DOING JUSTICE: 4 - Justice As Relationships

SUNDAY, January 26
HOW DO I MAKE IT RIGHT? Doing Justice in a Broken World 
by Tracy Young
Chapter 4 Justice As Relationships: With God


James 1:22, 27 MSG

Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! ..... Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.

"Seeking justice is good for our neighbors, good for our communities, and good for our world.  It's also good for our own faith, because seeking justice has very much to do with our personal relationship with our Creator." (TY-71)

     DOING means everything to God.  DOING improves our relationship with God.  DOING demonstrates an active faith that is more than rote Sunday attendance.  

     It is said that when you are struggling with life circumstances and questioning God's presence, the best medicine is to volunteer, to take the emphasis off yourself and on to others.  Notice the remedy isn't to hole yourself up in more scripture and meditation to 'find God' - the remedy is to DO God work!  

     God/Christ is in the people we help.  Relationships are empowered when we work together for justice.

MONDAY, January 27

HOW DO I MAKE IT RIGHT? Doing Justice in a Broken World 

by Tracy Young

Chapter 4 Justice As Relationships: No 'Us and Them'

Philippians 2:5-8  MSG

Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human!   Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.

"If one struggles, we all struggle."  (MLK)

 "The point is, it's not 'us' and 'them'; it's simply 'us'.  We need one another.  We depend on one another." (TY-75)

"Our coffee, other foods, clothing, raw materials and consumer items have connections to producing or laboring communities that do not enjoy the opportunities or protections that we take for granted in our own work.  Those who end up with the shortest straw are often the ones who had the least to begin with." (TY-75) 

     Christ had reason to 'elevate' himself above the commoner.  He WAS God!  (We just THINK we are!)  But with Jesus, it was never a us and them.  It was simply humanity together.  And when we realize this, we move beyond a quick fix relief to lasting equality, transformative change.

      Hmmm...back to Fair Trade Coffee, what kind of factory do my clothes come from?  Am I supporting abusive corporations or governments through my purchasing power?  Sometimes justice comes in the form of small changes we make in our daily lives....changes that have a greater reach than we think possible.

  

TUESDAY, January 28

HOW DO I MAKE IT RIGHT? Doing Justice in a Broken World 

by Tracy Young

Chapter 4 Justice As Relationships: Justice and Ourselves

Luke 6:42 GNT
How can you say to your brother, ‘Please, brother, let me take that speck out of your eye,’ yet cannot even see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will be able to see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

     Specks and logs!  I love the analogies here - the visual images that come to mind!  Yet what are the logs that prevent us from doing justice?  The logs that inhibit our relationship with God and hence our acts of transformation?
     Our western culture provides plenty of logs:  consumerism, emphasis on beauty and looks, disregard for the environment, a USER society!  What part do we have in this?  Are we constantly in search of more and better?  Do we know the history of what we purchase?  Do we measure success by the haves?  I write this today somewhat 'tongue in cheek' as we leave in just minutes to drive across the state to purchase a new vehicle.  In what kind of fair factory was the vehicle made?  What kind of culture?  Is my purchase contributing to injustice somewhere?  
      These are tough questions with hard answers!  But a close look at our own actions can free us for justice action elsewhere.  

WEDNESDAY, January 29

HOW DO I MAKE IT RIGHT? Doing Justice in a Broken World 

by Tracy Young

Chapter 4 Justice As Relationships: Speaking Up and Out

Proverbs 31:8-9  (CEB and MSG)

Speak out on behalf of the voiceless,
    and for the rights of all who are vulnerable.

Speak out for justice!
    Stand up for the poor and destitute!”

     When something is wrong, how often do we mutter to ourselves, rant in the bathroom, or complain behind closed doors.  We speak, but we don't SPEAK OUT!!  We don't speak where it will make a difference or enable change to happen.  Donations of money is necessary and needed, but often what is really important is the donation of our VOICE!!

     Speaking up for justice can be hard.  We face rejection or ridicule.  But the call of Christ is clear - it is our duty to God.

