Theological and Biblical Foundations for Criminal Justice May 14, 2013 King of Glory Lutheran Church, Dallas, TX. The Rev. Bishop Kevin S. Kanouse I. Prologue As citizens who seek to strengthen our communities, we, in the church as well as in society, are called to strive for justice for all and seek to serve the needs of our neighbor. Discerning God s just will for the world requires continual theological and moral deliberation, grounded in the scriptures of our faith, the history and traditions of the church or faith community, and the culture in which we live. This is what we are attempting to do today at this event. I have been asked to reflect on Theological and Biblical Foundations for Criminal Justice. I will not likely offer anything new that you have not heard or thought of before. I see my role as one of laying a foundation, grounding us, if you will, in what I believe is a common call from God, in whatever form is most familiar to us, that as people of faith we all bring certain common beliefs to a conversation about Criminal Justice. I hope to remind us of those common affirmations so that they may be with us as we listen to each other and share our concerns, struggles, and hopes for the future. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is in the midst of conversation toward final approval this August of a proposed Social Statement on Criminal Justice. We recognize, as a church, that there are major problems facing our society, our country, around issues of criminal justice, including care for victims as well as appropriate justice for those convicted of crimes. According to the Pew Center on the States, it is noted, alarmingly, that 1 in 31 adults in the United States are under some form of correctional control, including prison, jail, probation and parole. (Pew Center on the States, One in 31: The Long Reach of American Corrections Washington, D.C: The Pew Charitable Trusts, 2009.) We are aware that other countries with similar crime rates incarcerate far fewer people. Our church is also aware that people of color and people living in poverty are disproportionately incarcerated. We clearly ought to be disturbed by the harmful effects of current national drug policy, for example, which have led to this mass incarceration. 1
It is not my intent to present the issues as much as it is to present a rationale for why people of faith and people in a broken society should care about this issue. Our gathering today and consideration of this important topic in light of The New Jim Crow in Texas is timely and quite important. II. The Voice of Scripture Regarding Justice I turn first to the Christian Scriptures, recognizing that today among us there may be people of the Jewish, Muslim or other faith communities. Out of my own grounding of the Bible of the Judeo Christian heritage, I would like to affirm that the message of these scriptures is virtually universal for all people of faith and even people who confess no specific creed. It is, of course, silly to proof-text scriptural verses because we can find scripture to sustain any argument that we would like to make on almost any issue. Yet, it is fair to say that the theme of all scripture, not just single verses here and there, is Justice and care for people who are hurt, oppressed, poor, or harmed in some way. And so we hear in Isaiah 61:8 For I, the LORD, love justice And from Proverbs 28: Those who are evil do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it fully. The Prophet calls people to justice: Amos 5:15 Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts. The Vision of Justice as an overwhelming movement in Amos 5:22-24 But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! Deuteronomy 16:19-20 Do not pervert justice or show partiality Follow justice and justice alone Those who maintain justice have a special blessing: Psalm 106:3 Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right. 2
But that which could be our theme today and is perhaps the supreme Old Testament Prophetic call to justice: Micah 6:8: 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. The ministry of Jesus was always focused on justice; he took Justice to a whole new level when he spoke these words (Mt. 23:23):. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law justice, mercy and faithfulness For those who follow the righteousness of Jesus, Justice is not just about keeping the law, but it goes far beyond that. Not everything legal and just in the courts is, perhaps, true to God s will for God desires more than pure justice, God desires mercy and faithfulness. More about that in a few moments, after we speak of God s special concern for the poor in scripture. III. The Voice of Scripture Regarding the Poor In the Bible, the poor refers to people whose lives are difficult (widows and orphans), people who have been displaced by war (immigrants, mostly women and children), as well as people who have nothing (Deut 15:11; Ps 82:3-4): Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land. Poor is also used to describe those who were considered to have little value, even to Israel s enemies (Jer 40:7-8; 52:15): When all the leaders of the forces in the open country and their troops heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam governor in the land, and had committed to him men, women, and children, those of the poorest of the land who had not been taken into exile to Babylon, they went to Gedaliah at Mizpah Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, Jezaniah son of the Maacathite, they and their troops. The Law of Moses made it clear that God s people were to care for the needs of poor people, providing them with money, food, and clothing, Exodus 22: You shall not abuse any widow or orphan. If you do abuse them, when they cry out to me, I will surely heed their cry; my wrath will burn, and I will kill 3
you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children orphans. If you lend money to my people, to the poor among you, you shall not deal with them as a creditor; you shall not exact interest from them. If you take your neighbor s cloak in pawn, you shall restore it before the sun goes down; for it may be your neighbor s only clothing to use as cover; in what else shall that person sleep? And if your neighbor cries out to me, I will listen, for I am compassionate. The Lord God of Israel has special concern for the poor and homeless and changes their condition, as the story of Hannah and her prayer shows in 1 Sam 2:7-8: The LORD makes poor and makes rich; he brings low, he also exalts. He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the LORD s, and on them he has set the world. The prophet Amos reminded the people of Israel that they had abused the poor and robbed them of justice (Amos 5:11-13). He told the people that being just and fair was as important a part of their worship as their religious celebrations (Amos 5:21-24). He also warned that God would punish those who took advantage of the poor (Amos 8:4-8). Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land, saying, When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain; and the sabbath, so that we may offer wheat for sale? We will make the ephah small and the shekel great, and practice deceit with false balances, buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and selling the sweepings of the wheat. The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Surely I will never forget any of their deeds. Shall not the land tremble on this account, 4
and everyone mourn who lives in it, and all of it rise like the Nile, and be tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt? And Amos goes on to describe various and sundry other juicy retributions upon those who care not for the poor and who thwart justice. It was believed that God brought judgment on Israel s leaders and their people (Ezek 22:29), because the leaders failed to care for the poor, and because they did not forgive the debts of the poor (Deut 15:1-11). Israel s wisdom writings proclaim that it is better to live right and be poor than to be rich and sinful (Ps 37:16), and that the Lord will repay those who care for the poor (Prov 19:17). Ultimately, though, the prophet Isaiah said that in the future God would choose ( anoint ) someone to bring good news to the poor (Isa 61:1-2) and so much more this is God s Big Plan: The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the LORD s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; When Jesus began his ministry after coming from the wilderness, in the synagogue, he read these very words of Isaiah and announced that these words had been fulfilled in their midst. His very mission was to care for the poor, the outcast, and the oppressed. Throughout his ministry, Jesus was, or course, friendly to people who were turned away by the religious leaders, and he invited them to be part of God s new people. He told the poor that God would bless them (Luke 6:20,21), and that they would share in the new kingdom of God. Then he looked up at his disciples and said: Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. 5
Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Finally, the one demand that the Jerusalem apostles made of Paul before he went out to bring the good news to the Gentiles: They asked only one thing, that we remember the poor, which was actually what I was eager to do. (Gal 2:10). Similarly, the Christians in Jerusalem put everything they had in one common fund so that the needs of the poor and needy among them could be taken care of: All who believed were together and had all things in common; 45 they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. (Acts 2:44-45). I spend so much time focusing on the poor because these are the ones who are often the victims of criminal violence and the perpetrators, as well. As we enter into a conversation about the Criminal Justice System, we are primarily speaking of the poor, immigrants, people of color, people who cannot speak for themselves, those who cannot afford good attorneys to defend them in court, those who do not receive adequate or appropriate recompense for crimes that have been committed against them. People of faith are called to a better way. IV. Justice and God: Two Kingdoms When we speak of Justice and God, we speak of two kinds of justice. God seeks wholeness for humankind biblical shalom but God s strategy of governing human life is expressed in Scripture and experienced as a twofold work: Law and Gospel. On the one hand, human beings experience God s deep care through receiving grace-filled righteousness, grace, and unconditional forgiveness, shared in the gospel of Jesus Christ, received in faith and partially seen in the lived reality of the church as a gospel community. This is the Kingdom of Gospel. At the same time, human beings experience God s deep care through the gifts of law and civil forms of justice. This care is expressed through institutions and systems that, when properly operating, provide for protection, order and the flourishing of society. God uses such institutions and communities to structure human life and, within that structure, to provide food, shelter, safety, education and many other material and social benefits. Although these institutions have a very 6
