Devotional Messages

DEVOTIONAL MESSAGE

Micah 4:3-4 – He shall judge between many peoples, and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more; but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees, and no one shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. (NRSV)

It wasn’t till I was reading these verses I’d picked out for our Thursday prayer service that I realized they are a prelude to our service on Sunday, which will riff on Halloween by exploring what fear is really about and why we enjoy scaring ourselves.  God does not want us to live in fear; that is why God’s vision of peace includes all people having what they need and thus no need to attack anyone else.

Except that’s not quite how it goes, is it?  The scripture puts the fact that nations aren’t attacking one another before it notes that everyone is safely living on their own plot of ground.  Because even so very long ago, the prophets had noticed that, for some people, having enough isn’t enough.  Some people want to have their fig tree, and their neighbor’s fig tree, and copyright on the genetic make-up of that particular variety of figs, so they can control the market.

This is when arbitration enters the picture.  But in this story, God is the judge.  With God as judge, the nations learn about justice, for they are no longer allowed to abuse their power.  That is how they come to reject the ways of war.  That is when all the peoples can finally live without fear.  Peace cannot coexist with greed or selfishness or cruelty or arrogance.  Learning the ways of God’s peace means truly believing – giving our hearts to – the idea that all of God’s children are equally precious.

It is important to notice the difference between our fears that are rooted in the risk of not having enough – to live, to support our families, to share – and our fears that are stoked by not having what someone else has – feelings of jealousy, inadequacy, or resentment.  God wants us to have what we need for flourishing, but not so much that it keeps others from flourishing.  That is what just peace – God’s shalom – looks like.