What is justice?
Merriam-Webster defines justice as: the maintenance or administration of what is just especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments.
That seems a little lackluster for our text from Amos. I mean, Amos’ words are full of what we might call “poetic justice.” It’s language that is rich in imagery and meaning. It’s full of passion and energy. Merriam-Webster doesn’t seem to be doing the text much justice.
So then, where can we turn? What about the justice that we see in movies and television shows? Is justice something akin to what Robin Hood and Batman do? Where people get their “just deserts” for lying, cheating, or stealing their way to wealth and prosperity. Is God’s justice like that of a vigilante, who makes sure people get what’s coming to them, especially when the law fails?
A Batman-esque God seems to work. Thinking of Batman Gotham City with it’s great disparity between the 1 percenters and the rest of the population is very similar to the Israel that Amos is speaking to in this mighty proclamation. For both Batman and Amos, we see how the rich and wealthy are crying out because of the “filth and poverty” that surround them. The wealthy in both cases seem to miss the fact that their misuse of power and money has caused the great disparity in both landscapes. And both Batman and Amos work to bring about a justice that is comforting for those who have been oppressed, but is anything but comforting to those who have been oppressing the lower classes.
And this view of justice really speaks to us in our society today. Remember the “Occupy Wall Street” and “I am the 99%” from a few years back? We see in our very own country a wealth disparity that happens, typically at the expense of the middle and lower classes. People in these lower classes that have been neglected by society turn to violence, drugs, and crime as a way of making ends meet because it looks like all other doors have been shut by them. Voices cry out for justice all over the country - those who have money are discouraged by the violence and crimes of those who don’t have money. And those who don’t have money cry out for a little more equality in the status quo.
This is exactly why heroes like Batman, Robin Hood, and others who “rob from the rich and give to the poor” are so popular. We all want justice and we see it in Batman and Robin Hood.
And yet, even this heroic view of justice seems to fall a little flat when we try to understand God’s justice. God’s justice is filled with mercy and grace. I’m not sure the last time I saw Batman be merciful to a bad guy.
So, then what is God’s justice?
This “feels” like an important question. We see the prophets in particular focus in on living justice. Amos and Micah in particular focus on the fact that God doesn’t desire people to gather together and worship in a particular setting or by saying a few “right words.” God doesn’t desire sacrifices. God isn’t even looking for good singers or beautiful music. God desires justice.
And if God desires justice, shouldn’t we know what that means? Shouldn’t we have an idea what it is God is asking of us? We don’t want to let God down?
As I’ve been wrestling with this over the past week, trying to pin down an answer to what it means to live God’s justice I realize that it’s not as simple as coming up with a step-by-step guide to living a godly life. I can’t live out a justice rooted in mercy and grace if I write it down into some sort of moral code or law, because as soon as I think I’ve got it phrased just right, I will immediately run in to some situation that breaks every idea of justice that I’ve just codified.
Try as I might, I will never be able to pin down exactly how to make justice roll down like waters. I cannot describe how righteousness will flow like an ever-flowing stream. I can only dream and imagine.
I can dream like Amos dreamed, of a day when the lines between the wealthy and the impoverished will be blurred. Of a day when there will be no way to distinguish between those who had money and those who have never had money. There will be no way to distinguish between the 1% and the 99%. Amos dreamed of a day when no person would go without. Of a day when God’s justice will come rushing down over the world, wiping away all of the walls that the wealthy have built to keep the poor out.
I can dream like Susan B. Anthony dreamed, of a day when the lines between male and female will be blurred. Dreams of a day when we no longer look at a person’s gender to make decisions about their strengths and abilities. Anthony dreamed of a day when no person would be turned away because of their gender. Of a day when God’s justice will come rushing down over the world, wiping away the walls that men build to keep women out.
I can dream like Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed, of a day when the lines between black and white will be blurred. Dreams of a day when there will be no way to distinguish between the two races. Dreams of a day when there is no distinguishing where someone came from. King dreamed of a day when no person would be excluded based on the color of their skin. Of a day when God’s justice will come rushing down over the world, wiping away all of the walls that whites built to keep those who are of a different race out.
I dream the dream that women and men have been dreaming for thousands of years. I dream of a day when we no longer say, “me vs. you” I dream of a day when we no longer exclude someone based on how much money they have, how they look, or who they love. I dream of a day when no one is turned away because they are “different” or “weird.” I dream of a day when God’s justice will come rushing down over the world, wiping away all of the walls that we build to keep the “others” out.
I dream the dream Jesus dreamed when he said, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.” Or, to say it better. “I dream of a day when those who carry my name do their part to tear down the walls that we have built around me and you, so that no matter who they are looking at, they see a brother or sister in the family of God. That those who truly worship me, come to the holy table, are swept up by the waters of justice, grace, and mercy, and flow into the world, creating new rivers and streams and waterfalls wherever they go, that all the world might experience the gift of new life found in the removal of these walls.”
Maybe we can define justice after all. Maybe justice is being able to welcome our sisters and brothers in Christ all over the world back into the family. Isn’t that what God wants? God wants us to all be able to look at one another and no longer see rich or poor, male or female, white or black, straight or gay, Christian or Muslim, but rather to welcome the person we see standing there as a child of God. To embrace their differences so that our differences might be embraced. To embrace their flaws so that our flaws might be embraced by them. To embrace and be embraced so that we might all find God’s healing and righteousness.
I love Amos’ dream, Susan B. Anthony’s dream, Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream, the dream of all of us who are dreaming God’s dream. This dream of justice that overflows with compassion. This dream that tears down walls in the name of God’s love for all people. This dream of righteousness and relationships that allow all men and women, you and me, to become an “us” that lives in to the grace-filled life we experience in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
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