The Waking Dreamer: Injustice

Showing posts with label Injustice. Show all posts

Saturday, October 11, 2025

Powerless?

2 Timothy 1:1-14[1]

We are living in times that can leave us feeling powerless over the forces at work around us, and helpless to do anything about it. I don’t usually do this, but I can’t not say something about recent events. At least some American citizens have at times been detained without a warrant simply because of the color of their skin, or the language they speak, or the part of town in which they live.[2] They have had their constitutional rights stripped from them by federal agents. And when they can do that to anyone, they can to it to anyone—literally! Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said it far more eloquently: “injustice anywhere threatens justice everywhere.” When men with guns can strip anyone of their civil rights, rights guaranteed by the constitution, they can literally do that to every one of us.

It can leave us feeling powerless and helpless. And when we feel powerless and helpless, we tend to convert it into something negative. Fear that retreats from the public square, that refrains from speaking out or taking action because of potential consequences. Like losing your job over your opinion about an issue or a particular player in the cultural debate. We also tend to convert feelings of powerlessness and helplessness to anger. But as the Scripture teaches us, “If you are angry, you cannot do any of the good things God wants done” (James 1:20, CEV). In fact, when we’re motivated by anger, we’re more likely to do harm than good. Of course, there are different kinds of anger, but in my experience, anger has a way of taking over everything else, until we can’t really see a situation for what it is.

Our Scripture reading from Timothy addresses early Christians who felt powerless and helpless. As I’ve mentioned before, they lived in a world where the Roman empire had the first word, the last word, and all the words in between. Roman officials could pretty much get away with whatever they wanted because they had legions of armed troops at their disposal. That’s what empires do when anyone objects: they respond with force. Like Pontius Pilate did when the Jewish people objected to his offensive actions. He sent armed soldiers to quell the crowds of protesters. When faced with that kind of brutality, it’s no wonder that people felt powerless and helpless.

Unfortunately, part of what happens when we’re in that kind of situation is that we go into a “defensive” mode. When we go into this “defensive” mode, one thing we do is pull back from engaging at all with people who are “other.” People who look different from us. People who speak a different language. People who live in different places. People whom we perceive to be “different” or “other.” We retreat to the safety of our “own” group. And we have certain “litmus tests” to be able to make sure someone really is a part of our group. Whether it’s a list of beliefs, or certain stances on social issues, or sheer tribalism (where we trust only those of our own race, creed, and nation), this kind of stance makes it hard to live out the gospel in the world at large.

That was the situation to which 2 Timothy was addressed. Timothy and the believers in his care were discouraged. They found themselves in a setting where the challenge of living the Christian life was getting them down. As a result, they were retreating into a mode of “guarding” themselves, of “avoiding” those who were perceived to be a threat, and of drawing lines to keep out those who were on the “outside.” It’s hard to understand why they turned in on themselves this way, but when you think about our experiences, maybe not so much. When you read 2 Timothy, it would seem that at least part of the underlying problem was that they were struggling with feeling ashamed of the gospel (2 Tim. 1:8).

This may seem strange to us. The early Christians weren’t supposed to feel ashamed of the gospel! Apparently Timothy and the band of struggling believers he was serving were feeling ashamed because they were losing out to competitors preaching a different “gospel.” We don’t know all that these “impostors” stood for, but what we do know is that they wormed their way into congregations and then milked the people for money. It would seem Timothy and his flock felt ashamed of the gospel because these “impostors” were much more successful at gaining converts, while they were struggling to survive. As a result, they had gone into a kind of “defensive” mode.

Unfortunately, there are aspects of 2 Timothy that seem to positively encourage this retreat into a “defensive” mode. The Scripture actually uses language that I would say only reinforced their natural inclination to withdraw from perceived threats. It advises believers to “guard” themselves, to “avoid” and “shun” others, to mark off those who are not a part of the “chosen,” and to effectively “consign” them to their fate. It can be hard for us to deal with a situation like this. We’re used to looking to the Bible for direction. But here the humanity of the biblical authors may get in the way of that. The problem is that this approach is reactive, not proactive. It doesn’t sound very much like Jesus’ challenge to courageous discipleship!

But there are other ideas here that are more helpful. Timothy is encouraged to “rekindle the gift of God” (2 Tim. 1:6). The image here is of fanning the embers of a fire that is no longer burning. There is still heat in the coals, but they have to be coaxed into actively burning again. In the face of discouragement, Timothy was challenged to “tend the fire” of his calling and his gifts. I think at least a part of that meant for him to remind himself who it was who called and gifted him in the first place. And that’s true for all of us: God has called us and gifted us all!

As we read together earlier, Timothy is also reminded that “God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and [sound judgment].” (2 Tim. 1:7, NLT). This is one of those passages where I think the King James translators did a better job than many modern translators: the spirit God has given us is one of “power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” In other words, the charge to Timothy was to recognize that it was the Spirit of God who gave him the power and love and wisdom he needed to face the challenges that came his way. He didn’t face these hardships alone, but rather the way for him to fulfill his life and his service was “with the strength God gives you” (2 Tim. 1:8, NLT).

I think that this advice to Timothy can help all of us. The Bible tells us that every one of us has been given a “gift of God” with which to serve others. That means we do not fulfill the life of discipleship to Christ in our own strength alone. Rather, central to the idea that God has chosen us as his beloved children is the promise that we have all received the Spirit of God, who gives us more than enough power and more than enough love and more than enough good sense to be able to follow the path of faith no matter what we may face along the way.

