Justice-Intro
The problem of apathy among Christians is rampant in the First World, where consumerism dulls the human heart amidst an ecological crisis while a massive humanitarian crisis of poverty and hunger is ravaging many parts of the Third World. Raimon Panikkar
Gregg’s Reflection
I am an Enneagram 8. The Enneapp telle me that 8’s hate injustice, and have an inner sense of justice; and fight for the underdog. 8’s are the Challenger, quickly pointing out the flaws in our systems, in our logic, in our ability to ignore injustice that is baked into our culture.
For decades, I took credit for any success that came my way, proud of my ability to set goals and achieve them, to make my way in the world, to run a business and grow it. What I ignored as I took credit, and worked hard to prove myself worthy to my father and to God, were the advantages that allowed me to be successful.
I was born the white son of an entrepreneur in Atlanta in the time of greatest prosperity the world had ever seen. I went to the best public schools in the state, and had parents who could afford to send me, my brother and sister to any college we chose. I am 6’7” tall, and height correlates to success in our culture. I have a decent brain, but who put that brain in my head? Only as I waded into the deep end of the pool in my spiritual journey have these things come to light. In my move from False Self to True Self, the role of privilege in my life became clear.
Privilege is a charged term these days. Many of my Christian friends have been taught to focus on personal sin, and to ignore the sin baked into our system which perpetuates poverty, war, racism and misogyny. As an 8, I am wired to see injustice, but it took decades for my heart to soften and acknowledge my own complicity in the brokenness of our culture.
As Saint Francis walked away from a life of privilege, he demonstrated a life committed to the way of Jesus, the way of justice for the least, the lost and the last. So, wade into the wisdom of Scripture, the saints and mystics as they all embrace justice. Blessings.
Journaling Prompts
In what ways has our system benefited you in your education, career, and family? Where can you see systemic injustice that makes success a distant dream for so many in our country? How in your life have you taken a stand for justice, to call out injustice?
Scripture
It is unthinkable that God would do wrong, that the Almighty would pervert justice.
Job 34:12
The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.
Psalm 33:5
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you.
Psalm 89:14
Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.
Isaiah 1:17
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Hosea 6:8
But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!
Amos 5:24
Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.
Matthew 25:40
Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay”, says the Lord.
Romans 12:19
Ancient Writings
Justice is the virtue that gives each person his due; it is what makes us treat people with fairness and equity.
Augustine of Hippo
No one can be made just unless he is in the faith... Justice is the embodiment of that faith.
Ambrose of Milan
The bread which you hold back belongs to the hungry; the cloak which you guard carefully belongs to the naked; the gold which you keep to yourself belongs to the poor.
Basil the Great
Conscience is the chamber of justice.
Scripture urges and warns us that whatever favors we may have obtained from the Lord, we have received them as a trust on condition that they should be applied to the common benefit of the church.
Modern Writings
There is a spirit abroad in life of which the Judeo-Christian ethic is but one expression. It is a spirit that makes for wholeness and for community....It broods over the demonstrators for justice and brings comfort to the desolate and forgotten who have no memory of what it is to feel the rhythm of belonging. It knows no country and its allies are to be found wherever the heart is kind and the collective will and the private endeavor seek to make justice where injustice abounds.
Howard Thurman, The Luminous Darkness, p. 22-23
The stagnation of my prayer life...is due to deep involvement in the collective sin of American society and American Catholicism a sin of which we all refuse to be aware. Do we come to God in prayer as an act of justice when I am living in injustice? An injustice which pervades the whole world and is even greater in the camp of those who can see that we are exploiters. They are worse.
Thomas Merton
The problem of apathy among Christians is rampant in the First World, where consumerism dulls the human heart amidst an ecological crisis while a massive humanitarian crisis of poverty and hunger is ravaging many parts of the Third World.
Raimon Panikkar, Ilia Delio, Christ in Evolution, p. 86
In the West, the concept of a “contrite heart” has come to refer only to personal experiences of guilt and the willingness to do penance for it. But, if the catastrophic events of our days, the wars, mass murders, unbridled violence, crowded prisons, torture chambers, the hunger and illness of millions of people and the unnamable misery of a major part of the human race is safely kept outside the solitude of our hearts, our contrition remains no more than a pious emotion. Only when our mind has descended to our heart can we expect a lasting response to well up from our inner self.
Henri Nouwen, Reaching Out, p.54, 58
People who are oppressed or poor know every day that the current system is not just. They have little to lose and much to gain by seeking justice. People on the top invariably support the status quo. Why wouldn’t they? It’s working for them. You will always “conserve” the system that has got you where you are. Scriptures consistently show a rare bias toward the bottom of society as the necessary starting point. Any other starting point has far too much to protect and cannot hear or speak what is necessary for the common good.
Richard Rohr, On the Threshold of Transformation, p. 94
Love is the motive, but justice is the instrument. Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971) My work with the poor and the incarcerated has persuaded me that the opposite of poverty is not wealth; the opposite of poverty is justice. I’ve come to believe that the true measure of our commitment to justice cannot be measured by how we treat the rich, the powerful, the privileged, and the respected among us.
The true measure of our character is how we treat the poor, the disfavored, the accused, the incarcerated, and the condemned. We are all implicated when we allow other people to be mistreated. An absence of compassion can corrupt the decency of a community, a state, a nation. Fear and anger can make us vindictive and abusive, unjust and unfair, until we all suffer from the absence of mercy and we condemn ourselves as much as we victimize others.
Bryan Stevenson, CAC Morning Devotion, 9/11/20
Ten Ways to Live Restoratively
Take relationships seriously, envisioning yourself in an interconnected web of people, institutions, and the environment.
Try to be aware of the impact potential as well as actual of your actions on others and the environment.
When your actions negatively impact others, take responsibility by acknowledging and seeking to repair the harm—even when you could probably get away with avoiding or denying it.
Treat everyone respectfully, even those you don’t expect to encounter again, even those you feel don’t deserve it, even those who have harmed or offended you or others.
Involve those affected by a decision, as much as possible, in the decision-making process.
View the conflicts and harms in your life as opportunities.
Listen, deeply and compassionately, to others, seeking to understand even if you don’t agree with them. (Think about who you want to be in the latter situation rather than just being right.)
Engage in dialogue with others, even when what is being said is difficult, remaining open to learning from them and the encounter.
Be cautious about imposing your “truths” and views on other people and situations.
Sensitively confront everyday injustices including sexism, racism, and classism [and other examples of systemic and intersectional injustice].
Howard Zehr, Changing Lenses: Restorative Justice for Our Times, p. 257-258. CAC Morning Devotion, 9/12/20
Our anger is a reasonable, legitimate response to something which is also angering to God. Our anger is an invitation to pray, to advocate, to learn, to become educated, to support, to protest, to push back the principalities and powers of this world our own selves instead of waiting for someone else to do something. (Stop waiting for the grown-ups to show up and sort things out; it is time to be the grown-ups.)
Be angry. You should be angry. Pay attention to your anger so that you can steward it well. But, a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “You must not allow yourself to become bitter.”
Anger is not always bitterness: steward the former, guard against the latter. Anger is our holy starting point, sure, but it is Love who sustains the passion and directs it into life-giving transformation. Bitterness blocks our ability to dream of what could be possible again. And if we aren’t dreaming, what are we even fighting for?
Our anger gets us engaged, yes, but it is love and hope, joy and faith, community and discipline, rest and contemplation, strategy and solidarity that keeps us in the long game, not bitterness or fear.