m2o Church, Rugby : Justice

Justice

Our God is a God of justice.

The Old Testament frequently mentions aspects of justice:

In Leviticus & Deuteronomy God set standards for Israel in the areas of health, justice, the economy & community. Israel was to set up a social system where the vulnerable would be treated fairly. They were to be a distinctive people, characterized by loving others and serving the poor.

"If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support himself among you, help him as you would an alien or a temporary resident, so he can continue to live among you.” (Lev 25:35)

The people of Israel however went away from this ideal.

“A poor man's field may produce abundant food, but injustice sweeps it away.” (Proverbs 13:23)

In Jesus’ day, the religious leaders were very wealthy but the people were poor, and in debt to the religious elite. Jesus came to oppose the system of his day that kept people poor and subjugated. He challenged the power and authority that kept people down. He came to give life, and life to the full. He taught his followers to love one another and to treat each other with justice.

“You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’” (Gal 5:13-14)

In the New Testament, Jesus often quoted the OT when talking about issues of justice, and then physically acted out his belief and calling. One example of this is the ‘Nazareth manifesto’ in Luke 4:16-21 'He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

"The spirit of the Lord is on me,

because he has anointed me

to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

and recovery of sight for the blind,

to release the oppressed,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour."

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

Paul in Romans 5 expounds on the ideas of personal righteousness and justification, but the implicit sense of at-one-ness with the justice of God is more than a matter of personal salvation. James Jones, the Bishop of Liverpool, in his book ‘Jesus and the Earth' (SPCK, 2003) says;

‘If it is God’s justice that we enter into, that we experience through our personal relationship with Jesus Christ, we are necessarily caught up in God’s holy desire for justice on the earth. You cannot be in a right relationship with the God of justice and be indifferent to the injustice that is in the world. That is a contradiction of terms. You cannot say that you love the God of justice and at the same time turn a blind eye to the injustices that are an offence to his character.’

In answering the biblical call to justice and to speaking out on behalf of the poor, we must also look at our own lives: we need to make positive decisions when it comes to reducing the negative impact our lives have on others.

PCC Statement (19th May 2008):

We believe that the issues of Justice, Poverty and Care of Creation are important to God and therefore demand a response in our lives as His disciples. “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8

Our commitment is:

To encourage teaching about these issues in Sunday services, Youth & Children’s Groups and Small Groups/Home Groups;
To support and resource the investigation and carrying out of appropriate church-wide actions;
To use Fairtrade tea, coffee and sugar after services and at all meetings for which we have responsibility, and move forward on using other Fairtrade products;
To actively promote Fairtrade during Fairtrade fortnight and at other times through events, worship and other activities;
To encourage the Justice Group to promote and inform the congregation about issues of justice, poverty and care of creation, and possible responses;
To actively encourage individual members of the church to make appropriate lifestyle choices;
To individually commit as PCC members to personally make such lifestyle decisions wherever possible.

The St. Matthew's and St. Oswald's Justice Group exists within the church to look at issues of justice and to move forward with principles and action in the following areas:

Living Lightly is a section in the Church weekly newsletter and on the website to share ideas and suggestions amongst the Church family about how to help care for creation, fight poverty and challenge injustice. There is also a Living Lightly folder located in each worship centre which holds further details about the topics covered in the newsletter.