One way to get through the challenges of the times we’re experiencing is to remember the wisdom of the Scriptures. It’s a wisdom many of us have relied on our whole lives. It’s the wisdom that reminds us that we cannot “do any of the good things God wants done” (James 1:20, CEV) through our anger. In fact, we may do more harm than good. It’s also the wisdom that reminds us that despite what the empires of this world may claim, God is the one who truly has the first word, the last word, and all the words in between. And as our Psalm lesson for today reminds us, the evil that powerful people do to the vulnerable among us will be their undoing (Ps 37:1-10). That principle is found throughout the Bible. But perhaps one of the most important pieces of wisdom to remember when we feel powerless and helpless is the lesson that St. Paul learned: “when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor 12:10, NLT). We learn that lesson as a direct result of following as our Savior and Lord the one who gave his life in the weakness and humiliation of the cross. Even that seemingly most powerless act, was not truly powerless at all. Rather through the power of God’s love, it changed the world, and it continues to change the world to this day. As we find ourselves living in challenging times, times that can leave us feeling powerless and helpless, perhaps afraid and angry, may God fill us with his Spirit of power, and love, and wisdom. And may we respond in ways that are helpful, in ways that are consistent with the gospel, in ways that are true to our commitment to following Christ.

[2] On this matter, see: “Lawsuit filed against immigration authorities after U.S. citizen’s arrests in raids” Associated Press, 1 Oct 2025; accessed at https://apnews.com/article/trump-immigration-crackdown-lawsuit-courts-citizens-latino-alabama-a6bfae9528e03243ec08e9ade182da2f ; “Inside ICE’s Aggressive Approach to Arresting Migrants,” The Journal Podcast 10 June 2025, accessed at https://www.wsj.com/podcasts/the-journal/inside-ices-aggressive-approach-to-arresting-migrants/ ; “ICE Runs Risk of Catching More U.S. Citizens in Deportation Push” The Wall Street Journal 26 Apr 2025; accessed at https://www.wsj.com/podcasts/the-journal/inside-ices-aggressive-approach-to-arresting-migrants/73d06674-bba3-487b-91e7-db8c51628ebb? “As More Citizens are swept up in immigration raids, Democrats demand answers,” Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug 2025; accessed at: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-08-08/how-many-citizens-have-been-arrested-in-immigration-crackdown ; “ICE agents allegedly fill out warrants after an arrest; U.S. citizen among those detained,” WBEZ Chicago, 17 Mar 2025, accessed at https://www.wbez.org/reset-with-sasha-ann-simons/2025/03/17/ice-agents-allegedly-making-arrests-without-warrants .

Thursday, September 04, 2025

Toxic

Luke 14:1-14[1]

I find it interesting how words and symbols change. I think just about everyone here, from young to old, knows the word “toxic.” It’s a word that’s fairly commonly used these days. But when I was a child, we used the word “poison.” And there was a skull and crossbones symbol that marked things that were poisonous made the warning clear: stay away from this, because it can kill you! In our day, that symbol is still used, but the one on the PowerPoint slide today is much more common. It’s called the “biohazard symbol.” It tends to be used for anything that can pose a significant risk to life. Even though you can find it pretty much everywhere in our world these days, and those of us who are adults tend to recognize it, I’m not sure it’s as effective a symbol as the skull and crossbones was, especially for children. When I was a child, the skull and crossbones symbol was fairly scary, and it got the point across. Of course, I’m sure that there were people back in the day who routinely ignored the “poison” symbol just as much as we may ignore the “biohazard” symbol today.

The idea that something is toxic is much more widespread in our day than “poison” was back then. But then that’s also because we’re much more aware of how widely toxic substances have spread in our world. I personally find myself dismayed at the information we just recently gotten about “microplastics.” Apparently, they are everywhere. In the soil, in our food, in our water, in our very bloodstream. What an irony that plastic, a substance that was designed to make our lives more convenient, has turned out to be toxic. And these microplastics are so widespread that they are not only affecting us and our children, but also just about every species of wildlife. More than that, they are threatening the very wellbeing of the planet itself. I refer you to the huge “islands” of plastic pieces floating in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans at this very moment.

But my sermon is not about the dangers to the environment posed by short-sighted thinking on the part of policymakers. My sermon is about our reading from the Gospel of Luke for today. Essentially, Jesus used the situation of healing a man with a chronic illness on the sabbath to point out the fact that the religion of the Jewish leaders of his day was toxic! If you are familiar with Jesus’ interactions with the Jewish religious leaders, you know that this wasn’t the only time they clashed. I find it significant that Jesus clashed with them more often than not over the sabbath day. Their focus on the religious rules of their own devising was so single-minded that they valued their rules over the welfare of people. Jesus had to remind them that the whole point of the sabbath was to honor God by helping people. Their rules for observing the sabbath prevented them from saving life. The scenario of rescuing a child or an ox that had fallen into a well was literally a matter the Jewish religious leaders debated! That should have been a huge red flag!

Of course, Jesus didn’t specifically call the religious leaders out for being “toxic.” He used other words. One that we’re most familiar with is “hypocrite.” He chastised them for putting on a show of being “holy” while their hearts were selfish and full of their own ego. They were more concerned about using their religion to make themselves look good than they were with the welfare of other people, particularly those who were “beneath” them. The very people God wanted them to help! Another word that Jesus used for the religious leaders was “wicked.” That may come as a surprise. It may come as a shock. For centuries, the word “wicked” has been used in our language to describe “sinners,” those who are judged to have turned away from God, those who are judged as morally defective, those whose life is characterized by vice or addiction. In short, “wicked” is a word that has been used to stigmatize anyone who doesn’t live up to the social conventions that define what makes a person “good.”

The Bible has a lot to say about what it means to be wicked. But most of it directly contradicts our social conventions about what it means to be “good” or “bad.” In the Bible, the wicked are those who take advantage of the weak and the vulnerable just because they can.[2] In the Bible, the wicked use lies, dishonest schemes, and even violence to enhance their power or enrich themselves at the expense of those who have no way to protect themselves.[3] And in the Bible, because they have the means and the power to get away with it, the wicked take their wealth and their power as evidence that they are right, maybe even “blessed by God,” in what they do. But the Bible calls that being “haughty” and “arrogant,” and defines it as renouncing God and God’s ways.[4] The Bible’s definition of “wicked” is very different from ours. And in the Bible, the definition of God’s ways is “justice” and “righteousness.” One of the cornerstones of God’s justice is caring for the weak and vulnerable, including specifically orphans, widows, and resident immigrants.[5]

Now, of course, you may have noticed that the word “wicked” doesn’t appear in our Gospel reading for today. Only once in all the Gospels do we have record that Jesus called the religious leaders “wicked,” and we probably shouldn’t be surprised that it’s in Luke’s Gospel (Lk 11:39).[6] But he did so in other ways. He told parables that highlighted all the ways that they directly contradicted God’s justice and used their position to benefit themselves.[7] He praised Zacchaeus, who was the very definition of a “sinner” in their eyes, because he vowed to give half his wealth to the poor. Jesus called them out for “devouring” widows’ houses (Lk 20:47), for their need for their obsessive need for attention and recognition (Lk 10:43), and for the fact that they only added to the burdens that the weakest and most vulnerable people in society were already carrying by the religious rules they imposed on them (Lk 10:46).

