Justice and Mercy

No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. – Micah. 6:8 NLT

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? – Micah. 6:8 ESV

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? – Micah. 6:8 KJV

If you’ve been in one of my bible studies you’ve probably caught my not-quite-rant about translations. It is a not-quite-rant because all of our translations are fine. You will get the meaning. But they tend to do one thing. They sand down distinctions. If you are doing woodwork, sanding things smooth is good. If you are doing words, it’s the distinctions that matter. And sometimes I wonder if the translation committees have read the bible. The only one I never wonder that about is the old King James. Those divines knew their Bible. They may not have always known their Hebrew or Greek that well. They certainly didn’t have that great work of 19^th and 20^th century scholarship – the compilation of every known manuscript. And their language is certainly dated today, but they knew their language which is still ours at a distance.

I fall into this not-quite-rant because our Old Testament lesson this week ends with one of the most quoted lines of the entire Old Testament. But the people who usually quote it, and the circumstances in which it is quoted, are often at odds with its true meaning.

The minor prophets, the 12 works collected at the end of our Old Testament, are compressed jewels from the beginning of the prophetic time until its close. Micah as a prophet overlaps Isaiah. He starts with the fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and by the end is looking at the fall of the Judah. And the charge in Micah 6 is Judah’s complaints against God. Judah is essentially saying to God, “What have you done for me lately?” And God has decided to respond. “O my people, what have I done to you? How have I wearied you? Answer me!” And the LORD recalls the highpoints of what he has done for them: redeemed you from the house of slavery, lead you to and gave you the promised land, brought blessings out of the mouths of those who wanted to curse you, gave you the sacrificial system yet not made that sacrificial system everything. “Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? (Micah 6:7).” And unlike the nations around them the LORD never requires your firstborn. The emphasis on all of this is the LORD has bestowed on his people his grace first. When they didn’t deserve anything, they were given it. And what does the LORD desire? The LORD insists that he has been clear.

Even if our translators have sanded things down they all get the question: What is good? “The LORD has told you what is good.” All the translations get that. What they mess up is the exquisite balance. The old King James gets it – “do justly, and love mercy.” There is always a tension between justice and mercy. Able’s blood for vengeance pleaded to the skies, but the blood of Jesus for our pardon cries, as the hymn puts it. And neither side is wrong. The LORD requires doing Justice. Contrary to the rioters in MN, we as a nation have laws that should be enforced – do justice. The LORD requires that we love mercy. Contrary to the harshest voices who would freely say “deport abuela,” we should love to temper that justice with mercy. And nobody has ever said this tension is easy to live or resolve. When you do not do justice – like leaving the borders open and letting in 20M people who do not have a legal right – you create a mess that compounds. And without someone desiring to grant mercy, you end up in the lex talionis where everyone loses eyes, or lives. With competing claims of “say her/his name.”

I’m sorry ESV, kindness doesn’t cut it. We are not asked to love kindness, but mercy. I’m sorry NLT, but “what is right” doesn’t cut it. We are asked to do justice. We ourselves have been given grace. What the LORD requires is not like that ancient law that kills. We walk in grace. In that tension of justice and mercy is how we humbly walk with God.

Divine Justice

The book of Isaiah has four sections that get called the “Servant Songs.” They get called that because they all begin with or incorporate the phrase “behold my servant.” They catch the ear because they make clear the purpose and method of the messiah. The later ones – Isaiah 50:4-9, Isaiah 52:13-53:12 – are more attuned to the Lent and Easter seasons with that last one practically carrying the season. “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. (Isa. 53:3 ESV)” And yet it ends with not only the servant’s vindication, but his deliverance of many. “Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. (Isa. 53:11 ESV).” But the earlier ones – Isaiah 42:1-9, Isaiah 49:1-6 – are more attuned to Epiphany. The second one is about the servant as “the light for the nations (Isaiah 49:6)” which gets quoted both in Acts and reflected in Simeon’s song, The Nunc Dimittis. Our Old Testament Lesson today is the first of these songs and is clear about the purpose and method of the messiah.

The purpose of the messiah is “to bring forth justice to the nations.” Now I don’t think what we think about when we hear the word justice is all that different than what those ancient Israelites would have thought. ‘No Justice, No Peace” as the saying goes. And there is always clamor in the streets. And if not in the streets themselves, in the warfare – both the kind with bullets and the kind with ballots. Justice is a word that depends upon whether we want it for ourselves or for others. Justice for ourselves is give us something. Justice for others is take it from them or hurt them for me. And that is not to dismiss the hurts perpetrated that are injustice. Ancient Israel wanted vengeance against the nations. They wanted the restoration of the Kingdom and tribute to flow to them. So when God promises a servant who will bring forth justice to the nations, sweet catnip to the ears.

