Justice and the Prophets
Called to God's Work of Justice
Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5)
Repent of Injustice
Jeremiah 22:11-19 New International Version
11 For this is what the Lord says about Shallum[ a] son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of Judah but has gone from this place: “He will never return. 12 He will die in the place where they have led him captive; he will not see this land again.”
13 “Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness,
his upper rooms by injustice,
making his own people work for nothing,
not paying them for their labor.
14 He says, ‘I will build myself a great palace
with spacious upper rooms.’
So he makes large windows in it,
panels it with cedar
and decorates it in red.
15 “Does it make you a king
to have more and more cedar?
Did not your father have food and drink?
He did what was right and just,
so all went well with him.
16 He defended the cause of the poor and needy,
and so all went well.
Is that not what it means to know me?”
Declares the Lord.
17 “But your eyes and your heart
are set only on dishonest gain,
on shedding innocent blood
and on oppression and extortion.”
18 Therefore this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah king of Judah:
“They will not mourn for him:
‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’
They will not mourn for him:
‘Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor!’
19 He will have the burial of a donkey—
dragged away and thrown
outside the gates of Jerusalem.”
For Reflection
Justice is not a pie in the sky wish from naive wishful thinkers. On the whole, the equitable distribution of God's resources does not threaten an individual's productivity or another's industriousness. Sharing with others does not encourage dependence upon gifts. These ideas are perpetuated by those that have and want to keep it all and gather even more. The myth that the wealthy, by reinvestment in more wealth-generating activity, ensures that the economy will serve us all is simply not true.
What is also not true is that the government and private socio-economic stimulus and support will solve the problems of poverty. Only a society that is willing to encourage a culture that provides an equitable systematic opportunity to enjoy the resources and opportunities necessary to sustain life and health will solve the problem. It is insufficient to spend money on mediating the symptoms of inherently intentional and unintentional, unjust civic systems without resolving the cause of the issues.
While we cannot eliminate all poverty or all the disenfranchised and marginalized people, we can certainly reduce the number of distressed souls. Not doing so threatens us all and, frankly, will cost us more in the long run.
Pray
Pray, read scripture, and understand the wisdom of God's will to serve God and work for ways to defend the poor and needy.
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