Pentecost 2a - conclusion

I write a song for our mission trip Bible verse every year. In recent years I’ve written words to existing songs like Green Day’s “Holiday” or Train’s “Hey Soul Sister”. This year I heard my son Joshua playing Israel Kamakawiwoʻole’s version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” on his ukulele and wrote new lyrics based on Micah 6:8. You can give it go if you like.

    What does the Lord require of you today?
    Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with your God

Do justice means we start to act

In ways we would not but for Christ who’s gone before
And then he’ll have you go where you don’t want to
but you know that’s where you’ll always find Him - chorus

The world is not a pretty place
that’s full of love and life and grace but Christ is there
So kindness is the way we show Christ’s love to all
And that is where we’ll always find Him - chorus
 

To walk with God the humble way

is without doubt in harmony with Christ our Lord
And so we live not for ourselves but everyone who’s looking still
so they will find Him 

It seemed an ironic choice of melodies for the work we were doing but then in many ways the children of the Nelson Center dream of a place where dreams that you dare to dream really do come true and. As is so often the case the texts for Pentecost 2a could not have been more fitting for our week. Jeremiah’s tell it like it is and don’t sugar coat the reality of captivity means we can sing with the Ethan the Ezrahite of the Lord’s love forever even when lives are less than lovely. And the new relationship of freedom in the Romans text is the reward of offering a cup of cold water to one of these little ones, though truth to be told we were the ones who were thirsty.