justice – The Raynville Rambler

There’s a wideness in God’s mercy

Mercy Interceding With Justice
A bronze relief by Mario Raggi depicting one of the various charitable acts of Dr. Evan Pierce on the column in the Evan Pierce Memorial Garden in Denbigh, Wales.
Image © Copyright Eirian Evans and licensed for reuse under Creative Commons Licence.

The hymn I picked today from Sing Praise was ‘There’s a wideness in God’s mercy’ by Frederick Faber. John points out that the hymn is a shortened version of another, older hymn ‘Souls of men, why will ye scatter?’ (or in a modern inclusive version, ‘Righteous souls, why will you scatter?’) with an extra 8-line verse (or two 4-line ones) at the start, setting the scene for the rest of the hymn in humanity’s tendency to wander from God. That’s what he used in morning prayer, to a different tune. But it’s the Sing Praise book that I’m blogging this year, and coincidentally our own church music group sang ‘There’s a wideness in God’s mercy’ to the same tune Coverdale before last Sunday’s service. So that’s my starting point.

The words of the hymn tackle some misconceptions of the Christian understanding of God. Is the greatest virtue that of liberty (verse 1)? No, greater virtues are mercy and justice, seen in the Bible as two aspects of God’s character as well as the basis of good human law – not opposed, but as the two sides of the balance that make liberty workable. If the rule of law strays too far towards strict justice, people get punished for innocent mistakes, while too far towards mercy and the guilty go unpunished. God is not a vengeful deity but one who demands and administers justice with mercy: ‘there is no place where earth’s failings have such kindly judgement given’. The opposite is in verse 2: ‘We make his love too narrow by false limits of our own, and we magnify his strictness with a zeal he would not own’.

God is also not remote and unfeeling: ‘there is no place where earth’s sorrows are more felt as up in heaven’. And in verse 2, ‘the heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind’. Which is why he became one of us, sharing our emotions as well as our temptations.

The third verse focuses on the sacrifice of Jesus. ‘There is plentiful redemption through the blood that has been shed, there is joy for all the members in the sorrows of the head’. The final half-verse (if an 8-line tune such as Coverdale is used) challenges us to be more simple in our love for Jesus, to take him at his word. Meaning perhaps sayings such as “Unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Sing the gospel of salvation

Today’s hymn from Sing Praise is “Sing the Gospel of salvation” by Michael Forster. The theme is evangelism, but he recognises that what was once seen as a tension between evangelism and tackling injustice is now more widely regarded as two complimentary ways of participating in God’s mission. The ‘gospel of salvation’ is the explanation of how Jesus came to reconcile the world to God, with an invitation to individuals to align their lives with him. ‘Social action’ by the Church (the phrase is not used here but that is what it is about) is the practical ways in which that reconciliation is worked out in individual lives – mostly outside the church building.

The three verses therefore explore different ways in which people are excluded from their full potential as human beings, and the ways in which by the proclamation of the Gospel and their turning to Christ those exclusions can be addressed. As the first verse puts it “all the darkness of injustice cannot dim salvation’s light, for the outcast and exploited count as worthy in God’s sight”.

The second and third verses both refer to Jesus as the Shepherd, a name he used for himself as the one who leads people back to God as well as protecting us from danger – “Those who recognize the saviour take their place within the fold”. The last verse celebrates the new creation, begun on earth but to be fulfilled in heaven, as “the victims of injustice [are] now redeemed and glorified”, and as “fear and weeping are ended, hunger and oppression cease”. We know that in practice the injustices of human society will never be completely done away with until Christ’s reign is fully established, but it is the Church’s call to share that hope and faith for the future, while doing what we can to alleviate suffering here and now in the name of the one whose gospel we proclaim.

God of freedom, God of justice

The hymn I chose for 1 May (but blogging briefly about it a day late) was “God of Freedom, God of Justice”, the next in a short series in this theme of justice. The words are by a hymn writer whose name is new to me, Shirley Murray.

Looking at the words, the tune that came to mind as fitting them well is ‘Regent Square’. John in his video went with the tune suggested in the book, ‘Picardy’, better known to the words ‘Let all mortal flesh keep silence’. That hymn’s associations with Advent, and the coming of Christ both as incarnate Jesus and in future as sovereign Lord, necessarily colour the singing of these words, but it’s an appropriate association. In the first half of this hymn we call on this God who is eternal yet suffered pain in his incarnation as a man, to “touch our world of sad oppression with your Spirit’s healing breath”. In effect, as we recite a litany of what is wrong with the world (including here prison and torture), we invoke the Advent refrain of “Come, Lord Jesus!” knowing that he is the only one who can truly right these injustices.

