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Micah 6:1-8 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

6 Hear what the Lord says: Rise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice.² Hear, you mountains, the case of the Lord, and you enduring foundations of the earth, for the Lord has a case against his people,    and he will contend with Israel.

³ “O my people, what have I done to you? In what have I wearied you? Answer me!⁴ For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.⁵ O my people, remember now what King Balak of Moab devised, what Balaam son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the saving acts of the Lord.”

⁶ “With what shall I come before the Lord and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?⁷ Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, 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?”⁸ He has told you, O mortal, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?

Matthew 5:1-12 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

5 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. ² And he began to speak and taught them, saying:

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴ “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

⁵ “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

⁶ “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

⁷ “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

¹⁰ “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Matthew 5:1-12 - The Message

5 ^1-2 When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions. This is what he said:

³ “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

⁴ “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

⁵ “You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.

⁶ “You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.

⁷ “You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.

⁸ “You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

⁹ “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.

¹⁰ “You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.

^11-12 “Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.

Feb. 1, 2026 – Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

Micah 6:1-8 and Matthew 5:1-12

Rev. TJ Mack – Union Congregational Church of Hancock

How often I marvel that our scriptures meet us exactly where we are. Sometimes they name the tensions we’re living with. Sometimes they offer the balm our weary souls desire. And sometimes – like this week – they do both.

In Micah, we hear about a controversy between God and God’s people.In Matthew, we hear Jesus speak blessings into a world that feels anything but blessed.

Micah recounts what may have been a hard but loving conversation between God and the people of Israel  – one that sounds something like a courtroom drama. God acting not as the judge but as a prosecuting attorney, calls the mountains and hills to be both witness and judge and asks, “My people, what have I done to you? How have I wearied you?” God reminds them of their liberation—of bringing them out of slavery, of walking with them through the wilderness, of sending leaders and guides to help them along their way. And the people respond to God with anxiety: What do you want from us? More sacrifices? Bigger offerings? Our firstborn?

And then Micah – speaking for God – cuts straight to the heart of the matter.

“He has told you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

Micah—writing in the eighth century BCE, alongside prophets like Isaiah—was fierce in his honesty. Theirs was also a time of political instability, economic inequality, and deep distrust of the ruling class. The prophet Micah condemned religious practices that were incompatible with ethical living. Micah was clear; worshipping God without also treating others justly was hypocritical. Spouting scripture but ignoring the needs of women, infants, children, and the foreigners in their midst was the antithesis to living a faithful life. But even in judgment, Micah always held out the hope that things could be different.

Our scriptures consistently measure faithfulness by our care for the most vulnerable among us. Justice. Kindness. Humility. That is what Micah heard God asking for from the Israelites. That is what God is asking from us.

Justice for all, not only for some. Kindness as a way of life, including loving all of our neighbors, remembering that we are all immigrants if our ancestors were not indigenous to this land. And humility – remembering we are not the center of the story, but a part of the much larger story.

Jesus incorporates all of these characteristics into his ministry. This morning we find him on the side of a mountain – reminiscent of Moses on Mt. Sinai – as he begins to teach. 

What we know as the Beatitudes are not commands or lists of characteristics to which we should aspire. They are statements of truth about who God sees, who God honors, and where God is already at work, blessing all of their children. “Blessed” doesn’t simply mean happy or satisfied. To be blessed is to be held in God’s steadfast love through all of life’s challenges.

The gospel of Matthew does not encourage us to be poor, mournful, or persecuted but offers consolation to those who are experiencing these things. 

Held in God’s steadfast love are the poor in spirit. Held in God’s steadfast love are those who mourn. Held in God’s steadfast love are the meek, the merciful, the peacemakers.

The author of Matthew’s gospel is describing the kind of community that Jesus is forming: a community shaped by justice, mercy, humility, and peace. These unconventional blessings don’t deny suffering. They speak hope directly into the lived experience of those to whom Jesus is speaking. 

This was important when these scriptures were written and important today—because every time and place experiences hardships.

Many people here and elsewhere are carrying real anxiety: about finances, about health, about the future their children will inherit. There is grief we name out loud, and grief we carry quietly. There is exhaustion from trying to keep up, and discouragement from feeling like nothing ever really changes.

I see this when someone must choose between groceries and heating fuel. When someone quietly shows up for help they never imagined needing. When a neighbor checks in on another neighbor—not with solutions, but with presence.

That’s what justice and kindness look like on the ground. Not political showmanship. Not waiting to help until you have the perfect solution. Just showing up for one another, imperfectly and lovingly, again and again, today, tomorrow, and next week. 

We are seeing examples of justice, mercy, and kindness in Minneapolis as protesters take to the streets to act as witnesses for their neighbors in need. We are seeing these same occurrences in Maine. I pray that we continue to see justice and kindness and mercy overcoming fear and hate. 

The question Micah addressed is still our question: How do we live faithfully in the middle of all this? The answer is both simple and demanding. Love. 

Micah reduces God’s law to three things. Justice. Kindness. Humility.Jesus reduces it even further: Love God, and love your neighbor as yourself.

These aren’t abstract ideas. They show up in small, ordinary choices. In patience. In generosity. In refusing to harden our hearts. In refusing to turn away from the suffering of others. 

The Beatitudes are promises—not just for people thousands of years ago, but for us, now.Because all of us, at times, are poor in spirit. All of us grieve injustices. All of us hunger for the wrongs of the world to be made right.

I promise you this: God is still speaking and God is not finished with us. Yes, the world is broken – but we are not abandoned. God is with us. In the kindness that we offer to one another. In the justice we uphold. In the humility that keeps us open to the grace of God.

In a few moments, we will come to the Communion table—not because we are perfect followers of Jesus, but because God meets us where we are with grace and nourishment for the journey.

So let these ancient words settle into your heart and mind. Let these words soothe your sorrows and comfort your soul. Let them challenge what needs to be softened in you. 

And then – go into the world each day prepared to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God. When we each do that, it will be enough to turn the world order upside-down, making heaven on earth a reality for all of God’s children. 

Amen

Rev. TJ Mack – February 1, 2026