Tag Archives: Justice

Clearing Away Logs

Advent
December 16, 2018

Scripture Reading: Luke 3:7-18

John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.’ Luke 3:7-9

Ever want to cry out something like John does in the scripture above as you watch the news and hear some of the most God-awful things being done in the name of God? I must admit I do want to rale against what I consider to be blasphemy. I also wonder sometimes if the people whose positions I am judging feel the same way about my faith stances. How do we discern what is just and right in God’s eyes? What is our role in confronting that which seems at the least misguided?

John had apparently reached the point that he could not keep silent when what he felt was the very core of God’s righteousness was being ignored by the religious leaders of the day. They seem to be interpreting the scriptures passed down from their ancestors to their own advantage. Of course, that is not uncommon behavior even today. Jesus spoke some wise words to us in this regard when he prescribed a good dose of self-examination before we try to engage with others regarding what is just and what is right.

You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye. –Matthew 7:5

True self-examination can be painful. Thus, it takes courage to practice it. There are suggested practices that are helpful particularly in obtaining some objectivity in our self-evaluation. One I have found useful is to seek a Bible story that is like an issue with which I am dealing and pray-fully role-playing in a meditation how each participant perceives the situation. For example, if we are trying to discern what is the just and right way to deal with immigration, we might look at the story in the Bible book of Ruth or that of the Syrophoenician Woman (Matthew 15:21-28). How did it feel to be in either role? In the Matthew story, how did Jesus respond to the woman? What do we think the Disciples learned from this interchange? Did we trip over any logs in our viewpoints that might be hindering us from loving like Jesus? Did we discover any new ways of being we might model for others regarding this issue?

Prayer: Lord, help me discover any logs blocking my soul vision of your will for my life and the lives of others who are impacted by my perception of what is just and what is right. 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Gentleness

Advent
December 15, 2018

Scripture Reading: Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

There is an assumption in the phrase let your gentleness be known to everyone in this scripture that all possess some amount of gentleness. Someone posted a picture of one of my adult grand-nephews recently on Facebook. He is a good-sized guy, was a football lineman in high school, and now has a full beard. The picture is of him asleep lying back in a recliner with a tiny kitten also asleep on his shoulder her head resting on his beard. The picture is the epidemy of a gentle giant and assures anyone around that nobody is going to mess with that kitten. One of the images of God is the gentle Savior who is present with all the Lord’s children and other creatures too.

The Greek word translated gentle in the above scripture is epieikḗs* and it means justice beyond ordinary justice. It represents true equity that appropriately fulfills the spirit not just the letter of the law. Sounds like a good helping of justice served with a touch of God’s grace. Isn’t that what God wants, what we want for everyone as we gently serve as God’s hands and feet active in the world today?

Gentle Savior, lead me on
Let Your Spirit light the way
Gentle Savior, lead me on
Hold me close and keep me safe
Lead me on, gentle Savior**

Prayer: O God, Lead us into greater gentleness. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/1933.htm
**Chorus of Gentle Savior lyrics by David Phelps / Kyle Matthews / Greg Bieck © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc, Universal Music Publishing Group. See at https://www.google.com/search?q=gentle+savior&oq=gentle+savi&aqs=chrome.0.0j69i57j0l4.13560j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

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.

stice

Advent
December 5, 2018

Scripture Reading: Luke 1:68-79

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
   for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people
   by the forgiveness of their sins. –Luke 1:77-78

Zechariah, a Jewish priest, and his wife Elizabeth welcomed their first child apparently when they had given up on having children. This child, Jesus’ cousin, was to become a prophet, adopting a rather wild countenance as he proclaimed the coming of a Savior. The childhood story of these two cousins born six months apart was not shared with us. We know they lived in dangerous times. Jesus came from a very small-town, Nazareth, which was located about four miles from Sepphoris, a Roman city of some size and power thought to be the birthplace of Mary, Jesus’ mother. In 4 BCE Herod the Great died sparking thoughts among some Jews of overthrowing Roman rule. A rebel named Judas tired to take over Sepphoris setting in motion major turmoil.   Scholars estimate that this is about the same time Jesus was born. Roman legions were sent to return order and control through violence.

We are all shaped by the events that surrounded us when we were born and as we developed. I was a post-World War II baby and remember sitting on my Uncle Harvey’s lap and counting the black odd shaped patches on his arms which were abundant and were shrapnel. He was gravely injured in the war. John, the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, and Jesus most likely had front row seats to the injustices of the occupation. No doubt the people of Galilee at that time recalled the prophecies made following the exile of the coming of one to save them from tyranny and longed for his arrival.

