Does Christianity Speak to the Injustice in the World?
To those longing for justice --
We are writing to you because you are standing in the thick of a profound cultural moment that you will be processing for the rest of your lives. Amid a global pandemic, countless thousands have marched across the world to protest centuries of crimes and injustice against Blacks in America and although similar protests have come and gone before, this time seems different.
We write to you because we want to share what we fear, but not only that, we want to remind you that 1) Jesus cares deeply about justice, 2) His Kingdom is what the world needs, and 3) the Church should be on the frontlines.
OUR COLLECTIVE FEAR
We know you are passionate about justice. Your own experience makes your heart beat for the overlooked and forgotten. You have a deep concern for those who you feel society has ignored. We love that you care so deeply about the pain others experience. We love that you want to enter that pain and stand with them.
And, we worry that you can often feel like your growing awareness of the pain others have experienced at the hands of larger systemic forces--let’s call that injustice--connects little to your understanding of God and the Church.
We fear you think/feel two things. First, we fear you believe that Christianity is disconnected from reality. You look out at the pain others are facing, and you wonder what hope there is for the world. And, you may have even started to wonder if Christianity has any answer at all.
Second, we fear you look out at others who proclaim to be Christian and worry that they more often resemble the problem rather than the solution. You have seen the ways Christians handle elections and you question why many appear so concerned about losing political power and influence when that same influence is not spent fighting on behalf of the vulnerable. These leaders are quiet about injustice. And, their silence makes you think that if this is what Christianity is, then why be a part of it?
We worry that given your frustrations with His Church you will start to believe that Jesus cares little about injustice, and choose to walk away from Him.
We want to affirm:
1. JESUS CARES DEEPLY ABOUT JUSTICE
There is a passage in Isaiah that describes what God’s Kingdom looks like. It tells of a world filled with beauty, justice, and joy. The prophet explains that the broken-hearted will be cared for and those unjustly held captive will be set free. Isaiah 61 contains a provocative hope.
And, when we read of the start of Jesus’ ministry, we read a story in Luke’s account that tells of a time that in a public meeting, Jesus stood up, took a scroll, and read directly from Isaiah 61. He read the passage and explained to those listening “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Those listening sat stunned at what Jesus was declaring--the One who was to bring beauty, justice, and joy was here. His Kingdom was here.
2. HIS KINGDOM IS WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS.
Christian or not, the Kingdom of Jesus is what those protesting want to see. They want a world filled with beauty, justice, and joy. They ache for a world that is not broken by injustice and apathy. They carry a holy, and righteous longing.
Our role is to point them toward their King because only Jesus can make the Kingdom possible. He is the only King in the history of the world that died for the sake of his enemies. The only King capable--out of his self-sacrificial death--to form a family out of those so radically different from each other. No other faith can say the same.
3. THE CHURCH SHOULD BE ON THE FRONTLINES.
And this is why Christians should be on the frontlines of justice. In fact, Christians have always been on the frontlines of Justice--have always lived with a prophetic edge.
A couple hundred years after the Resurrection of Jesus, Christians during the Plague of Cyprian (AD 250-270) were known for running into epicenters to care for the ill. A hundred years later, Emperor Julian trying to account for the explosive growth of the Christian movement complained to a pagan priest in Galatia writing:
“I think that when the poor happened to be neglected and overlooked by the (pagan) priests, the impious Galileans (Christians) observed this and devoted themselves to benevolence...the impious Galileans support not only their poor, but ours as well, everyone can see that our people lack aid from us" (Johnson, 1976:75; Ayerst and Fisher:179-181)
The earliest Christians lived with a prophetic edge caring for the poor and the overlooked, and this is what caused their movement to grow. The world saw a movement connected to reality filled with people willing to sacrifice themselves so others would flourish.
These early Christians lived in a way that proclaimed a different world order. May we do the same!
By Jeremiah Lepasana