different purpose than the gospel s, still they are God s gift to us We are to be good stewards of these gifts in providing care to victims and to those who subvert justice and cause harm. This might be called the Kingdom of the Law. No matter how different the forms of justice are, however, both emerge from the same root: God s desire for wholeness in humankind shalom and for communion and fellowship with all that God has created. The two forms of justice must be understood in light of God s final victory in Isaiah 2:2-4 In days to come the mountain of the LORD s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it. Many peoples shall come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths. For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. And again in Revelation 21:1-4: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; 7
mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away. The justice of the law is necessary for the world as we experience it, but will fall away in the world to come. In that new heaven and earth the twofold character of God s relating to the world will have run its course; only the righteousness of the gospel will remain. Rightly understood, the distinctions between law and gospel, between the justice of the law and the justice of the gospel, and between temporal and spiritual authority powerfully motivate Christian responses to injustice...or, at least they ought to. The presence and promise of God s reign within the brokenness of the world prompts both hope and clear-eyed realism. As we yearn for the justice of Christ s coming kingdom, we listen to the cries for justice that ring out right now the cries of offenders and victims, of families and communities, of those who work within the criminal justice system. Those cries cannot wait for our hope in Christ to come in completeness. For the sake of the same world that Christ was willing to die for we must be willing to employ power to preserve life. That power must never be used for selfpromotion, self-satisfaction or the advancement of the interests of only some but for the good of all, especially for those who are most vulnerable. That corruption of power is something we will learn about today. Thus, from Scripture and our understanding of God s call to be active in the Kingdom of this world, in anticipation of a perfect kingdom to come, today, this day, we are called to listen, to learn, and to act. ------- And so I leave you with my Holy Week experience this year. I have been invited by a good friend and faithful Lutheran Christian to go with him on one of his every Saturday visits to the prison in Jacksboro. It is a minimum security prison that is a last stop for many before being released and houses mostly drug and alcohol offenders, many of whom have been incarcerated for many years for minor offenses. My friend leads worship which is mostly a Christian AA meeting. Finally facing my fears and anxiety and after having read some of The New Jim Crow and studying our new Social Statement on Criminal Justice, I agreed to go with him and Pr. Franz Schemmel during Holy Week, between Good Friday and Easter. Nearly 160 men gathered, completely voluntarily, for the program and 8
after some prayers, readings, and a hearty talk by my friend, Pr. Franz and Iwere invited to speak. When it was my turn, I spoke of the Holy Week journey, of Jesus wrongly convicted, some might say rightly convicted for he spoke against the powers and the law did not allow for that yet, sentenced to die on the cross. I spoke of his body being placed in the tomb and the arrival of his friends on the morning after the Sabbath to prepare him for formal burial. I told them of the empty tomb, the resurrection, and the promise of new life which gives us hope for our time in the Kingdom of the Law, and promise that he will be with us always, the Kingdom of grace, lived now and forever. I told them that in Holy Baptism God promises we will never be beyond his grasp, his love, his forgiveness, his grace no matter how terrible life has been for us, no matter the hand that we have been dealt, no matter what we have done with our lives, not matter how terrible it has been for us, no matter how bleak the future. Pr. Franz and I offered to baptize any who would want to be baptized that day and 26 men came forward. We invited others who wanted to re-affirm, to remember their baptisms to come forward and be marked with the sign of the cross, the sign of their baptism, to renew their promises and commitment to God and even more to know God s forgiving grace and mercy. Without counting, we believe that more than 100 men came forward with tears of repentance, with tears of emptiness, with tears of hopefulness. As they left the building following our worship time, I greeted many of them at the door and while they could not linger to speak, I looked into the eyes of most of them and I longed to speak with each one, to hear their story, to offer words of hope and consolation and forgiveness. They knew they needed it, broken as they are. They also knew they had met Christ that day in water and in Spirit. We place our hope in God for the fullness of justice promised only by the gospel. And to God we owe our thanks for human reason and its abilities to discern with prudence and creativity how our communities might reflect, in this time, the Justice of the Law and the Justice of the Gospel. Thus we are called to recommit ourselves to care for, to stand up for, and to make sure we get it right for, with, and among the many, many people whose voices cry out for justice in our society and world. For 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). The Reverend Bishop Kevin S. Kanouse May 14, 2013 9