"Beyond using our voices to share the stories of those who face violence, oppression, or poverty, we can use our voices to plead for justice on their behalf.  We can speak to those who can enact change.  We can send up a holy racket and agitate for something new."  (TY -78)

     I like the phrase 'send up a holy racket'.  It implies persistence.  Shake things up for the sake of justice in the name of another.  Write letters to those in control.  Speak up on behalf of others.  Don't sit back and allow injustice to continue unchecked!

THURSDAY, January 30

HOW DO I MAKE IT RIGHT? Doing Justice in a Broken World 

by Tracy Young

Chapter 4 Justice As Relationships:Right Relationships

1 Corinthians 12:26 GNT

If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts suffer with it; if one part is praised, all the other parts share its happiness.

     The whole world as one is the body of Christ.  We all suffer when one part of the globe endures injustice.  The author uses a metaphor of knitting a garment.  Our world is woven from a single thread of yarn - our commonality as Children of God.  When we fail to knit with attention, holes and mistakes appear that we must attend to and correct.  

Seeking justice is not an isolated, occasional endeavor.  It is ongoing and utterly communal.  It requires examining and re-examining how things are done.  It is about relationships between people and between people and God.  It is about working to make those relationships right in order to reflect the beauty of God's perfect love for us. 

CHAPTER 4 - REFLECTIONS AND ACTION
Focus Statement:  Most people agree on this basic view of justice: It's about God and it's about people, and it's about getting right with both.  But as we've dug a bit deeper this week, we've learned that pursuing justice isn't always 'basic'.  Sometimes we're asked to do difficult things like speaking up for someone, even at the risk of ridicule, rejection, or hatred.  Sometimes we're called to confront established social, political, or economic structures when we see that injustice has crept into them - and that usually puts us in an uncomfortable place, at odds with a whole lot of people.  And sometimes we need to turn our focus on how our own actions, habits, and desires may legitimize the oppression of another person or people. (TY-83-84)

The Bible is filled with stories of champions for injustice:  the midwives who bucked Pharaoh's order to save the babies, Jesus and the money changer tables, Nathan who challenges King David with his transgressions.  The task is rarely easy.  

ACTION.  On a personal level, Rick and I have already taken one of the actions suggested - switching to Fair Trade Coffee for our home use and encouraging the church to do the same.  Church World Service has "Speak Up" Alerts that can come to our email in-box - opportunities for timely moments to advocate for the oppressed and how to go about doing it.  I should investigate this and sign up.  I can educate myself more on issues of concern for me - perhaps the timeliness of the Israeli-Palestinian issue would be a good start.  

Gifted for Mission

d365.org PRESENCE OF GOD  (Katie Sciba)
The ability to do something – something creative, something useful – that kind of ability is called a gift. It’s not something intended for personal use and benefit alone. Gifts like these are meant to be used for the benefit of others.   That’s because these gifts come from God, who has in mind not only the individual, but everyone all together.   How might we use our God-given gifts for the benefit of all the world?



SATURDAY, February 2  "Gift Exchange"
Psalm 19:7-10, 14 (Good News Translation)
The law of the Lord is perfect;
    it gives new strength.
The commands of the Lord are trustworthy,
    giving wisdom to those who lack it.
The laws of the Lord are right,
    and those who obey them are happy.
The commands of the Lord are just
    and give understanding to the mind.
Reverence for the Lord is good;
    it will continue forever.
The judgments of the Lord are just;
    they are always fair.
They are more desirable than the finest gold;
    they are sweeter than the purest honey.
May my words and my thoughts be acceptable to you,
    O Lord, my refuge and my redeemer!

Obeying God grants us strength to endure. 
Listening to God gives us insight to understand. 
Trusting God gives us a sense of justice and equality. 
Putting God at the center of our lives,
Granting God the Number One spot,
Blesses us beyond measure.
It's like a strawberry coated with dark chocolate,
Ecstasy and peace at once;
Life a sweet dessert of Grace. 
But our joy comes with responsibility,
With a call to service 
That becomes second nature
Through God.
May our thoughts reflect God's love. 
May our voices shout God's glory. 
May our hands perform God's mission
At all times.
And in everything we say and do.  

d365.org Benediction  (Katie Sciba)
May your gifts burn like a fire,
Bringing warmth to everyone you meet.
May your gifts light the world
And reveal the goodness of God.
May your gifts today be embraced
And expressed
With creativity,
Making you useful in God's mercy.