But mostly Jesus called the religious leaders out for being “wicked” by doing on the sabbath what their rules branded as “sinful.” He healed people who needed healing. He helped people who needed help. And by doing so, he was actively confronting him for their refusal to practice true “righteousness.” He was effectively saying through his actions on the sabbath that the religious leaders were the “wicked” ones in the world of the day. They knew it, and they plotted to kill him for it!

I think in this day and age, the word “wicked” means too much to be of any value. In traditional circles, it still designates those who are judged to be morally deficient. But “wicked” is also a way of saying that something is “outstanding.” That’s why I think toxic is a better word for what Jesus was trying to say to the religious leaders. He was trying to help them see the folly of their ways. He didn’t give up on them. He was trying to open their eyes! But because of their obsession with their rules, they were blind to the people who were in genuine need. That made their religion toxic, and because they defined themselves by their religion, it made them toxic.

We’re familiar with “toxic” people, “toxic” work environments, and “toxic” relationships. These phrases are commonplace in our world. But those of us in the church haven’t tended to even consider whether that our religion might be toxic. The sad truth is that religion always brings with it a temptation to be so focused on what we believe is right that we can overlook our own shortcomings. As Jesus put it, we can be so offended by the “speck” in someone else’s eye that we overlook the “log” in our own (Lk 6:41). I think if we’re going to take to heart the message of our Gospel lesson for today, we may need to take a long hard look at ourselves through Jesus’ eyes. Perhaps we need to take a look at ourselves through the eyes of the most vulnerable people in our community! It may be disturbing, but there are times when we need to be disturbed! We may need the words and actions of Jesus to disrupt our routines in order to take a hard look at ourselves. Sometimes that’s what it takes for us to make the changes that the kingdom of God demands of us!

[2] Cf. Ps 10:2, “In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor”; Prov 29:7, the “wicked” ignore the “rights of the poor”; Isa 32:7, the “wicked” “ruin the poor with lying words.”

[3] Cf. Ps 10:3, “the wicked boast of the desires of their heart; those greedy for gain curse and renounce the Lord”; Ps 37:14, “The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy”; Prov. 17:23, “The wicked accept a concealed bribe to pervert the ways of justice.”

[4] Cf. Lk 16:14, where Luke calls them “lovers of money.” Cf. also Ps 10:3; Prov. 17:23, “All day long the wicked covet, but the righteous give and do not hold back”; Isa 13:11, “I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant and lay low the insolence of tyrants”; James 3:16, “where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind.”

[5] Cf. Deut 10:18, God is the one who “executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing”; Deut 27:19, all the people are to acknowledge that “‘Cursed be anyone who deprives an alien, an orphan, or a widow of justice.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’”; Cf. also Isa 1:17, where “doing good” and “seeking justice” means to “rescue the oppressed; defend the orphan; plead for the widow”; Jer 22:3, among other things, “acting with justice” means to “do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow.”

[6] Cf. Lk 16:15, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts, for what is prized by humans is an abomination in the sight of God,” which is again a somewhat indirect rebuke (cf. Prov 15:9, “The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord”!).

[7] Especially the Good Samaritan (Lk 10), the Widow Seeking Justice (Lk 18), and in our Gospel reading for today the Parable about Places of Honor at Table (Lk 14).

Saturday, February 08, 2020

Deep Darkness

Isaiah 9:1-7; Matthew 4:12-23[1]

Most of us who have any experience with life know that hardship comes to us all. We all have our share of suffering. It may appear that some are spared that common lot of humanity, but the reality is that everyone carries some kind of burden. But there is one kind of suffering many of us have never known: systemic injustice. That’s what people experience when they don’t have opportunities, or they aren’t treated fairly, or their rights as human beings are denied them. And it happens not because of anything they have done wrong, but simply because of who they are: their gender, their race, their ethnic background, their faith. I think it may be difficult, if not impossible, for many of us even to imagine what that’s like. I know it is for me.

But make no mistake about it: there is oppression all around us. Working people who simply don’t make enough money live in their cars with their families, or in worse conditions out of sight of most of us. Young women are abducted and made into slaves by human traffickers. Students whose whole lives are ahead of them become convinced that they have nothing to live for, in part because of the constant pressure. And people who don’t happen to be of European descent are judged to be suspicious and even dangerous by those of us who are, simply because of the color of their skin or the country of their origin, not based on the quality of their character. We live in a land of deep darkness!

The prophet Isaiah spoke of Judea as a “land of deep darkness.” His people faced threats all around them—most immediately from the northern kingdom of Israel and their allies in Syria. But more significantly at home their leaders—kings and priests and prophets alike—ignored God’s justice and ruled the people based on their own self-interest. And the end result was that the people lived under the yoke of oppression. They lived in a world where might made right. The wealthy and powerful were the ones who called the shots. On a whim they could have anyone thrown into prison without any kind of fair trial. Rather than looking forward to their “day in court,” the most likely outcome was that would simply be forgotten, left to rot and die. They lived in a land of deep darkness.

