Advent
December 14, 2016

Scripture Reading: Psalm 80:1-7, 17-18

Restore us, O God of hosts;
   let your face shine, that we may be saved.

But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand,
   the one whom you made strong for yourself.
Then we will never turn back from you;
   give us life, and we will call on your name. –Psalm 80:7, 17-18

I am a strong supporter of restorative justice but when do we recognize that someone is restored? One of the big sports news issues over the past two years in Oklahoma relates to a college football player from one of our state colleges who was arrested for an altercation that happened before he ever played a single game. I suppose, to get on with his life, he entered no plea but accepted a sentence of community service, was banned from the football team for one year, and attended anger management classes. He completed all these requirements. He is an outstanding football player, and I read in the paper this morning that he would be a top draft pick but will probably lose points for the incident I just described. If he were not a top athlete, we would most likely never have known this event occurred. For many with the same crime when they were 18, their records might have already been expunged. In the same paper, I read about another player who was arrested in pre-college days twice for alleged family violence, not convicted either time. I wondered why if these were juvenile offenses the records were even open for scrutiny. And yes, I do think athletes are held to a higher standard and yes I, do think because they are natural role models for children that can be a good thing. Isn’t being restored a good and important example too?

The greater issue in restorative justice is the disenfranchisement in many states of persons convicted of a felony who will never be able to vote again in this country, although they have successfully served their terms or not be considered for many jobs. During Advent let us consider the quote from Isaiah 43:25

I, I am He
   who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,
   and I will not remember your sins. –Isaiah 43:25

And let us contemplate what that might mean for our justice system.

Prayer: Lord, grant us the gift of the same memory loss God experiences once God blots out our transgressions. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.