But the methods of this servant do not look anything like our justice. Unlike the clamor in the streets, “He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the streets.” We live in what is often called the attention economy. There are literally millions of people who are shouting into the void for your attention. I saw I believe a Pew survey of high schoolers asking what they wanted to be when they grew up. The number one answer was “youtube-er.” The servant sung about by Isaiah is literally the opposite of our influencers. The Spirit that rests upon him empowers the work. It starts as small as a mustard seed. It starts with calling 12 to follow. When you hear it, know that is your invitation. “The coastlands wait for his law (Isaiah 42:4).” Everything the servant does, he does in his own time. And you cannot rush it.

Unlike our justice which is usually lightly veneered revenge or about re-dividing a fixed amount of goods, this servant promises two things. “The bruised reed he will not break” and “he who created the heavens and stretched them out…will take you by the hand and keep you.” Our justice is so often about scarcity and fear. We parcel out death. But the Justice of the servant is bottomless. He brings life. “He gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk in it.” The Spirit that was upon him is given to us. The eyes that are blind see, the prisoners in the dungeon are brought out. Those who sit in darkness a light shines. And there is no limit to this uncreated light.

Matthew points out that this is exactly how Jesus worked (Matthew 12 which ends with a quote of this servant song). Our experience of justice in a fallen world is so distorted that this sounds fantastical. We’d never believe it if it came out of nowhere. When Jesus came it still felt like coming out of nowhere. But that too is part of the method. “The former things have come to pass and new things I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them (Isaiah 42:9).” In the life of Israel we can see the workings of God. And God has told us in advance – “Behold – look – this is my servant.” God has told us what he intends to do which is save us. Bring his justice to the world. And he has told us what it will look like. It will look like peace and restoration and life. Not in the way of the world, but in the way of the Spirit.

On Not Losing Heart (or Who you pray to and What you pray for)

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Biblical Text: Luke 18:1-8

As a Protestant I am tied to a doctrine of perspicuity. All that fancy word means is that the typical Christian is able to read and understand the scriptures. The intro to this sermon elaborates a bit, but the reason I was thinking about that is because this gospel lesson is one that I think pushes that border. The plain reading would be something like “go be a monk and pray all the time” or “pester God more.” But neither of those I’m convinced are what it is about. Instead, like all parables, it is first about who God is. It reveals God the Father to us. And second, it is a nudge toward what we should be praying for. I’ll admit that the second point is not as direct, but I still think that the typical Christian who has been catechized can see it. Because it hinges on what is justice. The woman demands justice against her adversary. And yes, we have temporal adversaries which is why we pray for our daily bread. But our real adversaries are those comic things: the devil, the world and our sinful nature.

This sermon is about praying and not losing heart – keeping the faith – that God will finally deliver us from evil.

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God, You Cannot Be Serious

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Biblical Text: Habakkuk 1:1-2:4

I think this longer passage – the lectionary as read cuts out important parts – is one of the most important in the bible. At least to the curious. Habakkuk the prophet has had it. He asks the question that I think many people do when things are going well, “God, where are you? Why do you do nothing?” And unlike most places, here God responds. He is doing something. He’s sending “the Chaldeans.” Now the Chaldeans are just code for Assyria/Babylon/Persia, the great power that takes Israel into exile. And God elaborates on who they are. It is what God often does, set one evil against another. But we don’t like that. The prophet doesn’t like that. He pushes back at God a second time. “Really, that is what you want me to go preach? Babylon?” And God answers one more time. And he makes clear what he is after – faith.

This sermon sets Habakkuk’s story in the light of Adam, Eve and the Old Snake. What Satan is always pitching in knowledge. “You will know.” It is not that God won’t grant knowledge, but that knowledge from God comes at the appropriate time. When we have the wisdom to handle it. Satan doesn’t care the damage it leaves. The “Violence”. The “Justice perverted.” But God does this because he is not really about knowledge. He wants us to have faith. He wants us to trust Him. And that is the second answer. Habakkuk, write the vision. It’s the same vision as always. The promise of Christ and his kingdom. And its the promise, “It will come. Wait for it. The righteous live by faith.”

On a rhetorical note, these sermon gets a little hot. To me it was meant to match the prophet’s complaint.

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The Trial of Pontius Pilate

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Biblical Text: Matthew 27:11-26

Capturing this sermon in a simple paragraph is hard. The driving question is why would the Christians remember Pontius Pilate in the creed? And it is a question that has some maybe surprising contemporary impact. It has been one of those weeks where I feel that years have passed. This sermon directly addresses some of those things, because with Pilate as the source, they are appropriate.

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The Kingdom of Grace

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Biblical Text: Matthew 18:21-35

The Christian in called to live in two kingdoms at the same time. There are the kingdoms of the law. What we call the state is the typical representative of the Kingdom of the law. And in the Kingdom of the law the primary responsibility is Justice. Because this Kingdom is ruled indirectly by sinful humans (and fallen powers) justice isn’t always perfect, but that its responsibility. Christians also life in the Kingdom of Grace. And how we are called to live is thinking of the Kingdom of Grace as a millennium’s worth of work compared to the law’s as three months. Three months is a lot. Most of us don’t have three months in the bank. Three months is real. And legally we can demand it. But the Christian who wishes to reside in the Kingdom recognizes that those three months are as nothing compared to the 10,000 talents.

