This morning’s Explore Bible notes had me reading Isaiah 56:1-8. A word that lept off the page for me was ‘justice’. It is found in the opening verse “Thus says the Lord, keep justice and do righteousness for soon my salvation will come”.
Justice is a popular word today. In fact it is very common to hear people talk about ‘social justice’. What does that mean though? In my fathers generation, the rule of social interaction was “never talk about politics or religion”. Today we speak openly about both. What does this have to do with justice? Well, the term that is a buzz in both religion and politics is social justice. Personally I find this term very dangerous. Why? Consider the meanings that people attach to social justice. I can think of many good causes that are often labeled social justice. Yet equally I can think of issues that get labelled social justice that I believe the bible labels in other ways.
Social Justice can be defined as “equality of opportunity” – which is great. We all need equal opportunities and to inhibit the opportunities of any individual or group would be an injustice. God is all about equality of opportunity (as far as I can read in the scriptures) and the bible has been said to be an equal opportunity offender. (could not resist the humor in that) Another definition though is “equality of outcomes”. This is a less often stated definition that we get at when asking people what they really want in their political agenda. The idea is that everyone should end up with the same wages and benefits regardless of the job they do. We could use a parable to support this idea but I think it would be a misinterpretation. Another definition or way to understand social justice is to look at Black liberation theology. I say this in a very broad sense but this area of theology which is seen in one form via the Rev Jeremiah Wright (no relation that I am aware of) emphasizes oppression and the need to liberate people from it. Social justice then is about redistribution of wealth among other things. A look at wikipedia on this subject suggests that black liberation theology has more than a bit in common with Marxism.
In our own denomination, we hear people talk about social justice when addressing the issue of homosexuality in the church. In other words, It is a social justice issue that we conduct same sex blessings and even weddings, that we ordain homosexual persons, and consecrate gay bishops. The same gets extended for transexuals such that our general convention paved the way for us to have transgender bishops in the future. A woman’s right to choose abortion is for some a social justice issue. There are lots of other social justice matters that come up in the church (broadly speaking) that I won’t bother to explore here. The point being that when we speak of social justice it is a loaded term. I am all for freeing the oppressed, ending slavery around the world, providing opportunities for the less fortunate, and so forth. My heart breaks at the plight of the poor, afflicted, and marginalised. However, I think there are better ways to describe it than social justice. Redemption, mercy, and love come quickly to mind.
There are so many possible uses for the term social justice. We hear it applied not only to sexuality and gender identity and abortion, to redistribution of wealth and freeing the oppressed, but also to many other issues of the day. Whether it is race, poverty, health, unemployment, disease, rights, on and on the list goes… we see people speak of the issues in terms of social justice. That’s why when I hear a Christian speak of social justice, I ask what they mean by that term.
Isaiah 56 only uses the word justice once and it then gives us some idea of what the justice issue in mind is. Verses 2-8 speak of foreigners and eunuchs… outcasts by old testament standards. The context of this chapter is that Isaiah is looking ahead to the return of God’s people from captivity. It also looks beyond to the promise of a new creation. We see in scripture that the outcasts are welcomed into God’s presence and verse 8 gives us a promise of God’s plan to draw into his people, those who were not raised in the jewish family. There are a few important links to this passage that help us understand it. One is Deut 23:1-6 where we learn that eunuchs and foreigners were not allowed to enter the assembly of the Lord. This Isaiah passage is showing a future plan where God fulfills his larger intentions. Deut 5:12-15 where we learn the meaning and purpose of the sabbath – which has a strong justice aspect to it. Finally, Matt 21:12-14 we read about Jesus clearing the temple. What cluttered the temple was inhibiting foreigners from being near to the worship of God. Not only was their a marketing issue, but the sellers were in the space that was allotted for outsiders. This is but a small glimpse into God’s justice.
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