When I was growing up, chicken was expensive. My father, being a pastor, did not have much of a salary to support a family of six plus my mother’s siblings who were staying with us. So seldom did we have chicken.
But every time we had chicken, my mother would put a piece on each of our plates. I remember looking around the table to check who got the bigger share. And then I would complain to my mother, “Unfair!” If she wasn’t looking, I would exchange my share with a bigger one.
If you are a parent, you probably often hear from your children, “It’s not fair!” Children are big on fairness. Not only can they spot unfairness, they can smell it.
But this is also true with adults. How many times do adults have to go to a Judge to settle things fairly, especially in dividing landholdings?
Today’s passage contains the word ‘justice’. In researching the biblical origins of the word justice, I found that many times (in its usage), it has to do with the needs of those who have less, measured against the obligations of those who have more.
Time and again, biblical justice is mentioned in conjunction with God’s concern for the poor, the weak, the widows, the orphans, and the physically infirm. It is distribution of resources fairly.
It was in the latter part of the 8th century BC that Micah prophesied; it was a period of turmoil and change. Assyria was fast becoming a world power challenging Egypt. There was one battle after another with the little nations used only as pawns in the wider struggle. Israel and Judah were constantly threatened by one power or another. It was a difficult time. During that time, Micah noticed that the city people were fleecing the folks of the countryside. He saw that wheat prices for the poor were different than wheat prices for the rich. A bushel of grain for the poor weighed on different scales than a bushel of grain for the rich. He said, “How dare you rich cows lounge on your ivory furniture while poor people don’t even have a shack in which to live?” Added to that, the judges took bribes to render unfair judgments; even the city priests were immoral and corrupt; the city prophets would prophesy anything in exchange for a few shekels. (Some of these sound familiar today.)
Micah wanted to be sure that all God’s children inherit their fair share of God’s good gifts. And if they don’t, because someone has swindled them out of their birthright or because they were not strong enough to hold on to it, justice means doing whatever is necessary to sort out what belongs to whom, and return it to them.
It is not enough to wish for justice, or to complain because it is lacking. It is a call for God’s people like you and me to work for fairness and equality for all, particularly the weak and the powerless who are exploited by others. Life may not be fair, but we can do our best to be fair.
Today, we, too, see a lot of unfairness. One time I was talking to a medical doctor who said there are some families who would forego a much-needed surgery only because they don’t have money. Some would just leave the hospital without being treated.
In one of the Bible studies, it was asked where justice is, when those who cheat or who are corrupt continue to live in mansions and drive expensive vehicles, while those who are doing good live in small apartments or shacks?
A man took his son to Congress so he could see the workings of the government. They sat in the gallery as the House of Representatives came to order, and the chaplain led in prayer. When he finished, the son asked, “Why did the minister pray for all these people?” The father answered, “He didn’t. He took one look at all these people, and prayed for our country.”
Some corrupt government officials seem to get away and are not punished. A survey found that the good-looking is most likely to get the better paying job.
For us who are not good looking, we ask, “Where is justice?”
We, who try to do God’s work, need to discern what God is working on now. We don’t need God to bless our plans. We need to become a blessing to God’s plans.
You must have heard this story before about a man who was caught and taken to court because he had stolen a loaf of bread. When the judge investigated, he found that the man had no job, and his family was hungry. The man had tried unsuccessfully to get work, and finally, had to steal a loaf of bread to feed his family. Although recognizing the extenuating circumstances, the judge said, “I’m sorry, but the law can make no exceptions. I have to punish you: I order you to pay a fine of P1,000.” And then the judge continued, “But I want to pay that fine myself.” He reached into his pocket, pulled out a thousand-peso bill, and handed it to the man. As soon as the man took the money, the judge said, “Now, I also want to cancel the fine, and remit the sentence to Time Served.” That is, the man could keep the money and go free. “Furthermore, I am going to instruct the bailiff to pass the hat to everyone in this courtroom, and I am fining everyone in this courtroom P1,000 for living in a city where a man has to steal in order to have a loaf of bread to eat.”
This is a perfect example of justice being meted out in full, and paid in full, while at the very same time, mercy and grace were also enacted in full.
My second point: In the Bible, there are texts which speak of justice as retribution… making things right, as well as punishment for those who do evil things.
The Psalmist talks about what God has done to God’s people. And when the psalmist said, “Blessed are those who observe justice and do righteousness at all times,” it assumes that God cares how things come out. It also assumes that God’s people should, too.
We work that “God’s truth be revealed… God’s values be affirmed… God’s laws be obeyed… and God’s Reign (to whatever degree it is realizable here) be established.”
For us Christians, justice is not just about getting the laws of the land to work, but getting the laws of the Lord to work.
It’s not about just being fair. Justice is about doing what is right in God’s eyes. Wrongs should not go unpunished. Evil should not go unchecked. Falsehoods should not go unchallenged. Criminals should not go uncaught. And those who are predatory and injurious should not go unrestrained.
Justice means that some things must be opposed…and some people must be opposed.
However, God’s justice is more than just retribution. The ultimate goal of divine justice is to turn evil-doers around to repentance.
Our hope is that the repetitive cycle of violence will be grounded, and that with repentance, lives will be changed, a new day will dawn, and God’s reign will be established.
A story is told about a well- known crime figure who was on trial for first-degree murder. His lawyer was hired, and paid to win this case or at least have the charges reduced. Everybody knew the suspect had done it. It was pretty clear that he was guilty, but the lawyer was willing to do whatever it took to reduce the charges. The lawyer approached one of the jurors, and was able to bribe him to hold out for the verdict of manslaughter. He impressed upon the juror that no other verdict would do, or he wouldn’t get paid. At the end of the trial, the jury finally returned a verdict of manslaughter. When the lawyer met with the juror to pay the bribe, he asked, “How did you convince the other jurors to reduce the charge to manslaughter?” The juror answered, “Well, that’s not exactly what happened. You told me to get them to return a verdict of manslaughter, or I wouldn’t get paid. It took me the whole week to convince them to vote with me on that verdict of manslaughter; they all wanted to acquit him.”
We may not fully attain justice now, but we surely can help bring about justice in our communities. When people speak out to right the wrong, in spite of the risks for their lives; when people do programs that will help the needy; when we see people who speak out for the downtrodden; when we see people starting a livelihood program for the needy; when we see people planting trees to help with the problem of flooding, or people who avoid using plastics so as not to congest our waterways with it; when we see people work together to have a fish sanctuary–we see a glimpse of justice.
My prayer is that God empowers you and me as we help bring about justice in our midst. We don’t need God to bless our plans. We need to become a blessing to God’s plans.
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