a tough choice

There are two great lessons to choose from for Sunday (no offense, Paul), and the decision of which to choose is going to be a difficult one for the preacher.

Do you go with the prophet Micah and his oft quoted line (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?"

Or to you rock Matthew's spiritualized beatitudes?

• poor in spirit
• hunger and thirst for righteousness
• etc. etc. etc.

Both are good options. One speaks to comfort the disturbed, the other to disturb the comfortable. One calls us to look deeply at ourselves and how we approach the throne of God, the other calls us to patience and perseverance.

TKT and I attended a funeral yesterday. We celebrated the life of the father of one of our parishioners; one of Foley's big men. The local Presbyterian Pastor was there too. Between our two churches, our memberships have suffered 15 deaths in the last 3 weeks. It is tough time for a lot of folks, and so maybe we need to comfort the afflicted this week.

But Micah 6.8 is so good, and maybe the preacher can start earlier in the text, "With what shall I come before the LORD?" What happens when we come with nothing: empty, broken, lost?

It is a tough choice this week. What will you choose?