Daily Retreat 07/19/08

2008 Jul 19 Sat Mi 2: 1-5/ Ps 9(10): 1-2. 3-4. 7-8. 14/Mt 12:14-21   From today's readings:  "Woe to those who plan iniquity, and work out evil on their couches....  Do not forget the poor, O Lord!....   This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet...."   Meet Micah   Sadly, the lectionary cycle now leaves the book of Isaiah behind - although that doesn't need to stop us from reading the rest of it on our own!  Much of the text of the second half of Isaiah (ch. 40-66) will be read during Advent and Lent.   So now we turn to Micah, the sixth of the minor prophets, who was a contemporary of Isaiah, and although certainly similar themes are shared by the two, Micah's words are more simple and focused: through means of foreign invaders, God is about to punish His people for their sins!   Micah mentions particularly sins of oppression, dishonesty, arrogance, and superstition, and he especially upbraids the upper classes for their subjugation of the poor.  Micah is almost relentless in his prophecy of gloom and doom, except for the first verses of chapters 5, 6 and 7.   Perhaps you were intimidated by the length of Isaiah (66 chapters), and therefore didn't read it through.  Micah is much shorter (only 7 chapters), and so I urge you to read the whole book, reflecting on the same social and personal sins confronted by Micah which still abound in our time, and still bring tragic effects.  So, Micah's message is still for us - how are we to confront those sins in our times?