“Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.” (Isaiah 1:17)
What does it mean to seek justice? How can we do what the prophet Isaiah heard from God? The definition of justice, according to the website Legalbrief is “treating people fairly and ensuring that everyone is held accountable for their actions. It embodies the idea that laws should protect individuals from harm and provide a way to address grievances when they occur.”
So, when we seek justice, we should be looking for fairness and accountability for all. Sometimes it seems though that if we want to seek justice through legal means it can be a lengthy, and expensive, matter and perhaps that might be why sometimes people choose to take seeking justice into their own hands, which can lead to devasting outcomes.
It can be easy for what we might think of as justice, to become revenge. Revenge can be caused by emotional, rather than rational thought. Justice is not about “getting even”, it’s about righting a wrong, in line with what most people would see as incorrect. Revenge is personal, whereas justice is impartial. Revenge can often become repetitive, as the different sides in an argument try to out-do one another. We can see this within the gang environment in places around our country and the wider world – as each gang looks to get revenge for the previous action of the other side, often escalating the violence and terror for families and others in their community. It is also in evidence in the wars going on in our world today. As Israel and Iran have recently traded missile attacks, in retaliation against one another, we have seen the effect it has had on the civilian population in the inevitable fallout of their actions.
As we come towards the time of Advent, we may hear these words in church…
“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine… For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity.” (Isaiah 9: 2, 6-7)
And there it is … the Messiah will rule with fairness and justice. He will bring justice not revenge, fairness not partiality. In following Jesus, we should seek our justice through him, doing what he would do and knowing that all the justice we might seek is right there in his hands.
Catherine Booton
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