United Methodist Church Westlake Village

Walking Humbly: Justice and Kindness in a Divided World

• United Methodist Church Westlake Village

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A simple email from David Keddle with seven words—"I'm going to need to hear your feelings around the LGBTQ issue"—set the stage for one of the most meaningful pastoral relationships I would form during my first year at this church. David, a warm man of deep faith who also happened to be homosexual, challenged me to address LGBTQ issues at least once during the year. On June 29th, nearly one year after my arrival, I fulfilled that promise.

The sermon explores Micah 6:8, a profound passage that cuts through religious pretense to reveal what God truly desires from us. The prophet Micah speaks to a society experiencing both prosperity and uncertainty—much like America today—where cracks are forming and people are anxiously drawing battle lines over complex issues. In this polarized environment, Micah's message is revolutionary: God doesn't want our sacrifices or rituals but asks simply that we "do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God."

For too long, our churches have added conditions to these commands—offering justice, kindness, and community only if people conform to certain expectations. The United Methodist Church has wrestled painfully with LGBTQ inclusion, and our denomination has moved toward honoring the humanity of everyone. This sermon offers a dual invitation: for those who embrace inclusion, to live into grace and unconditional love for all; for those still wrestling, to follow Micah's guidance and see where that journey takes them. Perhaps in doing so, we might rediscover that faith isn't primarily about what we believe, but how we act toward one another—especially toward those whose lives and experiences differ from our own.

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Pastor Darren:

I don't know that I have told you how I met my friend, David Keddle. I met David almost a year ago and I want to tell you the context of having met him. We are in the process of, and many of you know, he has passed from leukemia and we are grateful that his family is joining us today and worshiping with us. But it's in these times that your mind starts looking at the sacredness of moments that happened even in the past. And in this case, we were in the process of lay leadership organization right Nominations if you're old school Methodists Nominations and I put out an email to all the leaders, many of whom I had not met because I'd only been here a couple of months and I spent one of those months in Europe, so it was hard to work from there, so I didn't so send out my email. Hey, we want to get started, we want to get organized, and I get a very simple email back from David Kettle I'm going to need to hear your feelings around the LGTBQ issue period. That was it. New pastor, simple email. I'm like okay, clearly something's at work here and I knew enough about where I was coming to know that there had been some wrestling around that issue and many of you know our denomination has been wrestling with that issue and, through some great gnashing of teeth and a lot of tears, a lot of hurt, we look to be where we are now with that whole situation. Our denomination is who it is, having made the claims that it is now making, and there is some grace to that. There is some freedom to that, even though we do grieve the separation, shall we say. But I sat with David, we arranged to get some coffee. After I kind of got a little bit of groundwork information from others and said, okay, who's David? What am I walking into? What's this coffee going to be all about? And I found a really warm person, but a warm person who'd walked a journey in this world, a journey of being a person of faith, growing up in faith. You should see the long list of traditional hymns that are the favorites that David has. It's definitely grounded in his being and still working through the challenge of being a homosexual man, in the midst of that journey and trying to manage not only the justice of that but the emotions of that, the humanity of that. So it's in that context that he says to me well, pastor, I'm going to need you to speak to the LGBTQ issue at least one time this year, one time. I started July 1st. It is now June 29th. I said, david, you know that's been a difficult issue here. It's been a challenge. There are many hearts in this. And he said yeah, but one year. And I said yeah, one year. So, yeah, one year. Here we are and me walking into what can be a little bit of a hot button conversation. So I wanted to say out loud I know, I know, but we're going to walk through some things.

Pastor Darren:

So, Micah 6.8, one of our prophets in the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament For some of you this might be a favorite. Any of you had a chance opportunity to engage. Matthew 6, especially 6.8? Is that one that's been on your radar? Okay, potential new favorite for everybody except Nancy, who has already walked with me a little bit on that one. So it's an interesting passage.

Pastor Darren:

It's difficult for us to know exactly the context because little is offered. Usually we're looking for a reference to a specific king or a specific issue that helps us to kind of place it in its time, issue that helps us to kind of place it in its time. These, what are really sermons that don't necessarily always have that context handy. And in this case we're kind of resting in this place the scholars are resting in this place that this Micah's prophecy was probably written over time, maybe in two specific different times, mostly because we can see an air, an energy around prosperity. Things are going pretty good and we know when the Jewish kingdoms were doing well, so we can place it in there. And yet we also can feel a time of some real hurt and real pain and real concern, like our passage that we're in today, 6-8. So I don't know, maybe you felt some of that pain in the way that God and human dialogue happens in the midst of this.

