Each week as we look at the means of Grace I want to begin with my short summary: the Means of Grace are those "routes" by which we encounter the grace of God and by which the grace of God encounters us. Grace is not a commodity that can be packaged and dispensed by human beings. Grace is the mysterious and wondrous love of God which is made real in our lives, forgiving and freeing us to become the persons God has designed us to be. One of God's gifts is that we have been given opportunities to participate in activities which position us to experience and be enriched by that grace. For a variety of reasons doing justice has never been an easy quest for God's people; none-the-less I hope as we look at the Biblical concept of justice we will see that it can indeed be a way of encountering the grace of God.
I want to begin with the image of Lady Justice. In one hand Lady Justice holds a scale and in the other a sword. Sometimes she is blindfolded and other times she sees clearly. The scales can represent truth and fairness, or a case's support and opposition. While a blindfold was not an original accessory of Lady Justice, it was added as a way of accentuating the ability of justice to be blind to the parties involved; in other words justice does not care about the race, social standing or connections of those seeking a ruling. The sword represented the ability of justice to deal forcefully with those who had been unjust. I offer this quick look at Lady Justice because in many ways she provides us an appropriate backdrop for looking at justice in the scriptures.
First, justice requires a set of values, norms or laws upon which judgment is to be made (the concept of the scales). Within the Judeo-Christian context justice is based on the Law of God. In the Torah God offered the world a clear image of what those values, norms and laws are. These include norms such as loving your neighbor, caring for widows and orphans, speaking the truth and respecting the life and property of others. In other words justice is supposed to help to bring about a community which reflects God's original creative purposes (human beings living in a right relationship with God, others and creation).
Second, justice is supposed to be meted out with impartiality (the concept of the blindfold). The scriptures remind us that God is "no respecter of persons." What this means is that God is concerned with the inner orientation and outer actions of persons and not with their wealth, power or social standing. The prophets were continually berating the Israelites for favoring the rich and powerful over the ordinary citizen in settling disputes. The Book of James in the New Testament carries on this tradition.
Third, justice is supposed to make things right and not merely render a verdict (the concept of the sword). The Torah makes it clear that there are consequences for not simply breaking the law, but for spoiling the set of right relationships which God desires of humanity. The Psalms remind us that God will judge the people with equity and right the wrongs that have occurred. In the end God will use God's power to put all things right.
These three factors then lead us to Justice as a Means of Grace. By doing justice we are working with God to establish the type of world God desires. In so doing we demonstrate God's gracious love for all persons. Just as service was a conduit for God's grace on an interpersonal scale, justice becomes a conduit for God's grace on a community-wide basis. Justice allows God's grace to impact entire societies and the individuals within them. When we work for justice we are experiencing God's grace in our own lives (by helping to create right relationships) and are making that grace available to others. This can be seen in the church's working to end slavery, abolish child labor, feed the hungry, provide equal rights for women and minorities along with other causes which reflect God's gracious love for the world.
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