Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Emergent Village

Home
Progressive Christian
Walk Towards the Light

Walk Towards the Light

Last updated on: March 8, 2015 at 5:32 pm by Lelanda Lee

Walk Towards the Light 2015-03-08T17:32:50-05:00 Lelanda Lee

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A week ago Sunday I led an Adult Christian forum between services at a Denver church with a real heart for social justice. My topic was “The Gospel Imperative to Do Social Justice: Living into God’s Vision of Shalom.”

I chose two Bible verses to highlight:

ISAIAH 1:17 (NRSV)

learn to do good;

seek justice,

rescue the oppressed,

defend the orphan,

plead for the widow.

MICAH 6:8 (NRSV)

He had told you, O mortal, what is good;

and what does the Lord require of you

But to do justice, and to love kindness [mercy],

and to walk humbly with your God?

These verses from the Old Testament prophets comprehensively name the things that we must do to engage social justice. Their teachings are straightforward: seek justice, and give aid to the oppressed.

The road is always contained within a landscape, its context. Photo by Lelanda Lee

In scripture, as in real life, teachings are always given within contexts. Isaiah and Micah gave the teachings in these verses while telling the Israelites to stop their ways of life that were full of conflict, enmity, and ill will, and to turn towards the righteous ways of God.

Doing justice and showing mercy always point towards our neighbors and must be done in community and with community. You can’t do justice and show mercy sitting alone in your house, even if you have great online connections. Rescuing, defending, pleading require presence – your humanity showing up in person to respond to another’s needs – your humanity connecting to another’s humanity.

You also can’t do justice and show mercy going it alone. You need allies for courage, strength, and support to persevere. Justice is long-term work. For a Christian who promises to follow Jesus, it is our life’s work. There is an Ashanti proverb that says: “Bannu ye. If you want to go fast, go alone; but it you want to go far, go with a team.” Don’t be the flash in the pan.

There are many ways to know God, and each of us, shaped with different characteristics of God, respond to God in different ways. Some of us know God through social justice work, which brings us close to the heart of God – to Jesus and Jesus’ example of his life’s ministry. Scripture is very clear in naming those to whom we must show justice and mercy: the oppressed, the orphan, the widow, the alien, the poor, the victim.

In Christian tradition, numerous saints and martyrs teach us social justice lessons through the example of their lives. Saint Francis of Assisi rejected the privilege into which he was born, giving up his wealth and belongings, to live and work among the poor, drawing other young men from his social class to join him in the monastic order he founded.

Archbishop Óscar Romero of El Salvador was martyred the day after he called for soldiers to disobey orders that violated human rights. Romero was a speaker of truth to power, protesting his government’s policies of torture, terror, and assassination.

Pope John Paul VI said, “If you want peace, work for justice.”

Peace in English, Shalom in Hebrew, Salaam in Arabic. Peace means much more than the absence of conflict. In biblical terms, peace encompasses a safety and security that is exemplified by the Good Samaritan who rescued a stranger in dire need, paid for the stranger’s care and recovery, and was willing to return to pay more for the stranger’s care. The peace of God, which we exchange in the Eucharistic mass, is a promise of safety, security, and true neighborliness of the kind that Jesus manifested.

In God’s vision of Shalom, mercy [kindness] to the oppressed, the orphan, the widow, the alien, the poor, the victim, is an extension of the love in Jesus’ New Commandment [John 13:34 (NRSV)] “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Jesus’ example of love is the ultimate standard to which we are called.

We are called to show love not just to the literal categories of the orphan, the widow, the alien, the poor, the victim, but also to those who are represented by these iconic categories – the ones who have been abandoned by society, friendless and lacking love, and the ones who are poor in spirit, disillusioned, depressed, and lacking hope.

Photo by Lelanda Lee

Towards the end of the adult forum, a young person bravely shared the pain and despair about the absence of social justice that had become constant companions, as that young person read the news and followed friends’ stories of being judged, ostracized, and abandoned. The question inherent in the pain-filled sharing, which very appropriately was brought to the church community in the adult forum, was “What can I do? Where is the hope?”

My response, then and now, is about beginning. Individually and in a short period, we cannot see the fruits of our justice work and the kindness we have shown to others. But we can begin the journey towards hope.

We begin with prayer, in conversation with God, and in conversation with our communities through shared prayer and worship. And we walk towards the light. We walk towards the saving grace and peace of Jesus, who is the light of the world. As we walk in the light, our spirits are lifted and we gain strength from the communion of saints among whom we walk. When we feel like we are in the deepest darkness of our lives and souls, that is when we most need to walk towards the light.

We can be light for one another.

Previous Post

November 7, 2014

Killjoy Prophets: A Response to Tony Jones’ “In Praise of Empires”

Next Post

November 9, 2014 Did Jesus Struggle With Racism?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Addiction Advent Atheism Authority Bible Cartoons Christian Year Christmas church church planting Civil Rights Community Contemplative Spirituality Culture emerging church Empire Eschatology Evangelism Events Gender Healing Humanism Islam Justice Kingdom Lent Movement Building Multi-Faith Music mysticism New Wave Emergence origins Personal Poetry politics Prayer Preaching Privilege Racism Religious naturalism Resurrection salvation SKEPTIMERGENT Theology Trauma Uncategorized

Select a Month December 2017 November 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What did the Israelites carry through the wilderness that symbolized God's presence?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Golden Calf Burning torch Ark of the Covenant Scroll of Moses