The justice that restores communion
Scripture
Psalm 82: 1-4: Give justice to the weak and the orphan; maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute.
Luke 18: 1-8: Will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night?
Meditation
In Psalm 82, God calls for a justice that upholds the basic human rights to which all people are entitled: freedom, safety, dignity, health, equality and love. The Psalm also calls for the overturning of systems of disparity and oppression, and fixing anything that is unfair, corrupt, or exploitative. This is the justice that we, as Christians, are called to promote. In Christian community we join our wills and actions to God’s, as he works his salvation for creation.
In Jesus and the Disinherited, The Rev. Dr. Howard Thurman, who was spiritual adviser to The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. states that: “We must proclaim the truth that all life is one and that we are all of us tied together. Therefore, it is mandatory that we work for a society in which the least person can find refuge and refreshment. You must lay your lives on the altar of social change so that wherever you are, there the Kingdom of God is at hand.”
Jesus tells the parable of the widow and the unjust judge in order to teach the people “about their need to pray always and not to lose heart” (Luke 18: 1). Jesus has won a decisive victory over injustice, sin and division, and as Christians our task is to receive this victory firstly in our own hearts through prayer and secondly in our lives through action.
Prayer
God, Creator and Redeemer of all things, teach us to look inward to be grounded in your loving Spirit,
so that we may go outward in wisdom and courage to always choose the path of love and justice. This we pray in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit. Amen.