But Isaiah did not face this darkness with the resignation of despair. He saw a light on the horizon. He knew that God is above all faithful to his people. He also believed that God had promised to send one who would lift the burden of oppression and the yoke of bondage from his people, just as God had once before done for the Jewish people enslaved in Egypt. Unfortunately, in our day we have missed the point of this promise. Like many Christians before us, we cannot read this passage without thinking of Christmas, and the birth of Jesus. Now I will be among the first to agree that Isaiah’s beautiful poetry is a fitting description of Jesus and his ministry. But speaking 700 years before Jesus was born, it’s unlikely that Isaiah was thinking in the first place about Jesus. He had in mind someone who would deliver the Jewish people from the oppression they suffered in his day. He was looking for light that would help those living in darkness at that time.

While we may not be able to know whom Isaiah had in mind when he first spoke these words, we can certainly know what he had in mind. The “light” that Isaiah saw shining in his land of deep darkness was the coming true peace and true justice to his people. They would be delivered from their oppressors and set free from their chains. And the end result would be that they could live and thrive and rejoice like people gathering an abundant harvest. They would live without the fear of violence or the fear of injustice or the fear of the heartless cruelty that could at any moment strip them of all they held dear. They would be free. And the hope of that freedom was a light shining for them in the midst of the deep darkness they had endured.

Again, I have to say that many of us cannot even begin to imagine living in this situation. And yet, right now, right here in this community, there are people who live in that kind of darkness. As hard as it is to admit it, a part of the story of the founding of our society is about violence and systematic injustice that persists to this day. [2] Many believed they had a God-given right to take the land from the nations who were here before us. They justified that blatant injustice with an ideology that they were “savages.” And that ideology was applied to Africans who were enslaved against their will. And to people of other ethnic backgrounds who came to this land seeking freedom. And in our time we see it in the way we can still assume that those who are different from us are suspicious and possibly dangerous. Whether we see it or not, whether we want to admit it or not, we still live in a land of deep darkness

What does our faith offer us in the face of such overwhelming suffering? The light of hope. We have the hope that one day God’s name will be hallowed on earth as it is in heaven and God’s kingdom will come on earth as it is in heaven and God’s “fair, merciful, and loving” purpose will be done on earth as it is in heaven! And that means a day when all cruelty is undone and all violence is banished and all injustice is removed. In the face of the darkness that can be very deep indeed for many in our world today, we have the hope that “the zeal of the Lord of hosts” will continue to bring light into our world, until there is no more darkness. But in order for us to experience God’s freedom and light, we have to first acknowledge the darkness that still affects those whose voices we have long ignored.

[2] Among other sources, these thoughts are in part based on an interview of Brian Stevenson by Terry Gross on “Fresh Air,” January 20, 2020.

Monday, October 01, 2018

The Stone is Lifted

Mark 9:38-50[1]

I wonder whether we as a people have become immune to scandal. In the days of Watergate, when the Senate hearings were broadcast on TV every day, we were shocked at the abuse of power that went all the way to the top. These days, it seems we have lost our ability to be shocked. We have grown so cynical about power and those who use it or abuse it, that we almost expect anyone in such a position to be caught in a scandal at some point. I might go even farther, and venture the opinion that many of us don’t care about scandals any more. We’ve heard so much about Iran-gate and Nanny-gate and Whitewater-gate that our eyes glaze over and we tune out at the very mention of another scandal.

Perhaps I should amend that opinion to say that we don’t care about the scandals that apply to the people we support. We pay plenty of attention to the abuses of power on the part of those we see as the “bad guys.” But if someone is on our “good guy” list, we will suspend judgment and give them the benefit of the doubt over and over again. As a fan of world class cycling, I myself didn’t want to believe the accusations that Lance Armstrong was using performance-enhancing drugs to win an unprecedented 7 consecutive titles in the Tour de France. That is, until he publicly admitted that he had done so and was stripped of his titles and awards.

In our Gospel lesson for today, Jesus talks about what happens when we abuse our power to take advantage of others. It might not seem obvious at first glance, because this is one of the most difficult passages in Mark’s Gospel. It talks about stumbling blocks and self-mutilation and being thrown into hell and being “salted with fire.” And the combination is confusing to the best of us and difficult to sort out. But the central concept in this passage has to do with “stumbling,” either causing someone else to do so, or stumbling ourselves. The Greek word is to “scandalize,” but the meaning is different from our understanding of a scandal. It’s talking about causing others to sin, or falling into sin ourselves.

I think in order to understand any of this, we have to have a clear perspective on the biblical concept of sin. While many religions have identified sexual outcasts as the chief of sinners, the Bible points instead to the “wicked” ones who abuse their power to take advantage of others. As some have put it, the Bible is more concerned about what happens in the boardroom than what happens in the bedroom. Jesus followed this pattern by saving his harshest criticism for those promoted injustice, those who diminished the lives of the least and the lowest in society. And, sad to say, typically those who were guilty of this kind of behavior were the “leaders,” both religious and political.

In our Gospel lesson, Jesus says that “it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea” than to “put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me” (Mark 9:42). I think you would have to say that Jesus was serious about confronting those who used their power to take advantage of others. And to emphasize the point, he follows this up by saying that if your hand or your foot or your eye causes you to take oppress someone in this way, you would be better off simply removing that part of your body! Now, Jesus knew that “sin” isn’t located in any particular body part. He was exaggerating to make a point: spare no effort to avoid the selfishness, the unbridled greed, and the total lack of concern for the welfare of others that leads to this kind of abuse.

Unfortunately, we are surrounded by the monuments memorializing the fact that our society has had its fair share of “captains of industry” who made a fortune and rose to power on the backs of thousands who labored in poverty. Names like Carnegie, Mellon, Rockefeller, Hearst, and Vanderbilt can be found on buildings all over the country as testaments to their “generosity.” But I doubt that the people who had to endure harmful working conditions, substandard housing, and malnutrition would have seen them in that light. The simple truth is that they used their power to enrich themselves by taking advantage of others.

It’s easy to look back and point out those who have abused their power in the past. It may be harder to recognize that we have tycoons today who are enriching themselves by taking advantage of others. But even more difficult is the realization that all of us have diminished another person at some time in our lives. And we’ve felt the weight of our misdeeds like a heavy stone around our necks. I think that’s why Jesus said it’s better to be drowned in the sea than to carry the burden of knowingly taking advantage of another human being. It’s a burden that can be crushing to bear for those of us with a conscience.

