Tag Archives: Restorative Justice

Sexual Assault

Living in the Spirit
October 5, 2018

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12

 ‘What are human beings that you are mindful of them,
   or mortals, that you care for them?
You have made them for a little while lower than the angels;
   you have crowned them with glory and honor,
subjecting all things under their feet.’

 It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, saying,
‘I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters,
   in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.’ –Hebrews 2:6b-8, 10-12

Sexual assault and its ramifications are currently in every news report. Of course, sexual assault is not about sex. It is about lust for power and fulfilling some primal need to gain power through violence. It is about trying to prove oneself by meeting some unwritten code that threads through our society. It is the opposite of understanding that all people are created in the image of God and thus each person is a person of worth deserving the respect and dignity that comes with being a child of God. Such respect and dignity including the right of everyone to control the sanctity of their own bodies should be encoded into the character of every child by the time they reach kindergarten. That clearly has not been the outcome in child rearing and education in our culture today.

I heard comments several times this week all from males, that we are ruining people’s lives, primarily the lives of male perpetrators, by bringing up sexual assault issues from their distant pasts. I also heard many testimonies from victims of how their lives were ruined by sexual assault. As a strong supporter of restorative justice, I do not want anyone’s life ruined. The best way to prevent that from happening is to work intentionally toward removing the cultural norms from our society that encourage lust for power fulfilled through violence and measures of self-worth that denigrate. Such changes must start at birth and continue throughout life.

Beyond prevention, perpetrators must acknowledge their past and present actions that caused harm to others and work not only to make amends for them but to clear the ideas that reinforced the behaviors from their way of being. Victims must seek help as needed to return to becoming the person they were created to be.

Prayer: Lord, I sometimes wonder why we humans work so hard at building our own set of values by which to measure our success when you provide a framework for loving that includes all we need to succeed. Clean our mental an spiritual filters so we can be filled with your 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.

Sin Prevention

Epiphany
February 11, 2017

Scripture Reading: Matthew 5:21-37

‘You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, “You shall not murder”; and “whoever murders shall be liable to judgement.” But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgement; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, “You fool”, you will be liable to the hell of fire. –Matthew 5:21-22

My Sunday school class recently discussed whether all sins were equal or are some sins worse than others? Where does the accumulation of sins fit? What is sin anyway? We fell back on the definition of sin as missing the mark or not being aligned with God’s will. How do we know when we have missed the mark and what is our response? How do all the Biblical laws fit within these definitions and how do we interpret them as they apply in our world today?

Living is easier when everything is black and white. We can check off how good we are when we follow the rules as we understand them, regardless of their impact on us or others. I remember the scene from Schindler’s List (at least I think that was the movie) where Jews were hiding in sewer system tunnels to avoid being imprisoned by the Nazi’s. They had a tiny newborn with them who started to cry as the Nazi soldiers marched closer and closer to the hiding place. One of the parents placed a handkerchief over the baby’s mouth and nose till there was no noise escaping. The soldiers passed without notice, many lives were saved from the concentration camps, the baby died. There was nothing black or white about the situation.

It is never enough to protect ourselves from God’s judgment while the world is falling apart around us. God’s way as Jesus modeled it was to take care of problems before they escalated. To love our neighbors until there is no room left for discord and hate that leads to destruction, to prevent catastrophes before they happen, and to make justice for all a reality.

Of course, we do not get a clean slate on which to design our quest for justice. We must begin in whatever quagmire we find ourselves. Justice involves fixing the broken as well as preventing brokenness. God is powerful enough to support restoration and prevention at the same time. With God’s help we can restore and prevent at the same time also.

Prayer: Lord, empower our love to be the catalyst as we work to prevent injustice as well as restore justice.  Forgive us when we miss the mark; guide us to finding your way to justice. 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.

God’s Memory Loss

restoresAdvent
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.

Not Justice

LibertyLiving in the Spirit
June 17, 2016

Scripture Reading: Galatians 3:23-29

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 if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise. –Galatians 3:28-29

I share in the consternation of people who are concerned that white privilege most likely resulted in a young man, found guilty of rape, receiving only a prison sentence of a few months with part of that waived. I celebrate with the family of a young white man in Oklahoma not receiving the death penalty after being found guilty of murdering, not only his father, but also a younger brother. I have always been against the death penalty. I also can assure you that if either of these young men had been black or any other person of color, Muslim or even just middle-eastern these sentences would have been markedly different for the same crimes.

I am a strong supporter of restorative justice and appreciate recent actions in Oklahoma to move toward restoring wholeness to those who have committed crimes. I think most sentences are too long and are not accompanied with nearly enough rehabilitative efforts. I am also appalled, at the same time these steps were taken, our government through increased fees and fines designed to fund criminal justice activities, essentially expanded a form of debtors’ prisons.

And so we read our scripture for today, part of which is quoted above, and ponder how it is that what we call justice is not justice at all, at least not for everyone.

Prayer: Lord, create in us clean hearts to serve you more justly. 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.

Restorative Justice

prison5Lent
February 27, 2016

Scripture Reading: Luke 13:1-9

At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, ‘Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.’ –Luke 13-5

Funny how we humans relate to the woes of others. The evening news is a mirror image of our societies quest to judge. We are told truly sad story of a “proper” family including a request for help, and people usually respond with great compassion, and that is good. Yet when told of a family member, of whom we all are, who has done some horrible crime, or not so horrible crime, we are quick to wish that person the worse possible outcome even though he or she is no less a child of God and may actually be in more need of our compassion than most.