But in the second half of the hymn the focus is on ourselves. We call on the “God who shed both tears and blood” to “move in us the power of pity, restless for the common good”, and in the last verse, ask him to “Make us … quick to hear, to act, to plead”. In Teresa of Avila’s famous words, Christ has no hands or feet on earth but ours, and until Jesus returns in physical form we rely on his Spirit within us to help us get on with the task of righting injustice in his name.

Extol the God of Justice

Today’s hymn from Sing Praise is Martin Leckebusch’s “Extol the God of justice”, a traditional three-verse hymn, with a suggested tune by Vaughan Williams, but John played it to the tune of “Stand up, stand up for Jesus”. The theme is similar to that of yesterday’s hymn, but this one is specifically based on Psalm 9.

The first verse includes the line “remember all his wonders”, a theme that occurs throughout the Hebrew scriptures. Any temptation to doubt God’s ability to intervene in human affairs is countered with remembrance of past events, supremely the Exodus from Egypt and later the captivity in Babylon and subsequent return from exile. Even those events, involving whole nations or races, are seen as God rewarding one or punishing another according to the level of obedience or disobedience to him at a national level. That’s hard to understand in a society that is so focussed on the individual. As individuals we may or may not try to “labour for what is true and right” but it’s important to lift our eyes and see what’s happening on a larger scale in the world.

The second verse gives more specific examples of God’s justice: one who “hears the cry of victims and senses their despair”. The third reminds us that “however dark the day, the hope that calls for mercy will not be turned away”. God is the unchanging one who, while allowing human freedom and independence up to a point, is willing to act in world events when nations allow that freedom to take them too far from his ways, whether to save from oppression or to punish the oppressor. Noah, Abraham and Lot, Jeremiah and many others in Israel’s history experienced that, and for us Christians, the death and resurrection of Jesus were the ultimate intervention from which everyone can benefit – if we are willing.

It is, then, appropriate to pray on a macro scale for justice in the world, as well as at the micro level of praying for individuals. Returning to the second verse, “in faithfulness he honours the faith that sparks our prayer”.

Blessed, those whose hearts are gentle

Jesus teaches the Beatitudes
from freebibleimages.org

Today’s hymn from Sing Praise, “Blessed, those whose hearts are gentle”, is not dissimilar to the Gospel chants of the last few days, as suggested also by the words in the refrain “Raise the Gospel over the earth!” However, both the verses and the ‘alleluia’ refrain are longer than in the others, and it would work as a congregational hymn.

The six verses come in two pairs, and the thrust of the words is typical of the composer, Bernadette Farrell, most of whose hymns are about issues of social justice and inclusion. First are two verses with the repeated statement “Blessed are…”, which immediately recalls the Beatitudes of Jesus. But these are not directly quoting the Beatitudes. Here, those who are blessed are ‘those whose hearts are gentle, whose spirits are strong, who choose to bring forth right where there is wrong, who work for justice, who answer the call, who dare to dream of lasting peace for all’.

In the third and fourth verses, “Blessed” is replaced with “Tremble”. This is about the privileged who should be in fear of God for failing to meet his standards of justice. ‘You who build up riches, with opulent lives’ should ‘tremble … when you meet the poor and see Christ in their eyes’. And ‘you who thirst for power, who live for acclaim’ should ‘tremble… when you find no comfort in your wealth and fame’. This seems highly relevant in the context of current British politics, with the Government and its advisers increasingly criticised not only for becoming wealthy at the expense of the poor, but for lies and corruption.

The final pair of verses turns back to God and ascribes glory to him, as Word of Justice, Spirit of Peace and God of Love. But glory is also said to be “upon all people equal in God’s eyes”. To sing this hymn is to remind ourselves that God’s call is never only to live for him in our own lives but to strive for these divine qualities of justice, equality, peace and so on in the lives of others.

With Mary let my soul rejoice

Today’s hymn from Sing Praise is “With Mary let my soul rejoice” by David Mowbray. It is actually a paraphrase of the Magnificat, usually used at evening prayer but very appropriate for today because this is the festival of the Annunciation (i.e. the conception of Jesus) to which the Magnificat was Mary’s response.