FRIDAY, February 1   "Parts of a Whole"
1 Corinthians 12:25-27  (The Message)

The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don’t, the parts we see and the parts we don’t. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.  You are Christ’s body—that’s who you are! You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your “part” mean anything.

Parts of a whole.

Individual lives,

Individual hearts.

Relationships within and without.

Groups formed, shifting boundaries.

Including, shunning.

Affirming and condemning.

Walls built to exclude,

Bridges to unite.

Without the common soul of Christ,

The body of a group struggles

To connect with all parts,

To honor and dignify all its members,
To nurture one another,
To celebrate together.

The Body of Christ serves as a vision 

Of how community functions;

Of how all parts, seen and unseen,

Are dependent on each other.

Reach out today as part of the whole

To affirm each other.

To respect one another,

With the love of God

Binding us together,

Individually part of the whole Body.  

THURSDAY, January 31  "One Body"
1 Corinthians 12:14-21  (Good News Translation)

For the body itself is not made up of only one part, but of many parts. If the foot were to say, “Because I am not a hand, I don't belong to the body,” that would not keep it from being a part of the body.  And if the ear were to say, “Because I am not an eye, I don't belong to the body,” that would not keep it from being a part of the body.  If the whole body were just an eye, how could it hear? And if it were only an ear, how could it smell?  As it is, however, God put every different part in the body just as he wanted it to be.  There would not be a body if it were all only one part!  As it is, there are many parts but one body.

 So then, the eye cannot say to the hand, “I don't need you!” Nor can the head say to the feet, “Well, I don't need you!”

One body. One Spirit. 
One body. One mission. 
Many parts. 
All necessary.  
All contributing gifts. 
'Behind the scenes' workers often the best 
At getting  the job done. 
All significant. 
All unique.  
All loved by one God. 
Equally. 
'Nuf said.  

Again, Eugene Peterson in The Message writes this passage in a more lengthy, but somewhat humorous way.  You can just hear all the parts of your body arguing as they attempt to function as ONE.  Is this how we are as the church at times?  Struggling to agree, to even LIKE all the other parts?  Sometimes with an exaggerated idea of our own importance?  Our job is to identify and acknowledge our God-given gifts (what part of the body are we?) and use them to  advance the Good News (keep the body moving!). 

I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less. A body isn’t just a single part blown up into something huge. It’s all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together. If Foot said, “I’m not elegant like Hand, embellished with rings; I guess I don’t belong to this body,” would that make it so? If Ear said, “I’m not beautiful like Eye, limpid and expressive; I don’t deserve a place on the head,” would you want to remove it from the body? If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell? As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it.

But I also want you to think about how this keeps your significance from getting blown up into self-importance. For no matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are a part of. An enormous eye or a gigantic hand wouldn’t be a body, but a monster. What we have is one body with many parts, each its proper size and in its proper place. No part is important on its own. Can you imagine Eye telling Hand, “Get lost; I don’t need you”? Or, Head telling Foot, “You’re fired; your job has been phased out”? As a matter of fact, in practice it works the other way—the “lower” the part, the more basic, and therefore necessary. You can live without an eye, for instance, but not without a stomach. When it’s a part of your own body you are concerned with, it makes nodifference whether the part is visible or clothed, higher or lower. You give it dignity and honor just as it is, without comparisons. If anything, you have more concern for the lower parts than the higher. If you had to choose, wouldn’t you prefer good digestion to full-bodied hair?

