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The Forward Day by Day Meditation for January 29, 2023
We post a Forward Day by Day Meditation for every day of the year - and we invite you to consider them and talk about them here. If you'd like to comment, you can log in to Disqus with your Facebook, Twitter, or Google account; just click "Login," or the appropriate logo below. Or, you can sign up for a Disqus account; just use the entry form below, or click the "D" logo to start the process. You can find the past week's Meditations in the box at right (or below, for mobile users), or search for previous entries on the Archives page. You can also listen to the Forward Day by Day podcast anywhere you find podcasts!
SUNDAY, January 29
The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
Micah 6:8 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?
One of my nun friends says that false humility and pride are merely two sides of the same coin. True humility is to know the reality of how God made you: neither better nor worse than anyone else. It reminds me of the famous story about Rabbi Simcha Bunim, who taught that we should all walk around with two pieces of paper in our pockets. One reads, “the world was created just for me,” while the other reads, “I am but ashes and dust.” Wisdom is learning when to read which slip of paper.
It is no accident that the prophet today pairs walking humbly with doing justice and loving kindness. Micah first addresses us as mortals: human beings made in the image of God, out of mere dust but made alive through God’s very breath. We are thus invited into God’s plans for the whole universe: justice and loving-kindness. Each of us is called to share in this work in our own way and context. None of us can do our part without others or God’s grace.
MOVING FORWARD: In light of Rabbi Bunim’s story, which piece of paper do you need to read today?
PRAY for the Church of Pakistan
Micah 6:1-8 | Psalm 15 | 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 | Matthew 5:1-12
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