I can envision Zechariah holding his tiny newborn son and imagining him fulfilling his part in preparing the way for this savior to occur, a bold calling for such a helpless baby made possible only through the power of the Almighty God. Two thousand years later, we, too, are called to prepare the way for the saving power of God’s love through Jesus Christ and we are also helpless but lean on the mighty power of God.

Prayer:  God of Might, God of Love, instill in us the strength of your love as we remind ourselves this Advent season of why we are here an what we are called to do. 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Attaining Desired Outcomes

Advent
December 3, 2018

Scripture Reading: Malachi 3:1-4

See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? Malachi 3:1-2a

The hindsight of the New Testament identifies this messenger as John the Baptist and the Lord as Jesus. For most of us steeped in the stories of Jesus, it is hard to read this without such an understanding. I think that is one of the paradoxical traits of the Bible and it is good for us to struggle with what the scripture meant to the first who heard it and how that differs from what it means to us today.

What I understand from this reading, is that God’s system of our interrelationship with God from the beginning included accountability. Having coordinated planning for a large multipurpose state agency for many years, I spent much of my time awash in tracking the results of our work. That comes as a surprise to many who do not hold government in high esteem as being productive. Truth is we worked very hard at setting goals and trying to attain them.

Systems theory says that processes must be well coordinated with desired outcomes and they must be evenly weighted. It is possible to do processes very well and, if they are not designed to attain the goal, they are worthless. Likewise, we may have great goals, but we do not design and implement the right processes to attain the desired outcomes. Thus, if the desired outcome is loving God and loving our neighbors as ourselves and the only processes, we are doing to reach that goal are for an exclusive group of people to complete exacting rituals perfectly that have no relationship to God or our neighbors we will not attain our desired outcome.

Malachi is indicated that our processes and our desired outcomes are out of synch, but help is on the way as one is coming who can correct our course and set us on the right path.

Prayer: Lord, as we enter the season of Advent, guide us to see the eternal nature of your ways and refocus on your desired outcomes and the right processes to attain them. 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Sprouting Love

Advent
December 1, 2018

Scripture Reading: Luke 21:25-36

Then he told them a parable: ‘Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. –Luke 21:29-33

The coming of the Son of Man, the one to shepherd people into God’s world vision is the subject of this parable. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection ushered in a new phase of the development of the Kingdom of God. In it, all Christ’s followers are called to serve as conduits to the realization of that Kingdom. What are the sprouting leaves we are nurturing toward that goal? Are we seeing progress some 2,000 years later? The overwhelming evil in the world can sometimes make us lose heart and miss the sprouts of love springing up in small ways and in great.

My church just welcomed its first refugee family. It is hard to imagine such a life-changing experience. Hard to leave everything one has ever known behind.  Working with this family truly offers our members the opportunity to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. While we are trying to comprehend the magnitude of need in the world, we make a small difference addressed one family at a time.

Faith friends of mind from the UCC church just returned from a pilgrimage to the Mexican border to witness the situation there and directly to love like Jesus loves. The stories they brought back with them will encourage others to get involved.

Years ago, an experienced justice advocate told me it takes about ten years to change laws. I though she was overstating reality. She was not. Dedicated, knowledgeable people working hard for several years began to update our states criminal justice system and bit by bit it has improved. There is great hope that even more progress will be made this legislative session. Christ calls us to care about the prisoner. Implementing restorative justice is a good start.

Isaiah described a world where wolves and lambs, calves and lions, lie down together in harmony and a little child leads them. (Isaiah 11:6) They are not little children, but I am impressed with what groups of dedicated youth have done working toward ending the scourge of violence in our land.

One of my favorite scriptures is John 16:33, I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!’ We need to remember often who we follow.

Prayer: Lord, give us the courage to grow your Kingdom in both small and great ways. 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Being Christ Like

Living in the Spirit
November 27, 2018

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 33:14-16

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfil the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’

There is a cartoon being shared on social media that shows a man talking with Jesus. The man asks Jesus why he is letting a long laundry list of bad things happen to the people. Jesus’ responded, “I was just about to ask you the same thing.” That is the prophet’s message in a nutshell. We are called to be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves*.

