Amos 5:24— Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Isaiah 58:6 — Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?
Micah 6:8 — what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Recently I heard someone say they wished a friend would stop talking about all this “social justice” stuff all the time and, instead, read their Bible more. This made me wonder if the speaker had ever actually read the Bible herself? Because, it turns out the Bible is all about “this justice stuff.”
Certainly, Jesus says a great deal, such as “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Or, a chapter or so later, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You tithe mint, dill, and cumin [the smallest things], and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy and faith.”
If the New Testament has plenty to say about justice, and there is certainly an immense amount more than these two examples, the Old Testament then, (the Hebrew Scriptures) has much, much more. The prophets I quoted at the beginning of this message, Amos, Isaiah, and Micah all have a great deal to say on the subject of justice — just as do the writers of both Leviticus and Deuteronomy, as other prophets such as Ezekiel — and the Psalms and many more. The Lord’s Great Day — mentioned in a few different books -- the Day of Atonement — decreed that every seven years, slaves would be set free and debts would be forgiven. That sounds like justice to my ears.
Every forty-nine years (that’s seven sevens) Jubilee was declared and land that had been sold to satisfy debts would be returned to its original owner’s family. I can’t even conceive of such a law here in our country, where property has always been viewed as more important than the lives of actual human persons.
We, as Christians, are a people bound to care about justice and bound to take it very seriously — because the Bible makes its entirely clear that God takes it very seriously. If we are going to call ourselves followers of Jesus it would benefit us to read what Jesus and the prophets had to say on the subject of justice.
There are those today who want us to believe that protests and marches are all about politics--just politics This is true only to the extent that everything ends up being political these days, because it is so much easier for us to agree to disagree on politics than to admit that we have lost our way on moral issues.
We live in a time and place where we accept homelessness as “natural.” It isn’t. A time and place where only the very wealthiest can afford certain medications, not because they are really that expensive to produce but because the manufacturers and their stockholders are greedy. We accept this as normal. It isn’t.
Certain segments of our society – certain races, certain ethnic groups -- have been used and excluded and stolen from for generations. That’s not normal. It’s not right. Never has been. It is, in fact, hideously wrong. All we have to do is pay attention to what scripture and the teachings of our faith – as well as the voice of the Spirit that dwells within us -- have been saying all along.
If God takes justice seriously, then why don’t we? How have we come to the point where money is more important than mercy?
It is time for us to wake up and actually listen to what is happening all around us. It is time for the things that are right to be the things that matter once again. We each have a choice every day: We can say, “It’s always been this way, I can’t I do anything about it” -- or -- we can say “Here I am, Lord. Use me. Show me your way.”
“Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. “
Amen.
Certainly, Jesus says a great deal, such as “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Or, a chapter or so later, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You tithe mint, dill, and cumin [the smallest things], and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy and faith.”
If the New Testament has plenty to say about justice, and there is certainly an immense amount more than these two examples, the Old Testament then, (the Hebrew Scriptures) has much, much more. The prophets I quoted at the beginning of this message, Amos, Isaiah, and Micah all have a great deal to say on the subject of justice — just as do the writers of both Leviticus and Deuteronomy, as other prophets such as Ezekiel — and the Psalms and many more. The Lord’s Great Day — mentioned in a few different books -- the Day of Atonement — decreed that every seven years, slaves would be set free and debts would be forgiven. That sounds like justice to my ears.
Every forty-nine years (that’s seven sevens) Jubilee was declared and land that had been sold to satisfy debts would be returned to its original owner’s family. I can’t even conceive of such a law here in our country, where property has always been viewed as more important than the lives of actual human persons.
We, as Christians, are a people bound to care about justice and bound to take it very seriously — because the Bible makes its entirely clear that God takes it very seriously. If we are going to call ourselves followers of Jesus it would benefit us to read what Jesus and the prophets had to say on the subject of justice.
There are those today who want us to believe that protests and marches are all about politics--just politics This is true only to the extent that everything ends up being political these days, because it is so much easier for us to agree to disagree on politics than to admit that we have lost our way on moral issues.
We live in a time and place where we accept homelessness as “natural.” It isn’t. A time and place where only the very wealthiest can afford certain medications, not because they are really that expensive to produce but because the manufacturers and their stockholders are greedy. We accept this as normal. It isn’t.
Certain segments of our society – certain races, certain ethnic groups -- have been used and excluded and stolen from for generations. That’s not normal. It’s not right. Never has been. It is, in fact, hideously wrong. All we have to do is pay attention to what scripture and the teachings of our faith – as well as the voice of the Spirit that dwells within us -- have been saying all along.
If God takes justice seriously, then why don’t we? How have we come to the point where money is more important than mercy?
It is time for us to wake up and actually listen to what is happening all around us. It is time for the things that are right to be the things that matter once again. We each have a choice every day: We can say, “It’s always been this way, I can’t I do anything about it” -- or -- we can say “Here I am, Lord. Use me. Show me your way.”
“Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. “
Amen.
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