Sample readings on Justice by Tearfund s Isobel Peaty

Transcription

1 Sample readings on Justice by Tearfund s Photograph: Shutterstock

2 Introduction Justice I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever (Thomas Jefferson, ). Justice is central to the Bible. It is the ground on which so many of God s promises, actions and words are built. Thomas Jefferson was right our God is just and that means something. We live in a world crying out for justice. The appalling injustice we witness on a global scale sees 20 per cent of the world consuming 80 per cent of its resources. Whole nations are held to ransom by corrupt and callous leaders, the vulnerable subsisting at the mercy of the powerhungry. Domestic imbalances between people thrive, class systems, prejudice against gender, age, ethnicity, religion, culture. There are the personal injustices we experience day to day the pain of being unfairly treated, misjudged by others, misunderstood. In the face of this desperate need, the justice God s children are commissioned to champion is also a key theme. Justice is commanded, modelled and revered in the scriptures. We are told that God requires it; he delights in it; we can look to him to equip us for it with wisdom to discern right from wrong. It is up there with love and humility as cornerstones of a redeemed character. The one great story running through all this, of course, is God s justice that mighty, inevitable, immovable force that made Thomas Jefferson tremble. He knew, as we must, that humankind truly deserves a heavy sentence for all its horrendous crimes. We discover, however, that God s justice is not like the world s. We might be right to tremble with fear if our fate lay in the hands of people, but ours is a God of love and his justice is greater, kinder and more loving than we can imagine: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever (Isaiah 9:6 7, NIV). 2

3 Sunday 26 February Micah 6:6 8 (NIV) What does the Lord require of you? With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has showed you, O man, 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. I love the frankness of this last instruction. If you are in any doubt as to how to live life for God, here s your answer: act justly, love mercy, walk humbly with God. It is up there with love your neighbour as yourself something that takes a moment to read, but a lifetime to perfect. Micah addresses Israel at a time when they are far from just, merciful or humble. In fact, they are a people whose rich men are violent; her people are liars and their tongues speak deceitfully (v. 12). He warns them of the justice to come and it is not news that he relishes giving (vv ). God does not compromise. If we are to act justly, we need to be aware of the injustice that we accept in our daily lives right now. How do we perceive the state of extreme poverty that most of the world is living in? Is it simply a consequence of poor governance, overpopulation, an unlucky ticket in the climate lottery? Are our own comforts merely the rewards of good judgment and shrewd dealing or could it actually be a case of searing injustice on a global scale? Whatever our view, Micah does not allow us room to consider meting out justice born of cold calculation of the you get what s coming to you variety. No. God requires us to obey him humbly by standing up against the injustices of poverty and deprivation in this world. We do this with a mercy that silences debate and steps straight out in love. Prayer Lord, help us to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with you. 3

4 Monday 27 February Psalm 73:1 4, 12, (NIV) Justice is coming Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong This is what the wicked are like always carefree, they increase in wealth When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. Asaph was a priest in Solomon s temple and the Bible credits him with twelve of the 150 psalms, including this one. He must have been a man of great faith and humility, yet Psalm 73 tells of the path he charts through a personal valley of doubt. The question he asks is a common one: why? Why is it that, if God favours the pure in heart, the wicked continue to prosper? According to Asaph, they are healthy, wealthy, even popular. Although they are cruel and violent, they keep getting away with things. In vain he keeps his heart pure and every day he finds himself grieved by this same terrible doubt (vv ). Exactly how just is this great God of justice? Asaph wrestles and questions and then he remembers. He enters the sanctuary of God God s presence and sees the light dawn once more: then I understood their final destiny (v. 17). We may look on in baffled horror at the injustices of this world the power abused, the poverty and suffering unchecked and ask Why? God, however, sees the bigger picture. He sees eternity. The wicked will be judged for a final destiny from which there is no escape. Justice will be done. What of Asaph? His peace is restored as he affirms the truth: Yet I am always with you; you hold me in your right hand Those who are far from you will perish But as for me, it is good to be near God (vv. 23, 27 28). It is a privilege greater than any worldly prosperity from a God who never forgets. Reflection Do we trust that God truly will be just? 4

