Unity is a community of people who…
Seek Justice
“Learn to do right, seek justice, correct the oppressor, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.”
-Isaiah 1:17
We have arrived at the final characteristic of Unity Presbyterian Church. Unity is a community of people who seek justice in the world.
Justice is the work of making things right. To seek justice is to seek a more just world.
When a situation is unjust, it means that it is unfair. I am sure that you can all think of situations where you threw up your hands and thought “That isn’t fair! This is an unjust situation!”
God has given us the ability to discern between what is right and what is wrong. We all have a strong inner desire for things to be fair.
The prophet Isaiah tells us that we must first learn to do what is right.
You may have an innate sense of right and wrong, but you must be taught how to make things right in the world.
Isaiah lists several examples of how to do what is right. This is by no means an exhaustive list. But it is an excellent starting point.
We are to seek justice.
Seek, pursue and strive to make this a more fair world. Do you see how these are action words? Seeking justice is an active process. We do not sit on the sidelines. We engage with the unjust situations of our world.
We are to correct the oppressor.
An oppressor is someone who violates another person’s rights. It is a person that oppresses and suppresses the rights of others. As Christians, we are to correct these behaviors and attitudes. We do not ignore the oppressor. We do not privately disregard the oppressor. We correct the oppressor.
We are to defend the orphan and plead for the widow.
Orphans and widows are often put in the same category in the Bible. They represent all who are vulnerable in our world. They are those who are voiceless and most at risk.
As a church, we are to be the voice for the voiceless. We are to represent the vulnerable in our community. We defend the orphan and plead the cause of the widow.
With God as our guide, may we learn to do right in this world.
This is not easy work and it is not always clearly defined work. Seeking justice is messy and challenging and exhausting.
But it is the work that God commands us to do.
This Sunday is World Communion Sunday. It is a Sunday when we celebrate the sacrament of communion with Christians all over the world. At Unity, we have highlighted the theme of peace during this service in recent years.
Justice and peace go hand in hand.
As we seek a more just world, we are acting as peacemakers. Last year we highlighted the need for peace between people. This year we will highlight the need for peace within ourselves.
I encourage you to reflect on the ways that you seek justice in your life.
Reflect, too, on the need for inner peace within yourself.
Then together, let us lift up our prayers for justice and peace to our God who cares deeply for both.
“See” you on Sunday!
-Pastor David
