"Doing" Justice

We are making the grave mistake of oversimplifying when we say that the Old Testament is about a bunch of rules (often with the equally oversimplifying comment that the New Testament introduces grace). Reading carefully, we see plenty of instances where empty, faithless, ritualistic fidelity to the Rules is strongly critiqued. One such instance is Micah 6:8. After lambasting the people for empty, but "faithful" (i.e., going through the motions accurately) ritual, the prophet says:

He has told you, O man, what is good,

and what the Lord really wants from you: 

He wants you to promote justice, to be faithful,

and to live obediently before  your God.

Let's focus on the word "justice," even though all parts of this verse are rich. What does it mean to promote (or "do") justice?

We often think of "justice" in terms of the law of the land. Someone commits a crime, so what is justice? Prison. A homeowner has been bilked by the utility company, so what is justice? Restitution and a fine for the company. A youth vandalizes a public building, and what is justice? Repair the damage and community service. We think of "justice" in terms of law and order or having the rulebreakers pay up. In a passage that faults empty rulekeeping, certainly "justice" can't mean only this.

There is also a common view of "justice" that basically means that it's unfair that anyone has less. "Justice" in this case is the cause of the poor and oppressed. The bad guys are the "system" and there is no justice as long as there's poverty or underresourcing. This, too, is partly correct to the context. Where there is oppression, there is no justice.

However, it would be insufficient to say that "justice" is just one of these. And it's not even accurate to say that "justice" is the both of these together.

The word "justice" in this passage means "to make right." It is related to the word "righteousness." It is not a legal term and it is not a social term. It is not restricted to punishment or poverty. The word means to set wrong things right. This of course can include law and order as well as fighting forms of oppression. On the other hand, just punishing lawbreakers or extracting people out of poverty does not constitute "doing justice." It includes any situation where things aren't "right."

Micah tells the people that empty religion is displeasing to the Lord. If you perform all the rituals but are not "making things right" in your society, you are not offering the Lord anything He really wants.

What does it mean to "make things right" with lawbreakers and rulebreakers? Only punishment? What does it mean to "make things right" with the poor, when Jesus says we will always have the poor with us? What does it mean to "make things right" when we see any form of oppression? What does it mean to "make things right" when someone needs eternal hope but doesn't know where to find it?

The story of Mary

There are too many stories to tell from our trip to Kenya, but there's one I must tell. It is the story of "Mary" (not her real name).

We were invited to visit the home of Mary by her family. Mary was just recovering from malaria, and we were asked to pray for her complete recovery. That sounded simple enough. It was not simple.

The home was modest - not as sparse as many homes we saw, but still humble. The living room was tightly cramped with 10 or so people conversing over lunch, but they did well enough financially to afford a television. Women flitted in and out of the room to bring the handwashing basin, and then the waves of food - rice, ugali, goat stew, chicken, and fish. It was hard to keep track of who was a wife, who was a sister, and who was an in-law. But plenty of smiles and hospitality.

Mary looked to be in her teens, but she's actually in her 20s. She was soft spoken, sometimes too soft to understand. She exuded a sweet spirit (although we later learned that she could have fits of anger). Mary also had some form of speech impediment, which appeared to be related to a slight deformity with her mouth. (I found out in my class later that week that it is common for people in that area to hide those children with deformities. Indeed, people who attended that church for years didn't even know Mary exists.) We were told that she was challenged emotionally and mentally, but it wasn't clear that perhaps her medicines fogged her acuity. The end effect for us was an immediate empathy for a sweet, troubled girl. I was keenly grateful that Janette was sitting nearest to Mary, who directed almost all of her answers toward Janette no matter who asked them.

Pastor Benard, who knew some backstory that we learned only later, proceeded to ask Mary a surprising sequence of questions. Very quickly, he changed from normal questions about her health and recovery to questions about dreams, fears, and how she was treated. Mary was plagued by all three - horrible dreams, persistent fears, and domestic abuse. Those she said were hitting her were present in the room, but it seemed the awkwardness of this was felt only by our team.

In this part of Kenya, there's no place for Mary to go. There are no safe shelters to provide refuge. It would be nearly impossible for her to find reputable work to support herself. It's hard to find a husband in her circumstance, let alone with the dowry and negotiation system for most marriages there. This seemingly sweet girl with extra challenges in life is locked in an abusive situation with no option but to stay.

The Lord gave several of us pertinent passages of Scripture and deep-felt prayer to share with her, and to no little effect. But we were helpless to extract her. We pray for Pastor Benard as he follows up to have wisdom and creative ideas. We pray for her abusers to repent. We pray for her healing. But with only our own devices, we are helpless to "fix" her situation.

Mary is forgotten by the world, except but a handful of people. And now us. And now you.

The Bible consistently teaches (especially in Exodus, Leviticus, Isaiah, and Luke) that God's people advocate for the vulnerable. We too often politicize questions about who should and should not receive help, but the Bible seems to focus on the vulnerable. When the Bible was written, the vulnerable were the likes of the widow, the orphan, the sick, the foreigner, and the desperately poor - those susceptible to oppression and exploitation. It is the task of God's people to lend strength and aid to the vulnerable.

Without much physical ability to help the vulnerable Mary, we turn our efforts to helping Pastor Benard to help Mary. If there is anything he tells us we can do, we will share that with you. For now, we render aid by praying for God to provide that aid and to halt the actions of those who oppress her.