5 Tuesday 28 February Genesis 50:18 21 (NIV) Our lives in God s hands [Joseph s] brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. We are your slaves, they said. But Joseph said to them, Don t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children. And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. False accusations, slander, being misjudged these can feel like the stuff of torture. The sense of injustice, the frustration caused these are keen indicators of how we were built for justice. It is our default setting. We are made in the image of God. Anything else jars horribly. Joseph would have been familiar with that sensation from an early age. At first, he did not seem to notice how unjust it was that his father loved him more than his brothers, which led to his being the only one to get a beautiful coat. But when they threw him down a well and sold him to slavers, the unfairness of it all must have been like fuel on the misery pyre. Injustice had started to hurt him at last. That was not the end of Joseph s suffering. A false accusation of sexual harassment lands him in prison; he is later denied his just reward of an early release because someone forgot to act on their promise. Justifiable reasons for bitterness rack up. Of course, this is only one side of the story. For all the wrong Joseph endures, he also receives huge favour. God helps him through the darkness, he becomes powerful and goes on to spare Egypt from famine. That is when his brothers re-enter his life. Who would be more entitled to revenge than Joseph, after the suffering he went through at their hands? Who would not have played out this moment with relish, with the chance he has to put right those years in prison, all the injustice suffered? Yet, what does Joseph do? He puts the judgment in the hands of the only one qualified to judge. He sees the larger purpose and he forgives. Prayer Father, today we place the injustices we suffer into your hands. Release us from the hurt they cause and help us to rest in you. 5

6 Wednesday 29 February James 2:1 5 (NIV) All are equal My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don t show favouritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say Here s a good seat for you, but say to the poor man, You stand there or Sit on the floor by my feet, have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my dear brothers: has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? It is a popular TV drama format the olden-day ups and downs of wealthy families and their domestic staff. The moneyed aristocracy gad about, propped up by an army of servants they would not dream of treating as equals or, heaven forbid, betters, for all their hard work and attention. It is a world most of us find totally alien these days. Meanwhile, the notion that wealth makes the wealthy somehow better than the poor lives on. Wherever anyone gets the red carpet treatment, for whatever reason, would we find them half so alluring if they were penniless? Every year, the most powerful countries gather to debate the global economy, aid expenditure, climate issues and make decisions that impact millions of lives. What makes them so special? Land mass? Population? No, wealth. One of the greatest dangers money brings is the illusions it creates illusions of security and power. We are drawn to those illusions like the frozen homeless gathering round a fire, but we need to know that they are illusions. Security and real power only come from God. All are equal in his eyes. James says that, through favouritism, you have insulted the poor (v. 6). Does anyone care about insulting the poor these days? Reflection and prayer Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute (Proverbs 31:8). Lord, help us to see through the injustices created by wealth and serve others in love. 6

7 Thursday 1 March Matthew 7:1 5 (NIV) Justice, not judgment [Jesus said] Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, Let me take the speck out of your eye, when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother s eye. We are called to act justly, but we are not called to judge. Sometimes it may seem that those are one and the same, but they are not. As Jesus words in our passage from Matthew make quite clear, we can t see clearly enough to make a true judgment most of the time. The conclusions we make about people he s lazy, she s selfish are no more than subjective matters of opinion based on limited, biased information. Yet, we are so quick to assassinate those around us as if we have got the monopoly on insight and our judgment is flawless. Meanwhile, Jesus says, there is a whopping great plank in each of our eyes and we need to know about it. We are blind when it comes to weighing the worth of others. We don t know what we re talking about. Mercifully for everyone, we can leave the judging up to the one whose judgment is flawless: God. As for discerning justice, we can also look to God for guidance there. This is fairly simply summarised by the words, Love your neighbour as yourself (Matthew 22:39). If we truly live this out as a reality, then our lives will be characterised by pursuing true justice for all, the kind of justice upheld by God, based on love, dignity, mercy and truth. Prayer Father, please help me to learn how to let go of judging others and let the right to judge sit only with you. Help me to cherish and pursue true justice in the world wherever I can. Amen 7

8 Friday 2 March Esther 4:12 16 (NIV, abridged) Let justice prevail When Esther s words were reported back to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: Do not think that because you are in the king s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this? Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish. Queen Esther seizes the challenge laid down by Mordecai: who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this? and prepares to risk everything to step out in faith: if I perish, I perish (vv. 14, 16). She s seeking to save her people from destruction nobleman Haman s intended revenge for Mordecai s refusal to honour him. She knows she risks death if the king is angry with her for approaching him, but she s ready to petition God and let her destiny rest in divine hands. Today is Women s World Day of Prayer an event that has taken place annually around the globe since Esther s experience proves again to her and all those fasting with her, that prayer is a powerful, effective force. King Xerxes welcomes the audience with Esther, hears her petition, grants her request, rewards her bravery and punishes the guilty. The theme of this year s day of prayer is Let justice prevail. Nothing is more vital to peace than justice. We have the power of prayer at our disposal. We long for peace. We need to pray for justice. Who knows but that we, too, were born for such a time as this? Prayer Lord, we know you long for justice to prevail in your world. Let your kingdom come and your will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven. Bless this World Day of Prayer and hear our cry for peace. Amen 8

