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Social Justice Is Holy
Rev. Laura Guy
Advent is the season when we prepare the way for the Lord. We focus on the internal preparation, readying our hearts during the four weeks of waiting for Christmas so that we can welcome the Christ child. But what is the external work - the work in the world - we must do as we live in the other Advent season, the wait for Jesus to return? The prophets tell us where we should focus our preparations.
Micah 6:8 says:
He has told you, O mortal, what is good,
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice and to love kindness
and to walk humbly with your God? (NRSV)
We church-folk do a pretty good job with the loving kindness part of this verse. We have so many ministries of mercy and compassion that alleviate suffering and show love to others like our food pantries and clothing drives. We also do a good job of (attempting to) walk humbly with God. These are the ministries in our churches that shape and form us like worship and study, growing the fruit of the Spirit in us.
But what about the “do justice” part of this verse?
Some translations say it differently. They say that God requires us to “act justly” or “be just.” There is a big difference between acting justly or being just and doing justice. The former implies that justice is simply being responsible for our own behavior, our own personal piety. But doing justice sounds like something else. I looked it up in Strong’s Concordance to try to figure out what the original word meant and why it’s translated differently in different Bibles. The Hebrew word in Micah 6:8 that comes before justice is asah, and it means to do, to fashion, to accomplish, to make.
Where else do we find this word in the Hebrew Scriptures? One of the places we find it is in the book of Genesis, in the story of Creation. Sometimes the verb used for God’s creative work is bara, a word unique to God’s own creative power. But sometimes the word that’s used in Genesis 1 is asah - to do, to fashion, to accomplish, to make. What would it mean if we read Micah 6:8 as God requiring us to “make” justice just as God created the heavens and the earth? How could our churches help us fulfill this part of God’s requirement? What are the unjust systems that we might dismantle so that justice could roll on like a river?
Oh God, during this Advent season, give us the wisdom and courage to work with you to create justice. We truly want to see your kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven.
Reflection Questions
- What was it that got your attention in this devotion?
2.How can this change my actions today? This week? This month?
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