Of Micah, Mercy, & our Muslim Neighbor

We live in an age of un-ease. We feel on the verge of economic, political, social, and cultural crises and face fear when we do such simple things as hop on the internet, travel to see family, or even walk out our own front door. 
 
If ours is a time of destruction, violence, war, impending judgment, fear, and uneasiness so too was the prophet Micah’s.

It might behoove us then to lean in for a listen when Micah writes, “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. What does God require of you? That you act justly and love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)

In other words: God’s already made it clear to us how to live in line with his will — to do what is fair and just to our neighbor, to be compassionate and loyal in our love, and to not take ourselves too seriously, but to take God seriously. 

What does that look like when it comes to our Muslim neighbor? 

Listen to my message below, delivered at St. John's Lutheran Church in Alexandria, VA on Sunday January 29, 2017. 

The stories that matter to Muslims should matter to us all

From the news headlines over the past year you’d think that the news about Muslims mainly consists of ISIS, Charlie Hebdo, Qur’an controversies, the occasional Muslim holiday, and lately the bigoted opinions of some presidential candidates.

Stories in the media that imply that Islam is all about violence, Mohammad cartoons, or subjugating women and non-Christians to harsh impositions of Sharia law, not surprisingly find a big audience in the U.S.

But what are the stories that matter to Muslims?