Thursday 27 September 2007

Background

The Hebrew people were a people on the move - they were nomadic- they needed to develop their own rules for their community tofunction. Many of the rules have the same running theme; and oftenthat is justice and fairness.

Like the Hebrew people, Christians live in a small community withina larger one. We may get a sense of pride when we pass a waysidenotice board proclaiming justice in the name of God.

It is easy to have pride in our commitment to justice when it istheoretical. Similarly, the laws of the Bible seem so easy to abideby when we simply read them; and yet, how hard it can be when weare standing alongside some one who has been mistreated.

This is the story of a woman in a church who spoke out againstinjustice when she saw it:

"It got to the point where I walked in to a room and peoplegreeted me with 'here's trouble'. This undermined my confidence andI praise God for the strength given to me when sometime later, Iwas able to find the courage to stand alongside some women who werebeing harassed. As the months went by, others who were witnessesdropped by the wayside, it was hard to stick with it as it meantgoing against the crowd."

To Ponder

Can we apply this teaching to internationalissues of justice?

How engaged are we in issues of justice in theUK? Do you 'zone out' when a news item is about law reform?

Are there any issues of injustice you are awareof in your community where you could be a better witness?