It’s also easy to point an accusing finger at “others” as the culprits in the predicament we find ourselves with our fellow human beings. But Jesus didn’t come to bring release to the oppressed and heap vengeance on the oppressors. Injustice of any kind oppresses both those who have to endure it and those who perpetrate it. Jesus came “to free the oppressors and the oppressed” from the burden of injustice.^{^[2]} When we allow the weight and the “fire” of our guilt to cleanse our hearts, we find freedom from the need to take advantage of others. Then the stone of injustice is lifted from us all.

[2] Cf. Jürgen Moltmann, The Crucified God, 307.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Where is Justice?

Where Is Justice?

Job 42:1-6[1]

It may be hard for us to admit this, but there are a lot of people out there who simply cannot put their faith in God for a lot of different reasons. For some, if they had parents who weren’t there for them, it’s hard to trust that God will be there for them. For others it’s a matter of disappointed idealism. They embraced the faith heart and soul, but somewhere along the way, the hypocrisy of people in the church undermined their faith. For others it’s a matter of not being able to reconcile with the fact that the Bible and our faith aren’t always completely consistent. For many, however, the main problem has to do with questioning God’s justice. When they go out into the world and try to do something to help the people who are suffering, what they see is rampant injustice. And it breaks their heart to the point that they simply cannot believe in the loving God the Bible and our faith tell us about!

I think Job knew something of that struggle. He had lived his whole life based on a faith in God that was defined by a simple principle: those who obey God are blessed, and those who disobey God are punished. Therefore, in the logic of this rather simplistic faith, those who are blessed with prosperity and success must enjoy God’s favor, while those who endure hardship and suffering must have somehow offended God. That seemed to work for Job for a long time: he had amassed a great fortune and had a large family of grown children. Then it seemed as if the very ground under his feet gave way. In one fell swoop he lost everything—everything he owned and everyone he cared for. In Job’s world, there could have be no more clearer indication of God’s disfavor.

That is precisely what his three “friends” tell him—over and over again. He must have done something to deserve his suffering. Job insists that he has maintained his integrity, despite what had happened to him. And they reply over and over that he wouldn’t be suffering if he hadn’t done something to deserve it. The bulk of the book of Job consists of them going around and around with this argument—Job maintaining his innocence, and his friends maintaining the simplistic view of faith in terms of reward and punishment they had all been taught from childhood.[2]

Finally, Job exhausts himself with his struggle, and gives up. That’s when God appears and asks Job a whole series of questions that seem to “put him in his place.” “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” God asks Job (38:4). Again and again, God’s only response to Job’s complaint about his suffering is to ask things like, “Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth?” (38:18); “Do you give the horse its might?” (39:19); and “Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars?” (39:26). Of course, as Job realizes, the answer to all of these questions is “No.”

That brings us to our lesson for today. Job realizes that he has ventured into matters that are over his head. In effect, Job asks, “Why am I suffering so, when I have always done right?” And the answer he receives is “You don’t even understand the question. How will you even begin to understand the answer?” The answer to Job’s question is that there is no answer—at least not one he can comprehend.[3] Job himself admits as much: “I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know” (42:3). And I think that is the answer to our question as well. When we see the injustice of suffering in our world, and we ask how a loving God can allow this to happen, there is no answer that can sufficiently explain it.

And yet, there is more to the matter than simply saying we can’t understand and so we have to just surrender to the faith that God knows best. Because one thing the Bible insists is true of God is that God is faithful. God never forsakes us, no matter what. And I believe this was true for Job as much as for anyone else.[4] God never abandoned Job, even in his misfortune, especially in his affliction.[5] It is the lesson of Jesus on the cross.[6] Although some have said that God abandoned Jesus on the cross, I don’t believe that for a second. God was right there, suffering in the person of Jesus.[7] And I think part of the reason for the cross is to show us that God is always right there, suffering with anyone who is afflicted in any way or at any time.[8]

The reality of injustice in our world is so troubling that I don’t fault anyone who cannot believe in God because of it.[9] I have experience a share of injustice in my life. And at times I’ve been angry and come close to giving up my faith. But the resolution to that crisis is found neither in giving up on God nor in the simplistic presumption that God won’t let bad things happen to good people.[10] It is found in continuing to believe in the God who is always there, the God who never abandoned Jesus, the God who never abandoned Job, and the God who will never abandon us, no matter what may come our way.[11] The answer is found in continuing to believe that God will never abandon you or me or anyone in this world, especially in the midst of suffering. God’s justice is the justice of compassion, and in my mind that means that no matter what we may have to endure in this world, God is always right there with us, suffering right beside us, supporting us, and working in and through our lives to bring good out of every injustice. God’s justice is found in God’s faithful presence—God will never forsake us, no matter what!

[2] In the end, as Stephen Shoemaker, in GodStories, 165, points out, God commends Job for his questioning! From God’s perspective, it’s as if Job’s doubts were truer than his friends’ beliefs!

[3] Anchor Bible Dictionary, s.v. “Job, Book of, ” by James L. Crenshaw, III:861.

[4] Cf. Stephen Mitchell, The Book of Job, xxvii, where he says that in the end Job is able to surrender to that which is beyond his ability to comprehend because, “He has faced evil, has looked straight into its face and through it, into a vast wonder and love.”

[5] In fact, over and over again, in the midst of his doubts, Job continues to express the hope that God will vindicate him. Cf. J. Gerald Janzin, Job, 264.

[6] cf. René Girard, “Job and the God of Victims,” in L. G. Perdue and W. C. Gilpin, ed., The Voice from the Whirlwind: Interpreting the Book of Job, 226: “The Jesus of the Gospels becomes, for the Christian tradition, the decisive event revealing the reality and meaning of the God of victims, of the God, the Logos, by which the world is created and constituted and who takes the side of the poor, the needy, the oppressed. What Job calls for, the Gospels focus on.”

