"Justice When There Is No Justice" Sermon Delivered By Rev. Dick Stetler – January
12, 2014 Centenary United In our reading this morning, an Old Testament prophesy from
Isaiah looked forward to a day when God will send a messenger that will
bring lasting justice for everyone.
Isaiah wrote, “He will not lose hope or courage.
He will establish justice on the earth.”
(Isaiah 41:3b-4)
What is missing in our lesson is a more precise timetable for such
justice. Christians believe
that Jesus was the Messiah
that pointed to and demonstrated that one day all of us have the
potential to experience perfect
justice. So, what has
happened to this justice since Jesus has come? It is very clear that injustice is every bit as prevalent today
as it was when Jesus lived.
In fact, the Gospels tell us that there was no justice at his trial or
for his crucifixion – a sentence reserved only for those who committed a
capital crime against When we look at what happened to Jesus’ own disciples, we learn
from various early Christian traditions that there was no change in this
pattern of injustice. Jesus
even predicted that the lives of his disciples would end as tragically
as his own. (Matthew
20:22-23) For example, Matthew
was slain with a sword in This pattern of injustice has held true down through the
centuries to our own time.
Some of us are aware of the
experiments that Dr. Josef Mengele performed on people that were
imprisoned in the Stories have come to us in recent years from We learn almost annually of someone that spent thirty years in
prison for a crime he did not commit.
With modern methods of testing the DNA left at various crime
scenes, a number of such people have been proven innocent and have been
released. How does a
society give back thirty years of a person’s life?
Where is this justice that
was promised by the prophet and presumably brought with the ministry of
Jesus? Who can possibly
come into our world from God and level the playing field so that true
justice comes to everyone?
The answer is that no one can and no one will ever come that will
do that for us. How can I say this without contradicting the Scriptures?
We
have to remember there is a great difference between our form of justice
and the form of justice that Jesus pointed to, a
perfect
system of justice that has been present since the beginning of time.
Even though it is here, most people were and are unable to
experience it. This is why
an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth has remained the law since
ancient times. We are in the 21st
century and that ancient law still reigns in our judicial systems. For example, people want restitution of what was stolen.
People want convicted criminals to rot in prison for the rest of
their lives because of the hurt and personal devastation they caused by
what they did. Some want
castration for men who are sexual predators.
On and on go our lists of crimes and the punishments. Many of us
become upset when people have their crimes dismissed due to a
technicality or to have their sentences greatly reduced. How can a
perfect
justice system be present and only a few people experience it?
Here is the answer.
In every generation people have a choice to create and
contribute to the growth of society or to remain self-absorbed by
destroying what others have created or take for themselves what others
have earned. For example, a match is a wonderful creation until it gets into
the hands of an arsonist. Computers and their software have made life
easier for millions of people and institutions.
However, there are others that use their skills to hack into
people’s financial accounts and steal their assets and personal
information. The recent
theft of such information from 110 million customers at Target or the
Neiman Marcus high-end
retailer in the Such criminal activities in all their different forms have always
been the experience of people since Cain and Abel.
What exactly did Jesus
bring to our understanding that tells us that a
perfect justice system
exists? When we look at his
teachings, we find the answer.
In one of his parables, he mentioned how the wheat and the weeds
must be allowed to grow together until the harvest when they are
separated. (Matthew 13:24f)
He taught
his listeners not to judge what other people do with their lives but to
spend their energy on perfecting the spirit by which they live.
He said, “First take the log out of your own eye and then you
will see clearly to remove the speck from someone else’s eye.”
(Matthew 7:5) He
told his listeners to forgive 70 times 7. (Matthew 18:22) This
translates into an idea of never being offended by what someone else
does. These teachings are difficult for people to understand. To some, they appear ridiculous and silly. They do not give us what we want – justice! Before we dismiss the significance of these teachings, we need to ask ourselves, “What did Jesus and his disciples know that allowed them to die with love on their lips?” Each had discovered that they had the ability to become people
with transformed values and attitudes while living in the midst of
people who know only what their five senses tell them.
What Jesus and his followers
knew is that every person in this life is defining their identity
exactly as they wish. God
gave to us free will which is a form of
perfect justice.
We reap what we sow.
During an early period in my marriage, when our two children were
toddlers, a young man of my acquaintance came to me with a financial
need. He had been in a car
accident and his car needed to be repaired.
It was his only source of
transportation. He did not
have the ability to get a loan at the bank unless someone co-signed.
He asked me if I would co-sign. I did as he had asked.
After he made the first two
payments, I never saw him again. He moved from our area. Being the only wage-earner with a small salary in our young
family, I had to make the payments for the next eighteen months.
Each month when I made that payment I experienced the same
emotional turmoil. I was
angry, resentful and remorseful that I had been so stupid to trust
someone that I had known for such a short time.
Finally, it dawned on me that not only had he stolen my money, he
had taken up residence in my head and also had stolen my spirit.
It was then that I realized that the price was too expensive.
I forced myself to sing each time I wrote the check.
I had finally understood the presence of the
perfect justice system.
I was going in one direction with my life and he was going in
another. I completely let
go of what he did and felt instant healing and peace. The freedom of
being able to detach from that experience was absolutely exhilarating.
Each person is judged by
a justice system that never makes a mistake.
No one gets away with anything, even their good deeds that were
done in secret. It is then
that people personalize the meaning of what Jesus taught, “Where your
treasure is, there will your hearts be also.”
(Matthew 6:21) Today, we have witnessed the same result of the transformed life
recorded by the author of Genesis when he wrote the story of the life of
Joseph. Potiphar’s wife
tried to seduce him and he refused.
She told her husband that Joseph had tried to rape her, and,
because of her accusation, Joseph was put in prison.
That imprisonment became a
stepping stone to his becoming second in command in In our day, Nelson Mandela emerged a transformed man after spending 27 years in prison. There was no remorse in him for what others had done to him. Like Joseph, Mandela’s imprisonment became a transforming experience and also like a stepping stone to becoming the President of South Africa. There can be no doubt that this perfect justice system has been in existence since the beginning of time. It was Jesus, however, that taught his followers about its presence. We judge ourselves by the choices we make. Some of us choose to
live in eternity now.
Others, who continue to sleep-walk, remain subjects of the reigning gods
of this world that are forever changing.
Jesus taught that there
is a perfect justice system
in play even when there appears to be no justice.
All of us begin life blindly
until we learn something different that takes our awareness to a new
level. Those of us who understand how to interpret the symbols of the material world know that Jesus taught us how to detach from their influence. Others engage in delaying their education in this area for as long as they wish. However, even for them, there is hope. How do we know this? There is only one way to discover our true identity and that does not come with defining ourselves by the symbols of the material world. It comes when we realize we are spirit-beings from a realm where nothing material exists. |