The people of Israel had gotten themselves in a real mess largely from following their personal interest rather than following God. Jeremiah assures them that God is still God and is sending help but only if the people understand that God’s ways are just and righteous and do not mix well with greed and lust for power among other issues. Justice and righteousness do not exist outside of our relationships with one another. God can show us the way to do justice but for it to be realized we must practice what God teaches.

Russell Westbrook, the point guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder, had a bad shooting night recently missing several three-point shots. He was asked about it after they lost the game and he said he needed to watch film to see what he was doing wrong and make the necessary corrections. It might be helpful if we all had some film to watch so we could make life corrections that would enhance our skills in doing justice. While we do not have such a film to dissect, we do have a role model in Jesus Christ. A good practice is to examine our own life regarding how he handled life situations. One good exercise is to meditate on one of the people encounters Jesus had and see ourselves in the roles of each participant. For example, imagine ourselves as the woman caught in adultery. How does that feel? How do we react to the stone throwers? How do we react to Jesus? Now go back and review the scene again like a stone thrower, and finally as Jesus.

Prayer: Lord, help me see myself as others might perceive me and help me make any course corrections needed. Amen.

*James 1:22

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.

The Lord is our Righteousness

Living in the Spirit
November 26, 2018

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 33:14-16

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfil the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’

When we hear the word “righteousness” what comes to mind? I am sorry to say that I picture what is actually “self-righteous” in a negative connotation. I wonder from where in my past that was implanted in my thinking. The word “justice” now comes to mind but that arrived in my adulthood. Doing what is right was established as a goal in my family during my childhood. Telling lies was forbidden thus the wrong thing to do and treating other people with respect was required one of the right things to do. I was raised with a well-defined conscience long before the phrase “What would Jesus do?” became popular. I guess I never put doing what was right together with the word righteous. I do now.

I think many of the problems with which we deal today result from our confusing what is right in the eyes of God and thus our standard for righteousness, with our self-defined righteousness.  Self-righteousness always creates a hierarchy of difference between peoples resulting in absolute injustice, the very opposite of righteousness. People of faith get caught in this web at times. We did it with the crusades, the doctrine of discovery, manifest destiny. Self-righteousness generally results in the definer establishing themselves as the judge of those not meeting their designated definition of what is righteous.

If indeed the Lord is our righteousness, we would do well to discern how God defines it. For Christ-followers’ understanding, his way of love is a great place to start understanding God’s righteousness.

Prayer: Lord, create in us clean hearts so that when we take in your way of doing what is right we have a place for it to reside. 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Ruling Justly

Living in the Spirit
November 19, 2018

Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 23:1-7

The spirit of the Lord speaks through me,
   his word is upon my tongue.
The God of Israel has spoken,
   the Rock of Israel has said to me:
One who rules over people justly,
   ruling in the fear of God,
is like the light of morning,
   like the sun rising on a cloudless morning,
   gleaming from the rain on the grassy land. –2 Samuel 23:2-4

These words are the bases of one of my favorite anthems, The Last Words of David*, and I cannot read them without the music playing in my head accompanying the words. The scripture is so meaningful to me because justice becomes more the center of my existence as I grow older and hopefully wiser.

The word justice tends to be claimed by the secular view related to government. Faith groups tend to lean more toward the word righteousness. Perhaps that is a good thing, even though they mean the same thing. Good because it forces people of faith to consider what God’s righteousness has to do with defining our citizenship responsibilities. People of the USA may think we have a corner on the separation of church and state but people living in societies with all types of governments must intentionally consider how to live their faith wherever they find themselves.

In some situations. I fear we use scripture to justify uncomplimentary realities. Weighing justice as we read the Bible is the challenge of discerning God among the human understandings of God in history through the filters of our lives. I trust that when we intentionally drop our guard as we study, God’s righteousness will shine through when we seek it through the clear lenses of God’s love.

How can we read throughout the Bible the words welcome the stranger and reject refugees? How can we answer the call to feed the hungry and not work for all to earn a living wage? How can we read Galatians 3:28, There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus and openly discriminate against people different from us?

Prayer: Lord, enable us to rule over people justly in the fear of God. Amen.

*The Last Words of David by Randall Thompson – E.C. Schirmer Music Co., learn more at https://www.jwpepper.com/The-Last-Words-of-David/341016.item#/submit

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.

