Some thoughts on Justice

 

What is Justice?

The devotion I read this morning was based on Amos 5 which has some pretty strong accusations against a culture that is both successful and religious, a culture which sounds a bit like ours with its flourishing economy, recreational life-style and nods to public religiosity. Lately, I have been playing with the idea of God’s justice and what it means to be righteous, so several passages in this and surrounding chapters jumped out at me.

    “Ah, you that turn justice to wormwood, and bring righteousness to the ground!”

     “...who afflict the righteous, take bribes and push aside the needy in the gate” 

    “Seek good and not evil,...establish justice in the gate.”

    “...,I despise your festivals,...the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon.”

    “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” 

    “But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood”

It seems to me that we often expect (want?) God to mete out justice on the “unrighteous”, assuming that we are the righteous and others are the ones who deserve God’s justice, the ones who have sinned in ways that we find to be particularly egregious. But, as I read scripture, I find two ways of seeing God’s justice. One is a reference to judgement, but the other and possibly the one that pops up more is something quite different. In this second way of seeing justice, God’s people (and creation?) get what is needed, protection, shelter, necessitates of life, and it appears that God expects those who have been blessed with greater abundance to carry it out- make sure that it happens. Is this, then, a glimpse of what it means to be righteous, to be just; applying our blessings to the welfare of others, not taking advantage of the weak, rather helping the weak, caring about the marginalized?

In Amos, the writer charges the people with turning this idea of justice on its head. Those who had power seem to have considered it justice to take advantage of those not as well off, and to mock those who would act righteously. Are they presenting their wealth and power as evidence of their righteousness? (And possibly the others lack of it as their just desert?) The writer declares that God doesn’t want these “offerings of well-being” Rather, God wants people to live justly with each other as their worship - their sacrifice.

“Let justice roll down like water and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”