Pastor Darren:

So we think it's probably likely in the time between Israel falling and Judah falling. Those are the two Jewish kingdoms. Israel actually fell first. Ironic in the way we talk about Israel, judah went longer. That was the kingdom that David was a part of and was able to in a much stronger way, and where he is landing is in this place, between one of the kingdoms going down, one of them still up, remembering the glory years of the Jewish kingdoms, but also feeling the cracks and feeling the anxiety of one of the kingdoms having already gone down and so, like most human institutions, like most human things, some cracks are starting to happen in the way that it's all working.

Pastor Darren:

The society is doing less of what actually got them to a place of prosperity. For us, in the faith context, we would say the society was doing less or offering less trust in God, trust in what God was asking people to do, trust in living out the faith orientations that God was encouraging them to do right, and doing other things, like the immigration passages tend to be really good here. When you're coming out of disorder and you're on the upswing, when you're coming out of chaos, when you're coming out of power or powerlessness, when you're coming out of poverty, maybe you're focused a little more on what a stranger might bring to what you're building. All right, we're growing, you're ready to come in, you got a shovel, you got a hammer. Get in here, let's see what you can do. But when you come from prosperity, when you're in a good place, then there's something to lose and then our anxieties start ratcheting up.

Pastor Darren:

This is when a passage like we might find about welcoming the stranger which there are many, including some from Jesus himself, those passages they get a little more challenging Because we're talking about welcoming people, but we also know we're kind of in a good spot. We like where we've landed. There is prosperity that seems to be working. So it's in that environment that Mike is trying to preach, and he's preaching to folks about how, hey, we've had some good times. But we need to remember we've got to still do what God wants us to do. We've still got to live out the teachings that God has been teaching, that God has been teaching. He's ringing that bell of reminder constantly and he's speaking initially to the pain, at least in our passage to the pain that the Jewish people are feeling, and he creates this dialogue between the people and God. Now I should have invited you to pull your Bibles out that are in the pews because you can see how this plays out.

Pastor Darren:

But it's interesting because it opens with God speaking and God says to the people hey, hey, state your case, tell me why you're upset, but then doesn't wait for an answer and just starts talking about all that God had done for the Israelites, which isn't nothing. When you've been saved from the Egyptians, from slavery, when you've been saved from other oppressive circumstances, that's a pretty good case for God. Am I right, big fans of slavery? No, okay, this is what I figured. So they God sitting there, or at least Micah's projection of God, saying, hey, I saved you guys numerous times. What else are you wanting from me? And he walks through this thing. You hear Israel feeling like they've been tried and convicted by God, but then it's God defending God's self. You wonder really, who's on trial here? Who's on trial here as we try to decide exactly what's wrong and why things have gone wrong?

Pastor Darren:

Then you get to verse 6, and there's a change in the voice. Who is speaking Now? It's the people, and the people are speaking to God and saying plaintively what do you want, god? What kind of sacrifices are going to be pleasing to you, god? And they rattle off a few of the kinds of sacrifices that they had experienced as people from Old Testament times, hebrew Bible times. Are we supposed to sacrifice animals? Is that what you want, god? If we sacrifice more animals, then you'll take care. Oils, we'll get you oils and oils and oils All of this valuable stuff.

Pastor Darren:

Or the heavy one? He plays the card? Are we supposed to kill our firstborn for you, god? That's a heavy one. He plays the card. Are we supposed to kill our firstborn. For you, god, that's a heavy card because it was asked for once, and they know it was asked for once. They know their stories, those of you who probably know many of you. The Genesis story.

Pastor Darren:

God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. He lets him go on it. He doesn't end up sacrificing Isaac, but that has been asked in the past. And so they throw that out to God. Hey, god, what are we supposed to do? What do we have to give you so that you start taking care of us?

Pastor Darren:

And then there's this final, pivot, verse 8, micah again putting words in God's mouth, speaking for God, he says it's really not about sacrifice. Even if that's the way you want to think about it, it's not even sacrifice. What I'm asking is that you do three things you do justice, you love kindness and you walk humbly with God. Those three things, do you hear the pivot in that? It's not about these offerings that we assume God is looking for from us, ways that we can sacrifice of our own being, of our own wealth, of our own comfort, and then God will be appeased and do good things for us, our own comfort, and then God will be appeased and do good things for us. And God, at least in Micah's projection here, is saying it's not about that.

Pastor Darren:

If you want to sacrifice, if you want to show love to me, do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God. And walk humbly with your God Justice, doing what is right and fair for all of God's children Pretty straightforward Kindness. If we wanted a guardrail for living life, kindness is a pretty good one. You can always be kind and humility, reminding yourself that there are powers, there's a presence that is way bigger than you, and you know what that can be kind of freeing, and you know what that can be kind of freeing. You end up in situations in your life where you feel like you're being asked to make judgments about other people, other situations, especially ones that are complicated, maybe a cultural understanding, a sexual understanding that doesn't seem to be harming other folks. And now you're in this place of should I be judging that? Should I be assuming what God wants there? And God is saying no, let me do that. You walk humbly with me. That is what God is asking.