The enduring popularity of this scriptural song is that it celebrates the way God intervenes in human affairs to put injustices right. The ‘strong arm and great power’ of the Lord are not used to ensure victory for one tribe over another, as Israel found out repeatedly, for God was with them if they followed his laws but allowed them to be defeated if they broke them and promoted injustice. The specific examples given in Mary’s song are (to use the words from this hymn version) that “the proud he will disown; the meek and humble he exalts… the rich our God will send away and feed the hungry poor; the arms of love remain outstretched at mercy’s open door”. But although these are universal principles, they are linked to God’s promise made over a thousand years earlier to the Patriarchs, that Abraham’s descendants would benefit from God’s blessing, if they kept to his ways.

The principles are the same today as they ever were: Christians (and anyone else who believes in God and seeks his blessing) must strive for justice and fairness in the world, not only by living justly ourselves but taking positive action in God’s name for the benefit of the humble, meek and poor, and to prevent the rich and proud from prospering at the expense of others. Like Jesus and the prophets before him, those who do so risk incurring human wrath for doing so, but equally receive God’s blessing. Those saints who take this risk (think especially perhaps of the late, blessed Oscar Romero whose feast day was yesterday) deserve to be celebrated in the final words of the hymn: “with Mary let the world rejoice and praise God’s holy name!”

The Apocrypha in Lent – 28 March

If this is your first visit, please see my introduction to these Lenten readings.

28 March 2018. Daniel chapter 13

This chapter is the story of “Susannah and the elders”. It is unrelated to the rest of the book of Daniel and is only included because Daniel features as a witness. The chapter is omitted in Protestant Bibles as “apocryphal”. It does, however, make some very important points about natural justice and the legal system.

This story was written about 2200 years ago, about the Babylonian culture of about 2500 years ago. Bearing in mind that there was neither written language nor (as far as we know) any official system of justice in what we now call England at that time, it is remarkable that Babylon was known for having a detailed legal system. If verse 5 is historically accurate, two elders were appointed as judges each year. That’s no bad thing – most societies regard respected older people as suitable to act in that capacity, and a decision by two people rather than one is generally safer. But there are other good principles that should be observed, and which failed in Susannah’s case.

Firstly, to summarise the story: the two judges both become infatuated by this beautiful, young but married woman, and plot together to sleep with her when they find her alone (i.e. commit rape). A trial is held at which they preside, and their evidence that she had been committing adultery with another man is held to be sufficient to condemn her to death. Daniel then comes on the scene, not having been at the trial, but knowing by a message from God that she is innocent. He is then invited to preside at a re-trial at which he finds the men’s evidence contradictory, and they are then condemned to death instead.

How many faults can we find? Firstly, the two elders acted as both witnesses and judges. That should never happen even in the most informal of disciplinary hearings! Secondly, there was no evidence given as to who the mystery adulterer might be. Thirdly, the elders gave their evidence together. When Daniel interviewed them he heard them separately and was able to expose their evidence as false, for one said they saw the adultery being committed under a mastic tree, and the other said under a holm-oak. Witnesses should be interrogated separately for just that reason. And finally, Susannah was not given the chance to put her defence, until Daniel’s re-trial. We might think that was “the way things were” in a patriarchal society, but as Daniel points out, Jewish law did admit women as witnesses and provide for a defence to be made (verses 48-49).

To add to all that, although not a matter of breaking the civil law (then or now) the very lustful desire they had for her is condemned as sinful. “They threw reason aside, making no effort to turn their eyes to heaven” (v.9). It is neither surprising or sinful in itself for men of any age to find a young woman attractive, but any mature man, and certainly anyone following one of the major religions, should see there is a clear distinction between a passing look and lusting for someone so badly that he seriously contemplates raping her.

The story of Susannah, then, apart from the spiritual element of Daniel’s word of knowledge by the Holy Spirit, tells us more about principles of justice, law and what we would now call safeguarding, than about religion. But then, religion is about real life.

The Apocrypha in Lent – 11 March

If this is your first visit, please see my introduction to these Lenten readings.