[7]Cf. Jürgen Moltman, The Crucified God, 243, where he says that God “suffers the death of the Son in the infinite grief of love”; cf. Jürgen Moltmann, The Way of Jesus Christ, 172-78; cf. also Paul Knitter, Without Buddha, 126: “The God embodied in Jesus suffers not only for the victims of the world; this God suffers like them and with them.”

[8] Cf. Philip Yancey, Disappointment With God, 192.

[9] See Frederick Buechner, Whistling in the Dark, 61-62: “Anyone who claims to believe in an all-powerful, all-loving God without taking into account this devastating evidence [i.e. the Holocaust] either that God is indifferent or powerless, or that there is no God at all, is playing games. … If Love itself is really at the heart of it all, how can such things happen? What do such things mean?”

[10] Cf. Carol A. Newsom, “The Book of Job,” New Interpreters Bible IV:630.

[11] Cf. Newsom, “The Book of Job,” NIB IV:632.

Tuesday, October 09, 2012

Hard Hearts

Mk. 10:2-12[1]

At times, it seems that the whole structure of the family is coming unraveled. The casual attitude with which we approach marriage and divorce is one more example of the way in which we as a people are practicing injustice and thinking we can get away without suffering any consequences. We get married to get divorced, to get remarried to get divorced again, to get remarried again and so on. The attitude seems to be that “if this doesn’t work out, I can always get out of it.” [2] I wonder if we don’t place more value on the process of buying a house than we do on taking vows of marriage and love. That’s probably an overstatement, but I don’t think it’s too far off. Neither do those who study these trends. Their studies make it clear that our casual attitude toward marriage and divorce has harmed our families, our children, and the whole fabric of our society. [3]

In our Gospel lesson for today, Jesus takes on the casual attitude of the Jewish leaders about divorcing a wife. In that setting, a woman could not divorce her husband. Only the man had the legal right to divorce his wife. They knew that fact very well when they asked the question “is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” Notice they asked “is it lawful?”, not “is it godly?” or “is it right?” or “is it harmful?” They seemed to approach it as a matter on a par with dividing up the family inheritance. Jesus knew what they were up to, so he had them repeat it for him: “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.” [4] In this case, the Law wasn’t prescribing divorce, it was trying to protect the woman by making the husband give her some way to be able to remarry. If not, she would have been reduced to a life of begging or worse to support herself.

But Jesus went to the heart of the matter, literally. He knew that their casual attitude toward sending a wife away was one that came from their hard hearts. In other words, it was a selfish act that created suffering for the wife, and they couldn’t care less. He confronted them with the fact that “from the beginning” it was not the case. They appealed to legalistic hair-splitting, and he trumped them by going back to the Creator’s original intention for marriage. [5] Jesus says that God’s intention for marriage was to create one family out of two separate people. It was intended to unite two people in such a way as to make it as if they were one person.

But he goes even further than that. They wanted to talk about the “Law,” so he trumped them again. They cited an off-handed stipulation of Moses regarding divorce and remarriage (Deut. 24:1-4), and he appealed to the Ten Commandments! He said that for a man to casually divorce his wife was the equivalent of committing adultery against her! Once again, it was the casual, hard-hearted, selfish attitude that Jesus was addressing. When a man sent his wife away due to selfish reasons, he not only did her irreparable harm, he also violated the Creator’s intention for marriage, and thus was guilty of committing adultery.

Divorce is an unfortunate and painful reality in our world. Living in marriage with another human being is anything but easy. These days, both men and women have the “right” to send their spouses away with a “certificate of dismissal.” It would be a mistake to think that everyone who divorces does so casually or selfishly, though I think there are a lot of people who do. I’ve been married twice, and I’m at the end of a second divorce. Although I’m the first person to admit that I’m not easy to live with, If I had my choice I probably would never have been divorced. But I know for a fact that both of the women who divorced me did so after a long and painful process of deliberation. They didn’t do it casually, or with a hard-hearted lack of concern for my welfare. It was something they felt they had to do in order to be able to live their lives in peace and happiness. That happens sometimes. After two people have spent a portion of their lives together, it seems better for them to go their separate ways. But it means breaking up a family, and it’s painful and tragic.[6]

I don’t think Jesus was addressing that situation at all. And I certainly don’t think he was branding everyone who remarries after divorce as guilty of perpetual adultery! [7] In fact, I believe Jesus would be sympathetic toward both parties in a divorce that comes at the end of this kind of soul-searching. [8] What Jesus was confronting was the casual, selfish, and hard-hearted way in which many assume the right to send away a spouse with little more than a “don’t let the door hit you on the way out”! That kind of approach to divorce essentially abandons all concern for the welfare of the other person and violates anything resembling love, or justice, or compassion. It tears apart the fabric of a family. Like the other issues of justice we’ve been looking at, any behavior like this that comes from a hard heart undermines the well-being of everyone involved, and it ultimately undermines life for us all.

Jesus makes it very clear—a casual approach to marriage and divorce is not consistent with the way of life that he calls us to follow. He calls us to a life of “doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God.” That means we have to think about how our actions affect others—especially when it comes to our families. He calls us to the decision to “deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus.” That means abandoning the selfish and hard-hearted way of life that so many have adopted. That applies to our marriages as well as to any other relationship. He calls us to be transformed by the love of God, and so live our lives with hearts filled with love for God and love for others. That means living with those who are closest to us, who can sometimes frustrate and madden us, with understanding and love.

[2] Cf. David Garland, “Biblical View of Marriage,” Review and Expositor 427, where he comments that “‘to have and to hold as long as we both shall live’ has been changed to ‘as long as my spouse meets my needs and I am fulfilled.’”

[3] Cf. Diana Garland, “Divorce and the Church,” Review and Expositor 422, where she says, “Marriage has been redefined by our culture in the past twenty years. It has become an agreement to live in friendship and support and sexual intimacy with the partner; it is no longer defined as the creation of a new family unit.”

[4] Cf. Pheme Perkins, “The Gospel of Mark,” New Interpreters Bible VIII: 646, where she says that they were trying to get him in trouble with the Herodian rulers, like John the Baptist, over the casual way in which they approached marriage and divorce.