Pastor Darren:

When I think of this context in which Micah is doing his ministry, it's fairly easy for me to see our own society today In America. We've had our time of prosperity. Many would argue we are still the most significant society in the world today. We are that relevant, we are that big of an elephant. But most of us would argue, too, that we're starting to see some cracks. Maybe we're not doing all of the things that led to the prosperity that we are enjoying and that we are leaning on. And then we have to add on to our challenge here in our society that we don't generally agree on the things that we need to fix, or what the cracks are, or what's slipping through the cracks, or what is a problem about the cracks. And we argue about these things and I don't know if you notice this, but I sure do we start drawing battle lines Right? Oh, we better mount up, we better. You know this is going to be this kind of situation. You're on this side, you're on this side. All of a sudden, all these complex issues, issues that require a certain nuance at the very least, are now getting aligned. You're either this or you're this, or you're this or you're this. I think it happens in these places of anxiety, when we start feeling like we're lesser than we used to be and we're trying to solve things. As society we're trying to get it figured out, but we're arguing with each other about how we might solve them. We're arguing each other with each other about what we think should be solved and what maybe should be left alone.

Pastor Darren:

In our own denomination we have what's called a book of discipline. It's a very happy book, full of all sorts of fun and frolicking. We talked about John Wesley a month or so back. We know dude was pretty OCD, so to him discipline was a happy word, just so you know. Oh, yes, an opportunity to live out my intense desire for intensity In our book of discipline, which is kind of our constitution as a denomination there about 60, 70 years ago. Really, not any language about homosexuality in it, just didn't have it in there. I don't there was. You know we'd be kidding ourselves to think there wasn't an overall oppressive circumstance for people who were created that way. But homosexual people needed to be private, needed to be unseen, but there wasn't anything official in our book of discipline. It wasn't until the battles for social acceptance, cultural acceptance, that some of that language started to appear. Battle lines started to be drawn All of a sudden, scriptures like ours in these battle lines.

Pastor Darren:

As we start looking at our own scriptures and what they're saying and what they're believing. Now, with these new eyes, about this polarization, this duality that we've convinced ourselves needs to be true, we start adding a couple of words to scriptures. In this case, if they, if they, fit into our box of faith, then we do justice. If they're willing to hide parts of themselves, then we will love kindness. If they're willing to accept part of themselves as sinful, then we'll walk humbly with God. But not until then. Not until then, in my life of faith and I feel like you know, I'm 57. I've had a little bit of life. Some of you all judge me like I'm still a puppy 57? I'll bet you pop out of bed in four seconds. But in my life, 57, I really felt like the nuances are way more meaningful than this, significant than this.

Pastor Darren:

There's so few things that fit into this dualism of this or that it might even increase our anxiety that we keep pretending that they do fit into these. These are no-win situations. We're going to get it figured out. We're going to get it solved. This will be the absolute truth for everybody and we'll move on. When that's our goal, we'll never be successful. We'll never find our way to being able to live together, and I think that's why I like the Micah passage.

Pastor Darren:

When we think of faith, we often think of this set of beliefs. My faith is this, I believe this, I believe this, I believe this, and then we do our best to live out that faith. We do our best to live out that set of beliefs, but for Micah it changes just a little bit. It's not in that space, right the conversation about what we believe. It doesn't even really happen for the most part.

Pastor Darren:

In fact, for Micah, your faith is how you act. Your response to God is how you act. God said I don't need your sacrifices, I need your heart. I need your time. I need you to share it with people who are in need of it. Like Matthew 25, sheep and goats, you love me by loving my children.

Pastor Darren:

I think this is why I landed on this passage on this day where I was doing my best to respond to my good friend David in a way that showed my love for him, my love of faith and in him, and at the same time, recognized that it is a broad issue that we wrestle with here and there are people in different places in this room, but David became a prophet for me when he said you need to speak to this.

Pastor Darren:

You need to talk about this because, even though our denomination, even though our church has wrestled with it, even though there have been tears shed from it, even though hearts have been hurt by it, you need to speak to it.

Pastor Darren:

It you need to speak to it Because our United Methodist denomination has made a decision that we are going to honor the humanity of everyone. And for those who agree with this movement of the heart, I encourage you to live into grace. I encourage you to live into grace, grace, unconditional love for those you agree with and for those you disagree with, because I feel like that's how you honor God, with your humility in this situation. I also feel like that might be the best way to open others' hearts, to convince people of what you believe. And for those who are wrestling with this movement in our church, in our denomination, my invitation to you is in this Micah passage I invite you to do justice. I invite you to do justice, I invite you to love kindness, I invite you to walk humbly with God and just see where that takes you. Amen, amen.