You have been told, O man, what the Lord requires of you: do the right, love goodness, and walk humbly with God. Micah is among the prophets who were renowned for their preaching against social injustices. He preached against the exploitation of the poor by the rich, the corrupt priests and prophets, the dishonest merchants, and the judges who accepted bribes. In today’s passage, however, we see him issuing a general admonition to the community (Israel) as the Lord files a case against Israel before the tribunal chaired by the mountains and foundations of the earth.
From the list of charges that the Lord has filed, the Lord accuses the people of complaining that God has wearied them. It is a complaint that the Lord finds amusing at best. The Lord cannot understand how he has wearied Israel. Has the Lord wearied them by constantly being good to them? Or is it that the people are the ones who are guilty of burdening themselves with many unnecessary things? God reminds them that he is interested neither in human sacrifice nor in the many burnt offerings that the people were making. God required only one thing of them: to remain in relationship with God and one another by doing right and loving good. To achieve this, Israel needed to espouse the virtue of humility.
Humility as a virtue does not denote walking around with a bowed head, literally speaking. Rather, humility is about accepting one’s lot in life with gratitude. When it comes to the human person (in relation to God), humility is about not only recognizing as well as being at peace with the fact that we are creatures, but also knowing that we live in a relationship (covenant) with God. As the Scriptures make it clear to us, humanity as had several covenants with God, stretching as far back as creation. The terms of these covenants have been consistent: that humanity remains in a relationship with God by loving goodness and doing the right.