Bad things do happen to good people and love can heal the most hardened criminal. Prisons have started programs where persons, with life without parole sentences, have been taught to train service dogs. The combination of the unconditional love of the dogs with which they work and the knowledge that once the dog leaves their training it will help someone in great need has an amazingly restorative impact on the prisoners involved. I wonder what impact the unconditional love of another human would have?

Prayer: Lord, you commanded us to visit the prisoner show us the way to bring restorative justice to every court room, jail, and prison in our land. Make us conduits of your love and justice to those caught up in the criminal system and make us strong advocates for those whom the justice system has failed. 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.

The Lord’s Side

floodLiving in the Spirit
September 23, 2015

Scripture Reading: Psalm 124

If it had not been the Lord who was on our side   —let Israel now say—
if it had not been the Lord who was on our side,
when our enemies attacked us,
then they would have swallowed us up alive,
when their anger was kindled against us;
then the flood would have swept us away,
the torrent would have gone over us;
then over us would have gone
the raging waters….

Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth. –Psalm 124:1-5, 8

President Lincoln made a significant remark to a clergyman in the early days of the War.

 “Let us have faith, Mr. President,” said the minister, “that the Lord is on our side in this great struggle.”

 Mr. Lincoln quietly answered: “I am not at all concerned about that, for I know that the Lord is always on the side of the right; but it is my constant anxiety and prayer that I and this nation may be on the Lord’s side.”*

Our Psalm today is written in retrospect after an apparently calamitous flood had struck the land. We do need to thank God for God’s loving presence in all aspects of our lives. I fear though we are too often in these days hearing of loss of property, loss of both wildlife and domestic animals and deaths of humans due to what are termed “natural” disasters. What we may have failed to comprehend is the part we may have played in such events and the part that still awaits us to prevent them from happening. We are having a swarm of earthquakes related to wastewater drilling associated with the drilling of oil wells here in Oklahoma. For years we denied the connection. We are just now accepting the science that has been there all along.

What would have prevented the Civil War? How would our world be different today had our ancestors figured out preventing that war before it was too late? Do we not learn from our previous disasters?

What are we leaving for our descendants to clean up after we are gone because we chose to take the expedient way rather than God’s way? God gave us this great earth to supply are needs with the understanding that we must treat it responsibility. Just as God created all the peoples of the earth who share in common the work of God’s hands.

Prayer: Lord, cleanse us of the enmities that divide us and help us comprehend more particularly your ways and make them our own. Amen.

*http://www.aboutabrahamlincoln.com/anecdotes/anecdotes__on_the.html

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.

Restoration not Condemnation

PrisonerLent
March 14, 2015

Scripture Reading: John 3:14-21

‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

 ‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. — John 3:16-17

It would seem that God is a proponent of what we call today restorative justice. Our prisons, particularly here in Oklahoma I am sorry to say, are full of God’s children who have drifted from the path of, at least, civil law. At this writing we have about 40 people serving sentences of life in prison without parole for having been convicted a third time of drug trafficking. Perhaps a compelling argument can be made that there are a few, albeit a very few people, who for the sake of society’s safety may need to be taken off the streets forever, but even then there may be things they can do while in prison to make a contribution to society. For example, some prisons have programs where inmates train service dogs for the disabled. In so doing these prisoners experience not only the unconditional love of a pet, but also the knowledge that they are helping someone they might never meet.

I think God, however, might say something like this, “Anyone created in my image has the basic substance to be made whole and has a vital part to play in the furtherance of my Kingdom here on earth.” Every missing piece of the Body of Christ diminishes its ability to be what it is called to be. Every piece that is saved, returned to wholeness, can be the link that makes the Body of Christ, functioning in our world today, greater than the sum of its parts.

As we consider our own salvation during this Lenten season and as we contemplate what it means to be condemned, let us forgo the practice of condemning others, and practice the art of restoration.

Prayer:
Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul
Thank you, Lord, for making me whole
Thank you, Lord, for giving to me
Thy great salvation so rich and free*
Lord, help us to follow your lead and turn condemnation into restoration. Amen.

Restorative Justice

Restorative JusticeLiving in the Spirit
Light a Candle for Children
October 1, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Psalm 19

 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
   be acceptable to you,
   O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. — Psalm 19:14

Such familiar words, but do we practice them? This is not a prayer for God to clean up our language. It is a prayer that we live our lives in such a way and speak in such a way that what we do and say gives honor to God. The next question we must consider is: What is acceptable to God?

The prophet Micah gives us some clues when he writes: He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and 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)

Jesus addressed the issue when he answered a question: ‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ He said to him, ‘“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ (Matthew 22:36-40)

Put God first, love your neighbor, and do justice. These surely are enough to keep each of us busy for a lifetime. We are called to do justice particularly for those who cannot do justice for themselves. Our children need us to do justice for them. Restorative justice for parents is justice for their children too.

Oklahoma Fact: On any given day, more than 26,000 Oklahoma children have a parent in an Oklahoma prison.*

Prayer: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you,   O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.

http://oica.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Children-of-Incarcerated-Parents-Report-January-1-2012.pdf

 

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.