Do Justice, Love Kindness, Walk Humbly

A Letter from Bishop Benfield

Read the Bible, especially Micah 6:8: “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

To see the president of the United States stand in front of an historic Episcopal church with a Bible in hand as a political prop—while using rubber bullets to clear his path and having previously relished the thought of vicious dogs attacking protesters—is a great evil. As is the silent complicity of Cabinet officials and members of Congress. For me to remain silent would be evil as well.

Our nation is currently suffering the effects of what is truly its original sin: human greed that has manifested itself through four hundred years of self-serving racial superiority, the ownership of human beings, and an ongoing economic inequality that praises profits above all else and tries its best to keep people of color and the poor marginalized.

The overarching, consistent message of the Bible is compassion: the very mercy, justice, and humility that Micah proclaimed as a prophet. The overarching, consistent message of Christianity is resurrection: to seek and serve the risen Christ in all persons. We have seen none of this sort of behavior in our public officials. In fact, just the opposite. We Christians are called to step into this breach through our own lives and actions and proclamations.