[5] Cf. Pheme Perkins, “The Gospel of Mark,” New Interpreters Bible VIII: 645; cf. also Lamar Williamson, Jr., Mark, 180; and A. Y. Collins and H. W. Attridge, Mark, 467-68.

[6] Cf. Williamson, Mark, 178: “A divorce may revoke a legal contract, but one cannot un-live the vital ties created by life together in marriage.”

[7] Cf. John Shelby Spong, The Living Commandments, 80, where he recognizes that that the biblical ideal is monogamous marriage, but wants to propose that “there is a very large area between what we could call ideal and what we would call immoral.”

[8] Cf. Perkins, “Gospel of Mark,” NIB VIII:646: “Christians have not been as adept as was their founder at avoiding the divorce business. Some have created an elaborate legal system for determining when a marriage may be declared void. Others are experimenting with ritualizing divorce. One cannot come away from this Markan story without the sense that Jesus would have declared both approaches attempts to put human traditions in place of God’s intention for humanity. A failed marriage represents a human tragedy for everyone involved.” Cf. also Diana Garland, “Divorce and the Church,” 428.

Tuesday, October 02, 2012

Millstones

Mk. 9:38-50[1]

One of my favorite Christmas stories is Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” In it, Dickens tells the story of how Ebenezer Scrooge is transformed from a selfish, tight-fisted miser who could care less about the welfare of anybody else into a big-hearted, generous, and kind man. Part of what effects this dramatic transformation is the fact that he’s visited by the ghost of Jacob Marley, his former partner who had been dead seven years. Interestingly, the ghost of Jacob wore a long and heavy chain that he literally had to drag along with him. When Scrooge asks Marley about it, he says that he wore the chain he forged in life—a chain forged by all the merciless, unjust, ruthless, and oppressive deeds he had done in life. And he warned Scrooge that his own chain was as long and as heavy as his, and it had grown even longer and heavier over the seven years since Marley’s death!

It’s an interesting concept, that in death we wear chains forged from what we have done in life. Though Marley claims that his chains were invisible until the day he died, I think it’s impossible for anyone to forge such a heavy chain of heartless unconcern for others without feeling something of its weight in this life. In our Gospel lesson for today, Jesus uses a different metaphor for the cost of a life lived at the expense of others—he says you might as well wear a millstone around your neck and throw yourself into the sea! In case you are unfamiliar with the way grain used to be processed, a mill would grind the grain between two stones, the top one of which was called the millstone. It was round and it was turned by livestock pulling in circles. A modern day equivalent might be one of those cast-off tires full of cement that we use to hold up a volleyball net.

Why would Jesus speak so harshly about “causing one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble”? I think it was because he was serious about injustice.[2] While the religious people of every day have identified sexual outcasts as the chief of sinners, Jesus pointed instead to the people used their power to diminish the lives of the least and the lowest in society, instead of helping them to thrive.[3] In the eyes of the biblical prophets, this was the true sin that plagued Gods’ people, and I think it still plagues many who claim to follow Christ today.

I think there are a lot of people in our world who are walking around with virtual millstones. They get rich because they are beautiful or talented or powerful or shrewd, and they help create a culture in which people think that the only way to have a decent life in this world is to be beautiful or talented or powerful or shrewd. And if you can’t get rich that way, then you have to get rich any way you can—“get rich or die tryin’” as the rapster “50 cent” puts it.

And in the wake of this outlook on life is an unbelievable trail of the wreckage of human lives. We have all kinds of monuments today that are named for the “robber barons” of the past. People who enriched themselves literally on the backs of thousands who labored in poverty. People whose hands are stained with the blood of those who died in substandard housing, with indecent living conditions, and barely enough food for their families. And today, their names are proudly displayed on our monuments—hospitals, universities, concert halls. But if anybody is walking this world as a ghost dragging long and heavy chains, it is those who profit from the labor and the misfortune of the masses.

It’s easy to look back and identify the “robber barons” of the past. But I wonder who they are in our day and time. I think of the entertainment moguls and the sports moguls and the financial moguls as likely candidates. They continue to keep people enthralled in the illusion of a “good life” for those who are beautiful or talented or shrewd enough. But in our Gospel lesson, Jesus confronted the “moguls” of his day head on. He told them it was better for them to cut off their own hands and gouge out their own eyes than to keep oppressing people the way they were doing. Now, Jesus knew that “sin” isn’t located in any particular body part; he was exaggerating to make a point.[4] But I’m afraid his warning fell on deaf ears, just as it does in large part today.

So what can we as average, everyday people do about the injustice and the inequality that pervades our world? Well, I really do believe in a version of “think globally, and act locally.” I really do believe that we are making a difference in this world just by keeping on with the life of “doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God.” As we do so we can help dispel the illusion that you have to be beautiful or powerful to have the “good life.” And Just as Jesus did, I think we too can confront those who demean and diminish others to enrich themselves—whether they’re in Hollywood or on Wall Street or in Washington.

But I think we also have to remember that we all have diminished another at some time in our lives.[5] We all have our own millstones around our necks. Fortunately, the same Christ who confronts all who enhance their own welfare at the expense of another also offers to set us free from our millstones.[6] All of us who carry millstones, whether we’re “average” or a “mover and shaker,” suffer from what we do when we diminish others. It’s no fun walking around with a millstone around your neck! And just as Jesus offers freedom to the oppressed, he offers us all the chance to be set free from our oppressive deeds. Like Ebenezer Scrooge, all we have to do is change our hearts and change our ways, and our millstones come falling off.

[2] Cf. Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics 4.2:158. He says, “It is because of His own clear-cut decision [to be about God’s business] that in the encounter with Him others must choose between Himself and all the things that perhaps seem necessary and important to them, e.g., wealth or satisfaction or pleasure or reputation.” It seems to me that justice is the heart of the “business” that Jesus said he must be engaged in.