11 March. Ecclesiasticus chapters 8-11

The “wisdom” of these chapters is nothing that humanists could disagree with. Let’s look at just a couple of examples. Of course, you might say, it is foolish to try and seek justice against a rich or powerful man (8:1-3) because in every society there is corruption. And given the attitudes and actions of certain “world leaders” at the present day, some of the verses about good government ring very true: “A leader of the people must be shrewd of speech; a phrase-maker is a terror to his town. … An uneducated king will be the ruin of his people; a city owes its prosperity to the intelligence of its leading men.” (9:17, 10:3)

But this book is written very much from the perspective of faith, and there is an underlying assumption that there are moral standards to be upheld. Religious people are sometimes criticised for making too much of morality; and indeed it is true that Christianity has no “rules” other than those of loving God and loving your neighbour as yourself, from which all other ethical principles can be derived (Mark 12:29-30). Yet there is general agreement between civilised people of all faiths and none that there are essential basic standards in areas such as justice, honesty and fidelity. For example, given agreement that adultery and promiscuity are generally a “bad thing” and that there should be an “age of consent”, then we can all agree with the advice here that men’s desire for women makes it risky to go drinking with a married woman, make friends with a sex worker or “stare at a virgin” (9:5-9).

The difference that faith makes, as we read in chapter 11, is that rather than being frustrated and angered at the way some people get away with crime, sin or just being generally nasty – an attitude that tempts us to retaliation – the person who trusts in the God of eternity can take the longer view. That has two implications. Firstly we can look death in the face and acknowledge our own mortality, something that humans tend to avoid if they have no hope beyond death. “A man grows rich … and says ‘I have found rest, now I can enjoy my goods’. But he does not know how long this will last; he will have to leave his goods for others and die” – a couplet that may have inspired Jesus’ parable of the wealthy farmer (Luke 12:16-21).

The second is that we can trust in a God whose justice is made complete beyond the grave – “call no man fortunate before his death; it is by his end that a man will be known” (11:28). So the purpose of all these proverbs is to encourage us to live lives without greed or envy, so that at the last day we, and not the arrogant rich, will find favour with God. But if you don’t believe in God or the last judgement, then just read them as sensible advice for a stress-free life.

The Apocrypha in Lent – 6 March

If this is your first visit, please see my introduction to these Lenten readings.

6 March. Wisdom chapters 9-12

So far, wisdom has been presented in an abstract way, but now in chapters 10-12 she is related specifically to Israel’s history. How the Jews love to look back at their history – it means so much to them that God had made himself known to their ancestors, rescued them from slavery and oppression, performed miracles whenever the survival of the race was at stake. But three times in this passage the author acknowledges that God showed “forbearance” not only towards them but also to their enemies – Egyptians and Canaanites. For God’s mercy is always seen to triumph over judgement, as St James puts it.

This, again, is where God’s Wisdom differs, say from human concepts such as “common sense” or “natural justice”. Not that those are bad ideas, but Wisdom takes us beyond that, into the heart of God’s loving purposes. No wonder that Christians have often identified Wisdom either with Jesus or the Holy Spirit, the two ways in which God makes himself known among us.

The Bible in a Year – 18 June

If this is your first viewing, please see my Introduction before reading this.

18 June. Amos chapters 1-5

Amos dates his prophetic ministry to the days of King Uzziah, which makes him roughly a contemporary of Isaiah. Interestingly it says he “saw” the words rather than hearing them (1:1).

The first two chapters consist of short but devastating prophecies of God’s judgement on all the nations of the near east, including Judah and Israel. But note this: the sins for which the Syrians, Philistines, Edomites, Ammonites and Moabites are to be punished are military ones: reneging on treaties, taking entire communities captive, even “ripping open pregnant women”. The ordinary individual can do very little to change such situations, where military and political leaders give the orders.

On the other hand, Judah’s sin is that of not keeping God’s law, and Israel’s sins, expanded at length in chapters 3-5, are those of injustice within its own society – discrimination, overtaxing the poor, trade injustice, promiscuity, and suppressing the voice of the prophets whose message challenged them. These are charges laid more against ordinary people.

It seems that God’s own people, who have been given the privilege of hearing God’s commandments for right living, are to be judged by a higher standard than the ‘heathen’. This is quite explicit: “You only [Israel] have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.” (3:2).

Ordinary people may not be able to do much about corrupt politicians and military dictatorships, although those of us living in democratic countries do have more of a say than others. But each of us is responsible for being honest, fair and sensitive in our dealings with others, and for that God will hold us to account. And lest we think that the Bible only addresses men, the women are in the firing line too, addressed as “cows” (presumably as much an insult then as now): “[you] who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to their husbands, ‘Bring something to drink!’” (4:1)

All the people of Judah and Israel had to do was to “Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate” (5:15) – to return to practising the law they had been given – and God would have spared them. But they would not, and it was too late.