A better view of justice
Last week we ended our devotional with a question about justice. What does justice actually mean, especially to God? This is a great question in light of the fact that tomorrow is Remembrance Day.
As followers of Jesus, we want to remember those who lost their lives during a time of war, to give thanks for peace, and also to pray for those who are currently living through conflict. However, Remembrance Day also elicits questions about justice. What does justice look in these situations? How can we work for justice in times of conflict and in times of peace?
According to Rich Villodas in his book The Deeply Formed Life, "We are all hardwired to care about justice." In fact, as any parent can tell you, a favourite phrase of young children is "That's not fair." However, justice in our culture tends to be limited to punishing criminals for bad deeds.
Biblical justice, on the other hand, is much more than punishment for wrongdoing. As Villodas points out, the Hebrew word for justice is mishpat. The meaning of this word in Scripture includes punishment for wrongdoing, but it predominantly means giving people what they are due as human beings made in the image of God. Put another way:
True justice (mishpat) is "giving people what they are due, whether punishment or protection or care" (Tim Keller).
Look at Jesus' first sermon, recorded in Luke 4:16-20
Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
This is justice.
The good news of Jesus Christ "is not the promise of a disembodied salvation located in heaven upon death." The good news is justice will be done. People will be given what they are due as human beings made in the image of God.
We cannot fully understand Jesus or his good news without understanding justice.
PAUSE and REFLECT: With all this in mind, let's end with a hard question: do you actually care about justice? Note I did not ask, "Do you care about punishing wrongdoers." Rather, do you care about mishpat, i.e. giving people what they are due, whether punishment or protection or care?
If I really wanted to push the envelope I would point out that in Scripture God's punishment is ultimately restorative as opposed to punitive, so punishing wrongdoers is less about retribution and more about the persons involved (both the victim and the perpetrator) being restored back to living out of their imago dei. True justice would also work to change the systemic and socio-economic factors that led to the wrongdoing being committed in the first place.
We are to work for mishpat today. We are to give people what they are due as human being made in God's image, which would do so much to prevent conflict and crime.
On Remembrance Day, I would suggest mishpat-justice means not only pausing to give honour to those who died, which is important (regardless of our opinion about war). It also means being more intentional about praying for peace in the world, helping those who live in or have fled from areas of conflict, and perhaps even considering how our western lifestyle contributes to poverty and other social issues that allow conflict to flourish.
Ultimately, however, as we lean into Jesus' cry for justice, we remember the last words of his sermon above: "Today, this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." Jesus, the full revelation of God, came to earth for the sake of restorative justice. Tomorrow, as we remember the ones who died during conflict - often due to injustice - we also remember we are the hands, feet, and mouth of Jesus on earth to see justice be done today.