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The
Cathedral Church
of Saint John
Ten Concord Ave.
Wilmington
Delaware
19802

voice: (302) 654-6279
fax: (302) 777-5789

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on Concord Avenue

  

Dean’s Letter to the Parish

November, 2008
Episcopal Cathedral Church
of Saint John
Wilmington, Delaware

Dear Friends in Christ,

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?

On Tuesday the 4th of November, we went to the polls to cast our ballots for candidates running for local, state, and national office. By 11:00 p.m. that night, we knew the results. If I could offer but one admonition to each person elected, it would be the above from Micah 6:8. It is good that we, and those we have elected to lead us, do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God. Justice, kindness, and humility are not bad markers for our lives and the life of our nation.

I suggest that you read the sixth chapter of Micah to understand the context out of which this admonition comes. Micah was a late eighth century BCE prophet. He, like many of the prophets of that general era, perceived the danger to the nation brought on by moral and spiritual decay.

National prosperity was the enjoyment of the few at the top of the political, economic, and social order, and it was achieved at the expense of the poor:

The voice of the LORD cries to the city (it is sound wisdom to fear your name): Hear, O tribe and assembly of the city! Can I forget the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is accursed? Can I tolerate wicked scales and a bag of dishonest weights? Your wealthy are full of violence; your inhabitants speak lies, with tongues of deceit in their mouths. Micah 6:9-12.

For Micah, outward signs of piety and faithfulness were not sufficient responses to this condemnation, indeed they were too often self serving. God’s desire was that acts of piety and devotion be grounded in human goodness. And, that goodness comes from living in faithful relationship with him. The equity for all that comes with justice, kindness, and humility is good in the eyes of the Lord.

Jesus often said, “Anyone with ears to hear, listen.” We might do well to listen to Micah. He may have lived twenty-eight centuries ago but his words are as timely as today. Justice, kindness, and humility never go out of fashion in the eyes of God, therefore the time for us to live by them is always now. Let’s remember this and pray that those whom we elect will be mindful as well.

Faithfully,
The Very Reverend William B. Lane

Dean’s Sermons:

Cathedral Call Letters from the Dean

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