Today we read the scripture from Luke of the parable of the widow and the unjust judge (Luke 18:1-8). We really expect to see in this that the unjust judge will get his just dues, but this is not the point of the parable. It is about human justice (such as the one the judge delivers without regard to God or people) and how much more God's justice is. Because the widow only gets justice because she bothers the judge so much.
If we really want to understand justice we have to go back to the Old Testament. The books that have the law and find what kind of justice God wants from us (his people). It asks a lot of us and it asks us to dig deeper than we usually do. To welcome the stranger in our land, to leave a portion of our fields for the widow and orphan or the stranger traveling through, to release the captives every 7 years and to return property back to the family of inheritance every 50 years. This is a different kind of justice than what our system delivers. We have seen this in action the past few weeks with the government shutdown, where our governing body has totally lost sight of the people they are affecting.
When we speak of justice in the courts it is hard to see true justice. I have been through those courts and know a part of this myself. There is no true justice. The closest I think we have come is whenever there are Truth and Reconciliation processes that are going on. The comments heard from these experiences are that the victim finally gets to tell their own story and it is heard by the perpetrator, by others, and it gets to be told without interruption or modification. This is huge in helping to heal someone, having your story told by you the way you wish the courts would hear it and don't. It is the tip of some justice to tell your story without interruption or interpretation that twists it into something it is not.
God's justice asks us to dig deeper into God's love for us. It asks us to see others with those eyes. Its a huge charge and a big responsibility. Can we take the challenge to walk with the eyes of God's justice and see where this brings us in our walks with God? Are we willing to risk being this giving? Because this is it God gives abundantly and we are to do the same.
If we really want to understand justice we have to go back to the Old Testament. The books that have the law and find what kind of justice God wants from us (his people). It asks a lot of us and it asks us to dig deeper than we usually do. To welcome the stranger in our land, to leave a portion of our fields for the widow and orphan or the stranger traveling through, to release the captives every 7 years and to return property back to the family of inheritance every 50 years. This is a different kind of justice than what our system delivers. We have seen this in action the past few weeks with the government shutdown, where our governing body has totally lost sight of the people they are affecting.
When we speak of justice in the courts it is hard to see true justice. I have been through those courts and know a part of this myself. There is no true justice. The closest I think we have come is whenever there are Truth and Reconciliation processes that are going on. The comments heard from these experiences are that the victim finally gets to tell their own story and it is heard by the perpetrator, by others, and it gets to be told without interruption or modification. This is huge in helping to heal someone, having your story told by you the way you wish the courts would hear it and don't. It is the tip of some justice to tell your story without interruption or interpretation that twists it into something it is not.
God's justice asks us to dig deeper into God's love for us. It asks us to see others with those eyes. Its a huge charge and a big responsibility. Can we take the challenge to walk with the eyes of God's justice and see where this brings us in our walks with God? Are we willing to risk being this giving? Because this is it God gives abundantly and we are to do the same.
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