[3] Cf. Craig A. Evans, Mark 8:27-16:20, 74: “Arrogance, self-absorption, insensitivity, and tyranny are all negative attitudes that frequently lie behind the desire to be first and to be the greatest (9:34). Just as frequently these attitudes cause people to stumble, especially the younger, weaker, and less influential. Far from seeking positions of power, Jesus’ disciples should seek opportunities for service. Rather than causing the little ones to stumble, the disciples must help them stand and grow in faith. The matter is so important to Jesus that he describes the dire consquences in shocking hyperbole: better to drown oneself in the sea than to offend a little one.”

[4] Cf. Ronald Goetz, “The Costliness of Grace,” The Christian Century (Feb 6, 1986):111: “To be sure, the hand-chopping, eye-plucking remedy for sin could never work, if for no other reason than the fact that we have more sins than we have bodily parts.” Cf. also A. Y. Collins and H. W. Attridge, Mark, 452; Pheme Perkins, “The Gospel of Mark,” New Interpreters Bible VIII:641.

[5] Cf. Joel C. Marcus, “The Millstone,” The Christian Century (Sept 13, 2000):902.

[6] Cf. Marcus, “Millstone,” 902: “The calculus of revenge seems too complicated! There must be some other equation, or no hope will remain for any of us. And, indeed, the New Testament seems to hint at another equation when Paul says that God has imprisoned all human beings in disobedience in order that he might have mercy upon all (Rom. 11:32).”

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

“How Long?”

Isaiah 58:1-12; Matthew 5:13-16[1]

Most people who have lived in Texas any length of time have heard one of our favorite sayings: “If you don’t like the weather, just wait a minute and it will change!” Except when it doesn’t. Last Summer, most of us were asking how long it would keep raining! I don’t know about you, but my backyard turned into a swamp last Summer! It rained so much I think some of us must have been looking for Noah and his Ark!

At the time when our scripture text was uttered, the people of Israel were asking “how long?” They had been sent into exile in Babylon and everything about their former way of life had been destroyed. Their dreams had been shattered, families had been torn apart, and even the Temple lay in ruins. And they wondered how long it would last. Then they saw the light of God’s deliverance and they were able to return to their homeland, only to find that it was still in ruins. They had left one kind of exile for another! And they wondered how long it would last.

In our day, it seems like people everywhere seem to be “desperately seeking God.” And yet the more people cry out to God the more distant he seems to be. In the meanwhile people run from one spiritual “guru” to another hoping to find the solution. Like the people of Isaiah’s day, many wonder how long this spiritual predicament will last. But the painful truth that the prophet Isaiah declared is that we must look inside ourselves if we would experience God in a new and fresh way.

Despite the fact that the Jewish people were apparently extremely diligent about worshiping God, the prophet Isaiah told them that the “times of refreshing” would come only after they truly repented and bore “fruit worthy of repentance.” Like the other prophets of his day, Isaiah paints a sad picture of the spiritual condition of Israel. The people of Israel talked the talk but didn’t walk the walk.[2] They busied themselves with the routines of their worship, and wondered why they no longer experienced God’s blessing.

The answer Isaiah gave was rather stinging indictment:

• Even in their worship they “served their own interest” (Isaiah 58:3);

• Their lives betrayed the sham of their profession of devotion to God (Isaiah 58:2);[3]

• They completely missed the purpose for their worship—to transform life (Isaiah 58:6-7).[4]

The people of Israel made a show of practicing their faith but failed to do what was right. The fact that they would leave their worship to go out and withhold fair wages from their workers made it clear that their outward profession of faith did not relate to any inward spiritual reality. Isaiah didn’t let them off the hook with some theoretical ideas about how their lives should be lived. He was quite specific: they were to restore justice to the oppressed, they were to feed the hungry, they were to help those who were afflicted, and they were to provide clothing for the naked.

Isaiah promised that when they repented of their ways, ways that oppressed the poor and denied justice to the weak, then and only then would they experience the renewal of God’s blessings. Then and only then would the light “break forth like the dawn,” and their healing will “spring up quickly” (Isa. 58:8). Then and only then would the “gloom” that blanketed them turn to light (Isa. 58:10). Isaiah was so sure of this promise that he concluded it with, “the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

It’s a wonderful promise, but that’s not what we want to hear when we ask “how long?” We would rather not have to face the painful truth that the problem may lie within us. We would rather not have to put forth the effort to make the changes that need to be made. Unfortunately, that’s not one of the options. Over and over again, the Bible insists that those who truly know God will truly love others by practicing justice and mercy toward the destitute and disenfranchised.[5]

One of the hard lessons of Isaiah is that when the worship of God does not produce lives of love and justice and mercy, it is not the worship of God.^{^[6]} Methodist Bishop William Willimon put it this way: “The word ‘liturgy’ means literally ‘the work of the people.’ Worship is the work of the people of God. ... The test for Sunday is what we do on Monday. ... What we believe about God is to be put into practice, embodied. As Isaiah tells us, it’s no good just to prattle on about God with our lips; it’s got to take over our lives.”[7] May God continue to challenge us until our worship in this place spills out from these walls and takes over our lives.

[2] Isaiah 29:13: “these people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote.”

[3] Isaiah 58:2: they acted “as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God.”

[4] Isaiah 58:6-7: “Is this not 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? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, …?”; cf. James 1:26-27.

[5] Cf. Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics I:2, 371: “As we come to faith, we begin to love. If we did not begin to love, we would not have come to faith”; cf. also Emil Brunner, Justice and the Social Order, 117: “Love can only do more, it can never do less, than justice requires.”

[6] Cf. John D. W. Watts, Isaiah 34-66, 277; cf. also Paul Hanson, Isaiah 40-66, 205: “This passage … locates God’s central concern in the exercise of justice and the practice of compassion. Without these, all the pious motions of religion are mere ‘as ifs’.”

[7] William Willimon, “When In Our Music God is Glorified,” a sermon preached 2/7/1999 at Duke Chapel; accessed at http://www.chapel.duke.edu/worship/ sunday/viewsermon.aspx?id=19.

The Waking Dreamer