9 Saturday 3 March Ephesians 5:8 14 (NIV) Bodies in the hills For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Thank God that everything exposed by the light becomes visible. As Job says in 12:22, God reveals the deep things of darkness and brings deep shadow into the light. I heard a news story some time ago about attempts to uncover the remains of victims from the Spanish Civil War. Experts were excavating areas of hillside that were known locally as good places to hide bodies after nightfall. I remember being struck at the time by what might seem like an odd thought: hiding bodies is to labour in vain. How often do people act in secret to deceive themselves that this sin or that sin never really happened? As though a veil of darkness will protect them from the consequences! God, however, has promised us something that makes a mockery of such notions. The horror of evil deeds is met with the certainty that what is done in the dark will be exposed by the light. Nothing will remain hidden; everything will be revealed. When you belong to God, the days of sleeping in the darkness are over for you. Justice has at its core the purity of truth. The light you are brought into consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth (v. 9). All bodies buried in the hills will be revealed. Equally, in heaven, no one need be afraid of the dark. Prayer Thank you, Lord, for winning a victory over darkness so that nothing remains hidden in your glorious light. Increase your light in my life today and shine your love into the darkest corners of my soul. 9

10 Sunday 4 March 1 Kings 3:7 10 (NIV) Equipped for justice [Solomon prayed] Now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours? The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. I know a very wise man. People seek him out for his counsel and listen closely when he gives advice. How did he become so wise? What is so special about him? Well, when he was a child, he read in the Bible the book of Proverbs, the story of Solomon that wisdom was to be prized above gold. So, he prayed particularly that God would give him the gift of wisdom. Perhaps the wisest thing Solomon ever did was recognise his need for wisdom and act on it. He knew that he had a huge task ahead and could not do it alone. He needed to be equipped to discern right from wrong to have that level of wisdom needed to be a truly just king. We may not be kings, but, as the master says in Jesus parable of the talents, You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things (Matthew 25:21). We are going to need wisdom to fulfil the plan God has for our lives, to act justly and discern the right way. The great joy in our story of Solomon is that, first, God invites him to ask for whatever you want me to give to you (1 Kings 3:5), like a proud father wanting to treat his son. He holds that offer open to us, still. When Solomon then asked for wisdom, The Lord was pleased (v. 10). Reflection Our Father longs to give us good things and it pleases him when we ask for them. Ask him for the gift of wisdom to help you serve him today and in the years ahead. 10

11 Monday 5 March 1 Kings 3:23 28 (NIV, abridged) Wisdom in action The king said, This one says, My son is alive and your son is dead, while that one says, No! Your son is dead and mine is alive. Then the king said, Bring me a sword Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other. The woman whose son was alive was filled with compassion for her son and said to the king, Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don t kill him! But the other said, Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two! Then the king gave his ruling: Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother. When all Israel heard the verdict they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice. This is an extraordinary story. Two prostitutes come before King Solomon. Both have borne sons at the same time. One has killed her child by lying on him in the night and secretly swaps her dead child with the other s living one. The king puts them through a trial of such cunning that all Israel is in awe at Solomon s incredible wisdom. What is so clever about it? Solomon s suggestion that they cut the living child in two (v. 25) seems, on the surface, to administer a kind of cold justice. It is fair, at least, but his suggestion is precisely tuned to reveal the secrets of the women s hearts. The true mother would rather see her child handed over to someone else than have him killed, even if it means losing him. The false mother is beyond caring and it shows. With one inspired move, Solomon exposes the truth and justice is done. Clearly his early prayer for wisdom has been answered. If we can learn anything from the story it is this: this is the kind of justice that we can expect from God. Not a calculated fairness, but a kind that searches with eyes of compassion and reveals the secrets of our hearts. Reflection What kind of justice do I expect to receive from God? Severe judgment or loving mercy? What does Jesus reveal about God s justice? 11

12 Tuesday 6 March Matthew 5:3 12 (NIV) Hold out with hope [Jesus said] Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. The Beatitudes sometimes called the beautiful attitudes are perhaps some of the most powerful messages of hope in the Bible. Grievances will be redressed, good deeds rewarded, misery soothed and righteousness declared the conqueror. These are promises of ultimate justice from Jesus. There will come a day when the world will be turned back the right way up and everything that cries out in us for restoration and recompense will be met in triumphant fulfilment. If you have ever mourned, felt outrage at the cruelty of the world, tried to love, these words are for you. Hold out with hope, Jesus says. Dare to be bold for the kingdom of God. Keep doing the right thing, keep speaking out for Christ, know that your pain is temporary. Justice is coming. Jesus gives us a glimpse of the world from his perspective. We can become so mired in the struggles of our lives, that it can sometimes feel as if we are flying blind, as if every good deed is a foolish act. Pain continues, wars rage on and bad things happen to good people, but hold out with hope, Jesus says justice is coming. Prayer Lord, may your promises of blessings to us sink deep into our souls. Help us to grow all your beautiful attitudes in joyful expectation of your kingdom on earth. 12

