The Kingdom of Justice

Movement I
text from Micah 6:6-8

Baritone Solo:
With what shall I come before the Lord
and bow down before God on high?
Should I bring burnt offerings,
or year-old calves to sacrifice?
Will God be pleased with thousands of rams,
or with ten thousand rivers of oil?

Chorus:
God has shown you what is good!
What does the Lord require of you,
but to do justice, and love mercy,
and walk humbly with your God?

Movement II
text from Isaiah 58:6-9

Soprano Solo:
Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to share your bread with the hungry,
and welcome the poor to your house?

Choir:
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord behind you.
You will call out, and the Lord will answer;
you will cry for help, and God will say: “Here am I.”

Movement III
text from Jeremiah 31:31, 33

Baritone Solo:
“The days are coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.”

Choir:
“This is the covenant that I will make:
I will put my law in their minds, and write it on their hearts;
I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

Movement IV
text from James 2:5, Matthew 6:19-21, and Revelation 21:1, 3

Soprano Solo:
Has God not chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom?

Choir:
“Do not store up treasures on this earth,
where moth and rust destroy,
and thieves break in and steal.
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
for where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also.”

Soloists:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.   
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

Choir:
“Behold, the tabernacle of God is with mortals,
and God will dwell with them and they will be God’s people.”