Ordinary Time

Pause

For it’s our grief that gives us our gratitude,

Shows us how to find hope, if we ever lose it.

So ensure that this ache wasn’t endured in vain:

Do not ignore the pain.

Give it purpose. Use it.

Amanda Gorman

Listen

With what should I approach the Lord and bow down before God on high? Should I come before him with entirely burned offerings, with year-old calves? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with many torrents of oil? Should I give my oldest child for my crime; the fruit of my body for the sin of my spirit?

He has told you, human one, what is good and what the Lord requires from you: to do justice, embrace faithful love, and walk humbly with your God.

Micah 6:6-8

Think

My heart broke when I saw pictures of the victims of the Atlanta Asian spa shooting. They look like my sisters, my mother, my daughters, and me. Anti-Asian hate has risen since the pandemic and the former president’s hurtful words calling the Corona Virus “Kung Flu” and “the China Virus.” I felt helpless.

Have you felt helpless when confronted with big problems like racism? The prophet Micah tells us that no offerings please God more than when we ACT! Micah says God does not tolerate lying and violence, so neither should we! When people spread falsehood or use degrading words to folks of a different ethnicity or gender, don’t turn a deaf ear; speak up! When you witness someone mistreating another person because they are different, tell them to stop. And write to your elected leaders asking them to care about justice and mercy.

When confronted with overwhelming injustices like racism, take a deep breath and ask yourself the Micah question, “What does the Lord require of me?” Then ACT, disrupting the cycle of hatred. God can transform your small act into a God-sized act of justice. May it be so!

Shauw Chin Capps

Pray

God of justice and faithful love, give me the courage to not let falsehood and violence take root. Let my words and actions be instruments of the justice and mercy of Jesus. Amen.

Go

Take the first step toward justice. 

Take a step toward reconciliation. 

Take a step toward understanding someone different from you.

“You make the path by walking.” (Robert Bly)