“Doing Justice”
“Do justice…love kindness…walk humbly….
(Micah 6:8)
On Sunday we celebrated the justice work of the United Church of Christ by contributing to the annual “Neighbors in Need” special mission offering and considering the ways we can work toward a more just world where everyone is valued and cared for and our earth is treated justly as well!
In my sermon, I talked about a lecture that some of us attended last week. The guest speaker was Bishop Yvette Flunder of Affirming Ministries and Pastor of City of Refuge in Oakland, CA. In her talk, Bishop Flunder spoke about her move from believing in the “Either/Or God” of her childhood to the “Both/And God” which she has experienced in her life. The former tells us, “You either believe the things I believe and do things the way I do them or you are wrong—and opposed to the ways of God.” She talked about her understanding of Christian baptism and how the only “correct way” was total immersion; every other form of baptism didn’t count in God’s eyes because it was wrong. The “Both/And God,” however, recognizes and celebrates variety and diversity. There are many ways to baptize, just as there are many ways to understand God, the Scriptures, and how our experiences, faith and lives interact.
As I thought about what it might be like if all people believed in this “Both/And God,” I imagined a world in which God was truly pleased with us all. As the prophet Micah considered the question of what is good and what God really wants from people, he made it really clear in his answer: to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God. When we worship a God who blesses all people and not just the ones we agree with or happen to like, we are ready to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God.
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
P.S. Please see “Weekly News of the Church” to learn more about Neighbors in Need and also to make a gift to Pacific School of Religion where I serve on the Board of Trustees.
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“A Message from Kahu Alan Akana” is provided most weeks by the Kahu (Pastor) of Koloa Union Church, a congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a member of the Kauai Association and Hawaii Conference.
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