Good Morning
All!!
Amos 5:24; “But let justice roll
down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”
Have you ever used, or heard your parents use, the phrase “the proof is
in the pudding?” Did you ever stop and
think what on earth this could possibly mean?
“The proof is in the pudding”; what proof and where is this
pudding? What are we proving and what
kind of pudding? Is it proof as in the
photographs you get to see if you like them or proof as in what a mathematician
would do? Is it chocolate or bread
pudding?
The phrase is a contraction of the original phrase which was “the proof of
the pudding is in the eating.” At least
this makes some sense. It starts at
least in the 1600’s and meant that the goodness of the pudding is in the
eating. It is not so much what the
pudding looks like or what the cook claims; what matters is what it tastes
like. In many ways our faith is the same
way. We can tell the world that we are
Christian, we can dress like a Christian but the proof of our faith is in our
actions. The observable element of our
faith is how we treat others especially those who are oppressed, poor or needy.
We are to “do justice.” Justice
is a verb; it is something which we must actively seek and engage in. We cannot have a true relationship with God
if we continue to cheat or exploit our neighbor. God’s Spirit, active in our heart, leads us
to desire the good things, as in peace, joy, self-control, love, patience, etc. God’s Spirit, active in our life, moves us to
act. God’s Spirit moves us to feel
compassion on our fellow man and then to show that compassion and it is an
active compassion. It is not enough to
say, I harmed no one” rather we must say “I helped someone.” This is what it means to be committed to
justice; this is what it means to be active.
Simple words are not enough, God calls us to action. God calls us to be active in this world
bringing the healing that Jesus began.
The underlying understanding of justice is that all humans possess basic
rights and obligations given to us by God at creation. It is not for us, as God’s creatures, to
deny, renege or destroy these rights and obligations. These fundamental rights include life, respect,
honor and value. The obligations are to
see to it that all people are given these and that all of creation is protected
and respected. It is not ours to decide
who receives respect or life and who does not; this is God’s decision. We are to act; we are to do justice. We are to have compassion on the weak and the
needy, the lost and the hurting. We are
to bring healing and reconciliation to the broken and the downtrodden. We are to be active agents of God’s mercy.
Father,
we witness so much pain in this world.
We see the broken souls and the despondent spirits. We see our hurting neighbor. Move us by your mighty Spirit to bring about
your healing. Lead us to have the same
compassion as Jesus. Lead us to honor
and cherish all life as a gift from you.
In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret