Lent
March 29, 2021
Scripture Reading:
Isaiah 42:1-9
Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
He will not cry or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
a bruised reed he will not break,
and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
He will not grow faint or be crushed
until he has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his teaching. –Isaiah 42:1-4
What is justice? Is it an individual reality only or is justice always interrelate? The Hebrew word translated above as justice is mishpat and means judgment* and is targeted at the nation. The pictures of scales evenly balanced is an apt illustration of this word. But how do we determine what is just–doing that which is right: acting rightly or justly: conforming to the standard of the divine or the moral law: free from guilt or sin**?
I read in the paper yesterday that a man was set free from a rape charge because the woman who was raped was drunk, and there was solid proof that she was drunk because she chose to drink. No one forced her to drink. That decision was following that state’s law.
The Oklahoma City jail has some significant infrastructure problems that have resulted in it not having running water for weeks. Yesterday, a guard was taken hostage, and the prisoners demanded better treatment. Many of the prisoners are there because they could not pay the required bail. One prisoner was killed as authorities regained control of the facility. Many people held in jail have not been found guilty of anything.
The state of Georgia just passed a law making it illegal to provide water to people standing in line waiting to vote. Christ-followers are commanded to provide water for the thirsty. (Matthew 25:35) Who determines what is just?
Prayer: Lord, as we observe today, Jesus driving the money changers out of the temple grounds, guide us to ponder on the things that are just or unjust in our individual lives and our land. Please help us to see ways we can foster justice across our world. Amen.
*https://biblehub.com/hebrew/4941.htm
**https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/righteous
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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.