Living Deeply

Jesus and Justice (John Perkins)

You cannot have Jesus without doing justice.  Jesus and the work of justice are inextricably linked.

Real Justice vs Charity

 

The Christian church doesn't have a social ethic as much as it is a social ethic, called to respond to biblical mandates like truth-telling, confronting injustice and pursuing peace. American churches need to understand that, while charity seeks to alleviate the ill effects of injustice, justice seeks to eliminate the causes. Charity preserves the status quo; justice demands “liberty and justice for all”—a more democratic egalitarian future for all citizens. And let's be clear: The goal of prophetic theology, like the goal of biblical prophets, is not to chastise but rather to heal; to enhance, not diminish, humanity, because, as the old church father said, “The glory of God is a human being fully alive.”(Irenaeus)

Engaging the Word (Tom Wright)

I see more clearly that if the Church is to be true to its origins, it must recognize that it is in the business of actual public truth. We are not offering people a private religious experience, an option among many for reordering one's interior world. We are actually talking about something that happened in history that has changed decisively the way the world is. And the Church must therefore never be a place where we retreat into a ghetto. The Church must be rather the means through which the life and love and light of God are flowing into the wider world. That means that wherever there is pain and anguish and fear and hatred in the world, the Church has got to be there, not hiding it.

A Powerful Prayer

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression and exploitation of people, to that you may work for freedom, justice and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain to joy.

May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.