Work for Justice

 

2-1-2021

            Justice is a Biblical value, one of the highest Biblical values.  Leviticus 24:22, Deuteronomy 15:29, Isaiah 58:6-7, Amos 5:21-24, and Amos 8:4-6 are just a handful of the hundreds of Old Testament verses commanding that the people of God maintain justice and take care of the poor and vulnerable.  Taking care of the most vulnerable members of the community is always tied to maintaining justice. 

When the wealthy bask in their affluence while indifferently ignoring the poor, they act unjustly and fall under God’s condemnation.  It’s not enough to avoid dishonesty and graft.  We aren’t righteous because we avoid wrong behavior.  We are right in God’s eyes when we care about what God cares about.  The New Testament is even more adamant about God’s call to his people to take care of the poor and advocate for victims of injustice.

Black History Month, February, is a good reminder to the church that we have to be out front in working for justice.  We make the declaration “Black Lives Matter” because our country’s political and legal systems as well as our social institutions have too often heavily favored white people and treated black and brown peoples with contempt and outright prejudice.  To work for Biblical justice is to see this reality, denounce it, and work for equity and healing.

This is why we try to help the poor of all racial backgrounds.  When people go hungry and can’t pay their rent and lack adequate healthcare, it’s unjust.  A place to live, clothes to wear, food to eat, and access to doctors and dentists are basic human needs.  Where some people go without these things, there is injustice, and disciples of Jesus must actively work to combat injustice.

The endgame in this is shalom, the Biblical vision of all people living in right relationships with God and with neighbor.  Shalom can only be had when people have peace, feel safe, and are full.  Zechariah 3:10 puts it this way, “On that day, says the Lord, you shall invite each other to come under your vine and fig tree.”  Similarly, Micah 4:4 says, “They shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees, and no one shall make they afraid.”  Fighting for justice leads to people everywhere freely experiencing shalom.

            How can you work to uplift your neighbors that they might live in right relationships with God and with each other?  You could donate to Hillside Church’s “Helping Hands” ministry.  You could volunteer when we host the Dental Bus (June 5, 2021).  You could volunteer at the food pantry (first, third, and fifth Saturdays each month).

            You could also be part of the partnership we will be entering with Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (Chapel Hill, Rosemary Street).  Holy Trinity and Hillside will be entering a relationship of dialogue around the idea of “Racial Manners.”  How can white, black, and brown people live together in relationships of harmony and safety?  First in Zoom meetings and then, when appropriate in in-person meetings, we’re going to sit with our brothers and sisters from Holy Trinity and have in-depth, from the heart discussions about how can black, brown, and white people can relate well, as good neighbors.  Chris Faison (PhD, Johns Hopkins) will be our facilitator. 

            Work for justice and promote your neighbor’s shalom.  Whether you volunteer in one of the ministries listed above, join our “racial manners” discussion group, or find some other platform in which to invest yourself, follow the prophets’ lead and work for justice.