13 Wednesday 7 March 2 Samuel 22:21 25 (NIV) Rewarded in heaven [David said] The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me. For I have kept the ways of the Lord; I have not done evil by turning from my God. All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees. I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin. The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight. Today s reading is taken from a song of praise that David sings to God for rescuing him from Saul. It touches on something that is veiled in mystery for Christians: can we expect to be rewarded by God for the good works we do on earth when we reach heaven? This idea might at first seem to conflict with the principle of grace. Grace, offered to the world by the death and resurrection of Jesus, tells us that salvation cannot be earned, but is a gift, given freely, accepted by faith. A distinction is clearly evident, however. Nowhere in the Bible does it suggest that salvation can be earned, but scripture does repeatedly indicate that good works on earth will be rewarded in heaven. Jesus himself says in Matthew 16:27, For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father s glory with his angels, and then he will reward everyone according to what they have done. The promise is that, if you toil in the service of Christ and others, if your intercessions appear unanswered, if the sacrifices you make cost you, know this: you will receive justice for your works. Quite what this reward will be is unknown, but we do know that, No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him (1 Corinthians 2:9). Let us keep our focus on that! Reflection Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal (Matthew 6:19 20). 13

14 Thursday 8 March Luke 18:1 8 (NIV) Never give up Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, Grant me justice against my adversary. For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, Even though I don t fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won t eventually wear me out with her coming! And the Lord said, Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth? Here is such a wonderful, straightforward encouragement for everyone. Jesus gives us the gift of this parable to show us that we should always pray and not give up (v. 1). If you have a grievance and don t see how it will ever be made right; if you have suffered, keep praying. The Greek for the phrase always pray indicates that our prayer needs to be repeated, not that we are to pray without drawing breath! We need to keep coming to God in prayer and not give up. That is Jesus advice. Why? Because, will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? (v. 7). God is not like the earthly judge mentioned, to put it mildly. Jesus uses him as a deliberately absurd comparison. Our God is so far from being like the heartless earthly judge. He is so ready to respond to those who love him. He is just like the father of the prodigal son who, even as we are still just figures on the horizon, is already running to meet us, desperate to bring us home. Reflection Is this description of God what you expect him to be like? Is this a God worth praying to? 14

15 Friday 9 March Luke 18:9 14 (NIV) Welcome to freedom To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: God, I thank you that I am not like other men robbers, evildoers, adulterers or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get. But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, God, have mercy on me, a sinner. I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. The dictionary definition of justified in this context is to be made righteous in the sight of God in other words, to have received justice and to have been set right. Justice and righteousness are the foundations of God s kingdom. If justice seems like a dry concept from an earthly perspective, a grim apportioning of fair s fair, God s justice is like a living fire. In it is a freedom and joy that has at its heart redemption, forgiveness and peace. Justice has to be based on truth. Jesus says that, if we follow him, Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (John 8:32). Can we imagine a justice that is built on freedom? A justice not involving accusation and guilt, but mercy; not to do with punishment, but healing? It is God s justice. The tax collector repents and experiences the freedom of divine justice, just as we do today. It is the freedom to be truly ourselves before a God, who always prefers honesty over vain claims to righteousness. It is the freedom of being released from guilt. It is freedom from the hold of sin we are no longer stumbling in the dark. This is the quality of God-given justice. It cost Christ his life. It gives us ours. Prayer Lord, give us the courage to be honest before you so that we, too, will go home justified. Amen 15

16 Saturday 10 March Luke 23:39 43 (NIV) Paradise One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: Aren t you the Christ? Save yourself and us! But the other criminal rebuked him. Don t you fear God, he said, since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong. Then he said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus answered him, I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise. I remember reading this passage when I had only recently become a Christian, and being overwhelmed by its power and grace. Two thieves and Christ, hanging in agony on crosses. A strange, shared experience. Possibly we can identify with the rage of the first thief: extreme suffering and fear rarely bring out the best in people. No doubt Jesus understood. He had prayed, after all, Forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (v. 34). The insight and humility of the second thief is heartbreakingly poignant. Where did his incredible wisdom come from, his recognition of Jesus, his sense of justice? We do not know much about him, other than that he was a thief. Perhaps he had seen Jesus before and had come to believe in him; perhaps this was their first meeting. Like the irony of Pilate s sign, King of the Jews, hung above Christ s cross, the thief s statement, This man has done nothing wrong (v. 41) was truer than he could ever have known. His petition, Remember me and his faith, When you come into your kingdom are met with an awesome response: I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise (vv ). The agony, the torment, the torture all would soon be over, replaced by paradise, paradise with Christ, that very day. Men had judged the thief and nailed him to a cross. Jesus judged the man and opened the door for him to paradise. Prayer Lord, Jesus, help us to see the truth of your mercy and not be afraid to bring every part of our lives in humility and trust before you. 16 ωωω

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