thee up out of the house of Egypt and redeemed
thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses,
Aaron and Miriam.
Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before
the high God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with
calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands
of rams, or 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 hath showed thee, O man, what is good, and what doth the Lord
require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to
walk humbly with thy God " Micah, 6, 2-8.
These words from the prophet, that are eight centuries
old, are amazingly modern.
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God speaks to his people like to a loved one ; his criticisms
are made in an ironic tone.: " And wherein have I wearied
you? " Is the liberty I gave you so painful? Are the
demands of the Alliance such a burden? |
God does not like to see us tired, bored, without energy.
His Son tells us: " Take my yoke, yes my yoke is easy
and my burden light ". The key word of his message is
" Happiness ! "
We have too often the tendency to imagine God like a pagan
deity : a supreme being contemplating franticly one's navel,
asking from his subjects, demanding actions, services rendered
from slaves, flattering comments
Jesus Christ's God does
not propose a life where virtue is linked to boredom and pain.
He is interested in our happiness : " Go! "
says He to Abraham ; it is your interest to stand up and search
the road where your life will reach fulfilment.
And to make sure that this search is not too wearysome or
tedious, God has given us markers, guides and pionneers of spiritual
life: "Moses, Aaron and Miriam''. |
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Micah has spoken justly of guides in the plural form, because
each one is known to have his limits ; yes guides, men and women
alike on the same level. Here is a new way of looking at the
events which have been narrated in the Exodus: an unexpected
touch of feminism!
Micah has brought us back to what is the most important: religion
is not just a question of rites and practices in sacred times
and places. " Wherewith shall I come before the Lord? "
God has no use for offerings and sacrifices that do not reflect
the dispositions of a loving heart. The important thing is: "
Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God ".
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Three human behaviors that should not be dissociated from
one another. How can one practice justice without having mercy?
Would that conduct not bring us to be harsh for the weeknesses
of others ? As for God, he is " Merciful ". |
Let us stand up, go on walking, like modest pilgrims supported
by a God who himself is on the move, and who knows how fast we
can follow without becoming tired. This is an excellent way of
changing our image of a God standing as a judge, counting our
performances and our weaknesses!
But this God of mercy is one image we tend to forget rapidly! |