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

Home
Progressive Christian
Politics and Religion
Bending Our World’s Moral Arc Toward Justice

Bending Our World’s Moral Arc Toward Justice

Last updated on: August 7, 2025 at 12:10 pm by Herb Montgomery

Bending Our World’s Moral Arc Toward Justice 2025-08-07T12:10:33-04:00 Herb Montgomery

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.

Moral Arc

Image by Canva

Next, Luke’s Jesus shares a story about expectation and preparedness in the context of the unjust and unjustifiable practice of slavery. The original audience would have heard this story as being about restoring the reign of God, God’s just future. Today many sectors of Christians typically interpret this passage about Jesus’ second advent . But the original audience for this story would have heard this story through a different filter.

Welcome Readers! Please subscribe to Social Jesus Here.

This is Part 3 of Bending Our World’s Arc Toward Justice

The Hebrew prophets spoke of their God as having abandoned the people as a result of societal abuses and injustices toward vulnerable people.

“I will forsake my house, abandon my inheritance; I will give the one I love into the hands of her enemies.” (Jeremiah 12:7)

But if their society would return to justice, their God would also return to them and their temple:

“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty. (Malachi 3:1)

The underlying theme of Jesus’ story in our reading is that the coming of the kingdom, Jesus’ vision for human community, could come at any moment, so stay ready. This reminds me of the clarion call often given today to “stay woke.” Don’t allow yourself to be acculturated to injustice. Don’t let yourself become desensitized to the suffering of those being presently harmed. Don’t let inequity, corruption, and brutality become normalized.

It is interesting to me that both last week’s and this week’s readings have us praying for and being prepared for the kingdom to arrive at some unexpected time in the future. This week’s reading also uses the figure of the Son of Man. The Son of Man was a liberating agent from imperial injustice, oppression, and violence in the apocalyptic chapter of Daniel 7. Calling us to look for these events in the future is a change in the Jesus story from those passages where Jesus announces that the kingdom had arrived or that the time had come.

Given that Luke was most likely written not only after Jesus’ crucifixion but also after the Romans razed the temple in Jerusalem in 70 C.E., it would be much easier to call people to be ready for the kingdom. It would be much easier to tell them that it was still coming than that it had already arrived. Honestly, 2,000 years later, not much about that has changed. But I’m reminded of Dr. Martin Luther King’s vision of the moral universe as a long arc bending toward justice. We must also remember that the arc doesn’t bend toward justice automatically. If the universe’s arc is going to bend toward justice, we’re going to have to bend it that way. And that may explain the change in the gospels’ language: the people were still in the ashes of imperial violence with Jesus’ execution and Jerusalem’s destruction.

That famous arc of justice requires deliberate and courageous efforts from those who choose to stand on the side of equity, compassion, and truth. Choosing to bend that arc toward justice is an act of hope, and also one of resistance. It means refusing to accept the world as it is and daring to imagine a world as it could be—a world where all people are treated with dignity, where systems serve the vulnerable, and where peace is rooted in justice or fairness.

This choice is not always easy. Especially right now, when we are witnessing so many caving to injustice and bowing the knee for expediency. Choosing justice may cost us comfort, popularity, or privilege. But it is a path that gives life deeper meaning. It invites us to be co-creators of a more just and loving society. Whether we are advocating for racial equity, economic fairness, gender and LGBTQ inclusion, or environmental stewardship, each small act of justice matters. Every word spoken, every protest joined, every policy challenged adds weight to the arc’s bend. History honors those who didn’t wait for justice to arrive, but who helped carry it forward. That choice—to act—is always ours.

Are you receiving all of RHM’s free resources each week?

Begin each day being inspired toward love, compassion, justice and action. Free.

General Christian

Politics and Religion

Wealth Redistribution

About Herb Montgomery

Herb Montgomery, director of Renewed Heart Ministries, is an author and adult religious re-educator helping Christians explore the intersection of their faith with love, compassion, action, and societal justice. You can read more about the author here.

Previous Post

August 6, 2025

A More Just Distribution of Wealth

Next Post

August 12, 2025 Unity Against Justice

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Ableism Abolition Advent Anti Semitism Christianity Christmas Climate Justice Criminal Justice Democracy Disability Justice Distributive Justice Easter Economic Justice Environmental Justice Equity Feminism Government Immigration Justice Indigenous Justice Interfaith Law and Order LGBTQ Affirmation Liberation Theology Migrant Justice Myth of Redemptive Suffering Nonviolence Prayer Racial Justice Reparation Resistance Resurrection Social Gospel Social Justice Survival Uncategorized Womanism

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Jesus Peter Solomon Paul