If you were in church recently, you heard this well-known passage from Micah:
What does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Micah 6:8
This passage from sacred text refers to a moment when God accuses the people of not living their lives in accordance with God’s dreams for them. The response of the people is to offer sacrifices to atone for their sins. That’s worked in the past, right? God’s reply? A change of heart is desired, not just empty sacrifices.
Do justice. Love kindness. Walk humbly.
When I talk about Episcopal identity, I frequently refer to the Baptismal Covenant and its focus on striving for justice and peace while respecting the dignity of every human being; it is the foundation upon which Episcopal identity is built. To expand our shared understanding, NAES developed the “Four Pillars” of Episcopal identity (worship, religious formation and study, community, and social justice) as a way to draw a picture of how this unfolds on campus. As I listened in church to this short passage from Micah, I was reminded that it also serves as a wonderful summation of the type of community that we want our Episcopal schools to be.
Do justice. Love kindness. Walk humbly.
Notice that it all starts with the concept of doing justice. Two comments are necessary. First, note that justice is the very first item listed in this “job description” of what it means to be a disciple. It’s the first priority as it regulates all human interaction. Doing justice is pleasing to God; not doing justice is displeasing to God. Everything starts from that fundamental understanding. Second, justice is an action. It’s something to do. We are all called to do justice in our daily life. It’s granular and it falls upon each of our shoulders. More specifically, as leaders in Episcopal schools, doing justice affects all of the decisions that we make around the student’s educational experience from the curriculum, to materials, to the schedule. Doing justice drives how we budget, the conversation about access and whom we invite into our community, and policies about discipline and how we respond when (not if) our students fall short of the aspirational goals we set for them. We are required to “do” justice in all of those daily decisions that come with being an adult in a school environment.
We are also required to love kindness. As the theologian Megan Fulerton Strollo said, “without loving kindness, justice is incomplete.” For schools, this concept tends to inform how we walk the tightrope of accountability versus grace. Accountability is an important part of educating young people. Decisions have consequences, and we are doing a disservice to young people if we don’t model that truth of the world. However, grace and kindness also fit into the equation and are required. Justice goes hand in hand with loving kindness.
Finally, there is an element of humility in all of this work of doing justice and loving kindness. It starts with the realization that not one of us holds all of the truth around these matters. Some translators prefer the word “reverently” as opposed to “humbly.” Both convey to me that we aren’t the center of the universe nor should we try to be. We don’t have all of the answers, and it’s not our job to impose our answers upon others. However, in the midst of the diversity of opinion and expression that makes our communities so rich, a healthy dose of humility—recognizing that there might be more than one answer—serves everyone well.
The social justice pillar of Episcopal identity is extremely important. The book of Micah would say it’s primary because everything else comes from “doing” justice. So long as we are doing justice, loving kindness, and being humble in our communities, we will stay on the right track as Episcopal schools.