WEDNESDAY, January 30  "One Spirit to Drink"
1 Corinthians 12:12-13  (The Message)
You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you’re still one body. It’s exactly the same with Christ. By means of his one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which he has the final say in everything. (This is what we proclaimed in word and action when we were baptized.) Each of us is now a part of his resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain—his Spirit—where we all come to drink. The old labels we once used to identify ourselves—labels like Jew or Greek, slave or free—are no longer useful. We need something larger, more comprehensive.
     There are times when Peterson gets downright verbose and this is one of them.  But I liked the explanation!  Rather than saying "we all have been given one Spirit to drink" (CEB) he talks of refreshment and sustainment at one fountain of the Spirit.  We are part of something MUCH larger than before.  We are accountable and integrated into a larger purpose and mission.  Say 'goodbye to partial and piecemeal lives'!  

     One Spirit to drink.  A common communion cup?  The reality and beauty of our Christianity lies in the many gifts and talents, the many races and backgrounds, the many economic levels --the many parts of the body.  When all work together IN CHRIST, when all drink from the ONE SPIRIT, what amazing transformations can take place within our world.  The old Coca Cola commercial showed a world united drinking Coke 'in perfect harmony'!  What about a world united all drinking a different kind of 'spirits'?  One body, one Spirit.  Drink.  Together.  


TUESDAY, January 29 "Teaching the R's"
Luke 4:16-21 (The Message)

He came to Nazareth where he had been reared. As he always did on the Sabbath, he went to the meeting place. When he stood up to read, he was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written,

God’s Spirit is on me;
    he’s chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor,
Sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and
    recovery of sight to the blind,
To set the burdened and battered free,
    to announce, “This is God’s year to act!”

He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the assistant, and sat down. Every eye in the place was on him, intent. Then he started in, “You’ve just heard Scripture make history. It came true just now in this place.”

     Jesus has taken his place in the synagogue and announced why he is there and what he plans to do.  He is preaching the R's, but not Reading, 'Riting, and 'Rithmatic.  Jesus is teaching of Revelation, Release, Recovery, Restoration, and ultimately Redemption and Resurrection.   His 'mission statement' still applies today. We still need to hear the hope of the Good News revealed, liberation and healing from physical and spiritual prisons or disease, and  a renewal of our world to God's plan, God's imagination.        
     There is a line in Paul Young's book, Crossroads,  in which he writes, "Believer is an activity, not a category."  To be a follower of Christ is to DO, not just recite a statement of faith or check a box indicating Religious Preference. For what has God anointed us?  What are we to DO with our Christian faith?  What is our personal mission statement?   These are questions posed by Pastor Katy last Sunday in her sermon as well.  Day by day, week by week, we should have a plan of action.  Which of the R's might these former teachers tackle today?  

MONDAY, January 28  "Out of the Desert"
Luke 4:14-15  (The Message)

Jesus returned to Galilee powerful in the Spirit. News that he was back spread through the countryside. He taught in their meeting places to everyone’s acclaim and pleasure.
Where has Jesus been?
From where does he return?
The desert. 
A time of hardship and temptation. 
A time of faith testing.
He returns strengthened, 
Powerful in the Spirit; 
God overflowing from within. 
That's what deserts can do. 
Even though at the time
All we feel is thirst and loneliness.  
Deserts can prepare us
For Kingdom work,
Spirit work. 



SUNDAY, January 27  "Make of Me a Mountain"
Psalm 19:1-4a (Good News Translation)
How clearly the sky reveals God's glory!
    How plainly it shows what he has done!
Each day announces it to the following day;
    each night repeats it to the next.
No speech or words are used,
    no sound is heard;
yet their message goes out to all the world
    and is heard to the ends of the earth.
Make of me a mountain, Lord.
Majestic, beautiful, inspiring,
With a solid foundation in your love. 
Make the light sparkle 
As it reflects from my snowy face. 
Fill my heart overflowing with the
radiance and beauty of flowered meadows. 
Let my arms reach out like fingered ridges
Stretching in service to others.
Like the creeks tumbling from glacial summits,
May my conversations wash clean
  the troubles of those I meet.
May I take the gifts hidden within my forests:
Tree laden talents, flowery skills, and pools of opportunity
And use them to reveal your presence,
Your goodness, your love.  
No spoken sound from my silent shadows
But your glory proclaimed to all the world. 
Make of me a mountain, Lord, so that,
As I see God in the mountains I behold,
Others may see God at work in me,
Silently and with strength.