God-

Some of us feel foolish all the time.

We feel insecure and powerless and overwhelmed.

We’re just looking for things to make sense. We’re just looking for someone to trust. We’re just looking for a sign from you.

And you know we’d do just about anything to get your help. We’d do just about anything to fix the things we’ve broken, to restore the things we’ve taken away.

We confess, when we hear that you don’t want big sacrifices, it doesn’t sound right. When we hear that you don’t want demonstrations of our seriousness, you don’t want pageantry to prove how much we care, it feels off. And when we read that you want us to walk humbly, to love mercy, to act justly, it feels a little foolish.

That’s no way to show we’re serious.

You want us to love you by loving each other because you love each other.

That’s risky and hard and foolish.

To love our children from diapers to disobedience to adult discussions.

To love the merciful action that doesn’t deliver the consequence people deserve.

To love the unpopular act of justice which offers hope to excluded people.

To love with cups of coffee and words of encouragement and rides to the grocery and ignoring our preferences in order to give others opportunities to laugh.

This feels a little foolish.

But you choose weak people and simple ways and small acts to bring your kingdom to earth. You chose Mary and Peter and shepherds and lepers and Nazareth and persecutors and us. You chose us.

Help us to choose you.

Through Christ our Lord

Amen.

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Reflecting the readings for today from Micah 6:1-8 and 1 Corinthians 1:18-31.