Life isn’t fair. No one ever promised us it would be. Certainly not Jesus.
In Matthew 20, we find the parable of the workers. Jesus tells the story of a landowner who hired laborers to work in his vineyard. The landowner begins recruiting workers in the early morning, offering a standard daily rate of one denarius (a standard silver coin in the Roman empire). He continues to hire men throughout the day and when it comes time to pay his workers, the ones that were first hired were upset that the workers who got hired later in the day got the same payment as those who had worked all day. “This isn’t fair!”, they grumbled. “We worked all day long in the scorching heat and they only worked part of the day. Why do they get the same pay as we do?” Clearly they felt the situation was unjust and they wanted the landowner to make things right. They were screaming for justice. But what IS “justice”?
Author and activist Shane Claiborne connects biblical justice with righteousness:
“The word “justice” gets abused and misused. People demand “justice” all the time but have very different things in mind as they call for it. It has been so misrepresented that justice itself might do well to find some new lawyers; it needs better representation.
For starters, the word for “justice” in the Bible is the same word as “righteousness.” This overlap shows that the central concern of biblical justice was not “getting what you deserve”; rather, it was making right what was done wrong, restoring what had been destroyed, healing the wounds of an offensive act. It was about bringing balance and wholeness back to the community, which is why you often see scales as an icon for justice.
But the scales can be misleading, since it is not just about balance or even “eye for an eye” justice. Real justice goes much deeper. One of my friends who is a biblical scholar says the best contemporary translation for the ancient notion of “justice/righteousness” is “restorative justice.”
But restorative justice isn’t what I see most people demanding these days. They are after retributive justice. They want to see punishment more than rehabilitation. But that’s just not what Jesus modeled.”[1]
Sister Mary Katherine Birge offers examples of ways Jesus enacted restorative justice:
“The kingdom of God that Jesus taught, preached, and enacted during his ministry … begins from a conviction that God’s deepest hope for humanity—that we live with God and with one another in relationships that are just—is possible.…
Jesus lives, teaches, preaches, and demonstrates to all who are willing to listen to him this same kingdom of God, the image of shalom [wholeness, harmony, and peace]. Through his own hospitality and openness to the alien and the enemy ... [and] to those who would put him to death ..., [Jesus] makes it possible for others to join him in building the kingdom of God, building shalom, in the present age.…” [2]
My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world (John 18:36)
The way of Jesus is countercultural. His gospel certainly isn’t based on what’s fair. The way of Jesus is a gospel of simplicity, kindness, humility, and identification with human suffering, not in power, weaponry, or status. Jesus preached that the first would be last and the last would be first, leaders would be servants, the humble would inherit the earth and enemies would be loved. It is an upside-down kingdom for sure compared to what most of the world values today. Maybe it’s not fair, but I’ve definitely had an abundance of grace and mercy dished out to me in unfair measures in my lifetime, so maybe I’m ok with “unfair”. ;-)
Speaking of justice/injustice, the Israel/Palestine conflict has been heartbreaking this last week. The violence is horrific to hear about and see on news and social media. It’s truly hard to fathom the deep hate that would have to exist for that level of brutality to go on. I pray for all Jewish people and their loved ones. I know many of them are very scared. One of my dearest friends is Jewish. According to my recent Ancestry.com DNA results, apparently I am part Jewish myself (only 6%, but it’s definitely in there!). I have other Jewish friends who I’ve spoken with who are very worried about the future. They feel targeted and I can’t blame them.
I also pray for the innocent Palestinians who are being slaughtered. What Hamas is doing is evil. I pray they are stopped quickly and all the hostages are retrieved unharmed. I posted something this week on my social medias and got accused of “bothsideism” because I wasn’t taking a strong enough stand in support of either Israel or Palestine. I have been researching the situation, it is clear to me that it is deeply complicated. So the only stand I can take is that I hate to see violence as the only means to an end, because innocent people are being killed - and that seems to be where both sides are right now.
*For a pretty detailed, but easy to read article on the background of this war between Israel and Palestine, this article might help: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/13/why-israel-palestine-conflict-history
Jesus said if we live by the sword, we die by the sword. Jesus said love your enemies. Jesus said turn the other cheek. Does that mean we don’t have the right to defend ourselves or our country from an attack by an enemy? I personally think we DO have that right. If someone comes at me or someone I love with a sword, I will draw mine to defend what I hold dear. Does that mean I should launch a counter-attack the next day to try and kill those who tried to kill me the day before? That, I’m not sure about. Does it mean it’s ok to kill other innocent people in my attempt to kill those who want to harm me and those I love? That seems like a hard no. Or at least I believe Jesus would say it’s a hard no.
So what is the answer? I wish I knew. Jews have been persecuted far too much and Israelis have a right to exist in peace. So do Palestinians. The history is long and complex. People have been sending me articles to help me understand, but gosh - so many of them appear to be written from only one perspective. They mostly seem to be defending the right to engage in Retributive Justice instead of offering a path toward the Restorative Justice of Shalom and that is what I’m praying for daily.
One thing I do know, as this war continues, the need for humanitarian support has become more urgent on both sides of the border.
If you are looking for ways to help those who have been affected in Israel, here is a trusted source from the Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville: https://www.jewishnashville.org/israelfund
And for other options to help the injured in Israel and Gaza, this article gives a bunch of organizations who have feet on the ground: https://abcnews.go.com/International/victims-deadly-israel-hamas-conflict/story?id=103887734#:~:text=American%20Red%20Cross,providing%20medical%20aid%20in%20Gaza.
I’ll close by sharing this article that a friend sent me, written by a brigade operations command officer in the I.D.F. reserves who was on his way to fight for Israel. I felt it shed some light on this complex situation.
“I’m going to war for Israel. Palestinians are not my enemy.”
His last paragraph says: “At the end, after all of the dead Israelis and Palestinians are buried, after we have finished washing away the rivers of blood, the people who share a home in this land will have to understand that there is no other choice but to follow the path of peace. That is where true victory lies.” [3]
I believe that is what Jesus was trying to teach us with his words, his actions, his life, and even with his death. True victory lies in peace for us all. That is my prayer. How we will get there, I don’t know, but I remain hopeful that somehow, someway, Jesus’ work of Shalom will come.
Written with love… Marcia
References:
[1] Shane Claiborne, Executing Grace: How the Death Penalty Killed Jesus and Why It’s Killing Us (San Francisco, CA: HarperOne, 2016), 249–250.
[2] Mary Katherine Birge, “Jesus, the Kingdom of God, and Restorative Justice,” in Redemption and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Restorative Justice, ed. Trudy D. Conway, David Matzko McCarthy, Vicki Schieber (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2017), 104, 105–106.
[3] Nir Avishai Cohen, “I’m going to war for Israel. Palestinians are not my enemy”. New York Times Opinion Piece 10/13/2023
[1] and [2] borrowed directly from: https://cac.org/daily-meditations/jesus-work-of-shalom-2023-08-21/