This is the way of the cross. The way of grace. Trusting that God’s justice is better than the best we could ever provide.

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Pester God? No, Trust Him!

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Biblical Text: Luke 18:1-8, 18:1-8 KJV

This text is one that I think has had much harm done to it over the years by overly pious preachers and translators. They promise things that Jesus himself is contradicting. And their promises often make God out to be a monster and a liar. I don’t know if I manage to do it, but I hoped to set it straight. The persistent widow is not a tale about how we should pester God. That oddly feeds into a prosperity gospel trope of “asking consistently and believing”. Instead it is much more specific. What is she asking for? Justice? When does Justice for the Christian happen? At the return of Jesus. Until then we live in the now and not yet. The Kingdom is now ours; it has not yet been fully revealed. Hence we persevere is asking “deliver us from evil”. And we do that because we have faith in the one who promised. Because the Character of God is not one that needs pestering, but one slow to anger and abounding is steadfast love. Persistence in prayer is just outward proof of persistence in faith.

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How are you Righteous/Just?

Biblical Text: Romans 3:19-28
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This is a reformation sermon reflecting on the divisions and questions of our day. My central contention is that in Luther’s Day people assumed the Justness of the collective: the unity of the church and her pronouncements, the majesty of the mass and the sacraments, the divine right of Kings and the entire sacred order. And if the society was just, then it should produce righteous members. That was Luther’s conflict. He didn’t see or feel righteous. I think ours is somewhat the inverse. We assume that at least my tribe is righteous. And if we have righteous members, we should be able to build the just society. Both of these quests are quests for righteousness/justice (the same word in the biblical languages) are pursued through the law.

But we hold that no one is justified by works of the law. One is righteous by the blood of Christ given by his grace and received in by faith. The just society is not found or made with human laws or efforts, but is see from a distance – the New Jerusalem. One day we will get there. Now, we do not seek our justice in the law, because we will be forever angry as it slips away. Now, we live by faith. And only if we life by faith are we truly free.

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Horrors

Biblical Text: Matthew 21:33-46
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Given the events of Las Vegas, it was a week of horrors. This biblical text is the parable of the wicked tenants which turns on the horrors perpetrated by those tenants. This sermon is a meditation on what we as Christians should discern in horrors. Also what is a Christian response to such horrors. In a search for “why?” that so often ends unsatisfactorily, or ends in too easy answer, the Christian is able to focus on the justice of God. And this justice is good news. I’ve pondered three forms of that justice. 1) Those wicked men will come to a horrible end. We might not be used to this as a good news proclamation, but it is. God is just. 2) That phrase should inspire a holy fear in us, and the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. That wisdom should lead us to repentance and a return to the Lord who is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 3) The vineyard will be fruitful. The horrors that we might witness are the groaning’s of the world longing for the revelation of the son’s of God. They are the rage of Satan and those aligned. But the Justice of God will replace them, and the vineyard will produce its fruit.

I have left in our final hymn, LSB 753, All for Christ I Have Forsaken. The melody is the Southern Harmony Restoration which has an interesting minor key feel (give it a listen and you’ll know what I mean). The lyrics are From Calvin Chao, a mid-20th Century Chinese Christian, the chair of the Chinese InterVasity in the WW2 years. He had quite the life as a missionary. Here is an old article on his wife I unearthed. You can get the feel for the source of the powerful words.

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Sweet, Pure and Costly

Biblical Text: Mark 14:1-11, Mark 14:53-65, Mark 15:1-15, Mark 15:25-37
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The appointed texts for Palm Sunday have morphed into The Sunday of the Passion. The introduction to the passion story in Mark is the story of the woman who breaks an alabaster jar and anoints Jesus with perfume worth a year’s wages. This sermon uses that as the main text with the two trials of Jesus as the supporting texts. Its focus is upon the human fascination with Justice and what these trials have to tell us about our justice. The woman’s beautiful act or good work marks Jesus response to our calls and his alternative. We can always do justice. What we have we can do. But calls for justice miss the instruction of the passion of Jesus. The better path is mercy – sweet, pure and costly.

Musical Note: The season of Lent to me has the best Hymnody (which I know could just be because of the inherent drama), and it really ends on Palm Sunday which has a huge stable of great songs. All Glory, Laud and Honor and Ride on, Ride on in Majesty are two of them. What I left in the recording here is a modern hymn that is climbing my personal favorites – No Tramp of Soldiers Marching Feet (LSB 444). Many of the Palm Sunday Hymns reflect the irony of the triumphal entry being followed by the passion, but this hymn makes that its central theme. In the service it makes the perfect transition hymn from the festivity of the Palm Procession to the Passion Readings.

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