07696
October 29, 2007

Essentials

A message for the church from the General Assembly stated clerk

by Clifton Kirkpatrick
PC(USA) General Assembly stated clerk

LOUISVILLE — I hear a good bit of conversation in the church these days about “essentials.”

Some are concerned about the church’s fidelity to the Reformed faith; others, about the essentials of faithful Christian living. All seem to want us to honor and celebrate our diversity, while being clear about the core values and common expectations for our life in Christ that hold us together as a community.

This is not the first time God’s people have had this conversation.

It was obviously a burning issue in the prophet Micah’s day. As we read in Micah 6, the people of Israel were considerably anxious about what God required of them. Micah spoke the Word of God with great simplicity and power when he said, “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8).

The core of this passage, “Do justice. Love kindness. Walk humbly with your God,” has been adopted as the theme of the 218th General Assembly (2008). And it couldn’t be more timely for Presbyterians.

Micah reminds us that God does not require elaborate rituals or detailed theological affirmations, but rather three things.

The first is to do justice. In a world and a nation where the gap is growing daily between the rich and the poor and where war and rumors of war are the order of the day, God expects us as faithful Christians to be doers of justice and to prophetically call for the things that make for justice and peace.

The second essential is to love kindness. We need to “talk the talk” in calling for a world of justice and peace, and to “walk the walk” as we relate to one another with kindness and compassion. We are called to be a living demonstration of the love of Christ to our friends and neighbors — and to our enemies and those who have a special need for a visible demonstration of the love of Christ.

The third essential — and the foundation for the other two — is to walk humbly with God. It is only through prayer, dependence on the love of Christ, and being open to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that we will be given the strength to live out Christ’s call to justice and compassion. We must nurture our roots if our branches are to bear fruit!

As we engage in these conversations about the essentials of Christian faith and life, and as we look toward our next General Assembly, I hope all of us will turn again to the wisdom of Micah.

What a blessing it would be to the whole church — and to the world — if this vision of justice, kindness, and a humble walk with God could come alive as the common ethos of our life together as Presbyterians!