After all, she observes, "the verse supplies inspiration for songs, projects, foundations, scholarships, newsletters, T-shirts, visor clips, key rings, bracelets, travel mugs, and plaques of all sorts and sizes available on Etsy."
Did she really say that?!
Yes, she did!
She not only said it, but she wants us to wonder about it, ethically and spiritually and for our communal healing, including for the earth.
Micah 6:8 says, "God has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Creator require of you, but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" Dr. Tull wants us to be aware that "Appropriating this nugget of wisdom--not as an inspiring quip, but as a way of life--necessitates reading it carefully in context."
As Dr. Tull illustrates, the context is a controversy between God and human beings, in which the well-being of the whole earth, including the hills and mountains, the waters, and every creature, is at stake. How in the world did Micah find a way to imagine and speak about this monumental challenge that humans, earth, and God would be facing together in 2023? Truly God is amazing, and sometimes, so are we!
As Dr. Tull affirms, "The Etsy plaques and mugs testify that everyone likes Micah 6:8 as a saying. The trick is in the living.... Lifelong habits of kindness, justice, and humility are not transactions to dispense and check off, duty done. Rather, they characterize a stance of leaning toward others: extending grace reflexively, without measure, as God has done, not because others deserve it but because they need it..."
All humans need grace--it's part of being human. And grace is for everyone--that's part of what makes it grace.
Dr. Patricia K. Tull is Professor Emerita of Old Testament at Louisville Presbyterian Seminary in Kentucky. Her further reflections on Micah 6:1-8 can be found in Connections: A Lectionary Commentary, Year A, Volume 1, 2019, pages 209-212.