Justice and Love

Dear Friend,

More than anything else, I believe that this week’s readings point us to the important spiritual fact that while God is present to each one of us in our hearts, God is also present to us in our connections with one another. “Justice” is the biblical theme at stake here and the prophet Amos (first reading) trumpets it boldly with this warning to those tempted to “trample upon the needy and destroy the poor”: “The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Never will I forget a thing they have done!”

In her reading of the prophet Amos, the preacher and scholar Ellen F. Davis, points out that the Hebrew word mishpat translates both as “justice” and “judgement.” It’s hard for us to see the connection perhaps, but it becomes clearer in her observation that “in God’s coming to judge the earth…everything appears for the first time in history as it really is, with the value it has in the eyes of the Creator.” (“Preaching the Luminous” Word, p. 231) In Luke’s parable about the “dishonest” steward, a certain “judgement day” has arrived, as the steward is about to lose his job for squandering the rich boss’s resources. Upon receiving word of his dismissal, the steward makes a speedy, stumbling attempt at justice.  

Jesus tells his listeners to learn from this crazy steward. God’s view of money is not ours. God’s view of the poor and needy is not the one we are often tempted to take on. Ms. Davis concludes quite succinctly: “Doing justice requires that we observe with care God’s respectful love for the whole created order, so that gradually we may become capable of practicing such love ourselves.” I have no doubt that the poor and humble St. Francis would agree.

Gratefully,

Father Dan, Pastor