Second Coming is Now

Living in the Spirit
November 18, 2018

Scripture Reading: Mark 13:1-8

When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, ‘Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?’ Then Jesus began to say to them, ‘Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, “I am he!” and they will lead many astray. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs. –Mark 13:3-8

We all want God to wave a magic wand and make everything right, whatever that is. Apparently, there are as many definitions of what is right as there are humans on this earth. Right is often me-centric.

What is righteousness in God’s view? When we commit to following God, we commit to, at the very least, seeking God’s righteousness for all and working to make it a reality in our world. I have this rather quaint idea that when we align with God’s right all will be righteous. We will know what real justice is and we will be comfortable with real justice. God will feel at home pitching God’s tent among us*.

For righteousness to be, each of us must wrestle with how our concept of what is just and God’s concept match. They do not always. There are few if any people who are wholly unrighteous, but we all have pieces of our being that feel dis-ease when we encounter life situations that were once the rules, we were groomed to believe that are no longer acceptable. I was in a group of people recently that started comparing their family’s norms of eating order at large family gatherings when there were too many people to seat at a table. In my family when I was a child, the men always went first, followed by the children and then the women. Today everyone seems to hold back waiting for someone to break the spell of what is polite with the hostess going last. Now that we have young children again, their plates are often filled first. Younger adults hearing that there was ever an order prescribed just roll their eyes. Family traditions probably change easier than cultural tradition.

Cultural traditions, norms, mores, whatever we want to call them can get tangled in how we identify our self-worth. We once had norms, some even made into laws, that people of color sat at the back of the bus, could not eat in the same restaurants as whites, or use the same restrooms. Those laws/norms were given up with great anguish and discomfort.  We now are dealing with similar concerns targeted at people of other faiths or other sexual orientations. I could give many examples. When I was a child many people smoked anywhere, anytime. We threw everything in the trash and let it build up in larger and larger areas set aside for it. Children who could not make the grade could drop out of school. Criminals were electrocuted or sentenced to long terms in prison with no thought to restoring them to wholeness. The sick who could not pay for health care died young. Mental patients languished in institutions. Children died of malnutrition. Some of these examples still ring true today.

I rather think Jesus is saying in the scripture today, “Bad things are going to happen when I am gone, what are you going to do about it as my Body in the world today?”

Prayer: Guide us, O Lord, in understanding your righteousness and working to make it happen. Amen.

*See Revelation 21.3

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.

Disconsolate

Living in the Spirit
November 13, 2018

Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 2:1-10

‘There is no Holy One like the Lord,
   no one besides you;
   there is no Rock like our God.
Talk no more so very proudly,
   let not arrogance come from your mouth;
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
   and by him actions are weighed.
The bows of the mighty are broken,
   but the feeble gird on strength.
Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
   but those who were hungry are fat with spoil.
The barren has borne seven,
   but she who has many children is forlorn.
The Lord kills and brings to life;
   he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
   he brings low, he also exalts.
He raises up the poor from the dust;
   he lifts the needy from the ash heap,
to make them sit with princes
   and inherit a seat of honor.
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
   and on them he has set the world. –1 Samuel 2:2-8

This song above from 1 Samuel reflects the reaction of a barren woman made whole, gifted with the child for which she longed. Having children in Hannah’s time went beyond the natural desires to have a child but defined a woman’s self-worth. We may cringe at the spite or revenge it echoes but we cannot question the sincerity of its statement.

Beyond the personal story it tells, it introduces the Israelite journey from being ruled by judges to becoming a great kingdom. The people of Israel felt the same sting that Hannah the barren woman felt. There were unrest and a feeling that they were not where they needed to be. I thought of the old hymn Come, Ye Disconsolate when I read this, and I thought that we in the USA are caught in a similar snare.

Come, ye disconsolate, where’er ye languish;
Come to the mercy-seat, fervently kneel;
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish,
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal*.

Disconsolate**: deeply dejected and dispirited:  hopelessly sad:  being beyond consolation

There is a dis-ease among our citizens that results in some feeling that the world has passed them by as they seek meaning. We search often in all the wrong places among many lesser gods for answers to our deepest needs and we find empty even dangerous responses. I love the final sentence in each verse of this old hymn.

Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish,
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal*.

Prayer: Lord, help us to always remember that
  There is no Holy One like the Lord,
   no one besides you;
   there is no Rock like our God. Amen.

*First verse of Come, Ye Disconsolate by Robert Moore. See at **https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/684

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.