Justice and Worship

You have made the moon to mark the seasons;

the sun knows its time for setting.

You make darkness, and it is night,

when all the animals of the forest come creeping out.

The young lions roar for their prey,

seeking their food from God.

When the sun rises, they withdraw

and lie down in their dens.

People go out to their work

and to their labor until the evening.

(Psalm 104:19-23)

"Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, 'If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.' Jesus answered him, 'It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’'"  (Luke 4:1-4)

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted…” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2)

There is a coastal village just north of Mombasa in Kenya. For generations, the mangrove forests there have created a habitat for fish that has provided food and income for the people of the village. Today that way of life is threatened, as mangroves have become an important source of another commodity in Kenya: fuel.

I have a prayer.  

The most intense week of my life started when I entered a classroom for a one week course. The course was named “Exploring Indigenous Justice and Healing”, taught by Rupert Ross and offered through the Canadian School of Peacebuilding. I had read his book “Returning to the Teachings” a few years before and it had stuck with me. I was excited to hear more as I am in the field of reconciliation and justice.

So then, a sabbath rest still remains for the people of God; for those who enter God's rest also cease from their labors as God did from his. (Hebrews 4:9-10)

It's Wednesday. Which is not our Sabbath day. But I find myself thinking about Sabbath on this Wednesday anyway - which seems fitting. Sabbath isn't, after all, really about one of the seven days. It's not really about which day during the week we don't mow our lawn or avoid shopping malls. Sabbath isn't really about piety at all.

Speak out, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy. (Proverbs 31:9)

In the month of April 2013, the community of Kijabe, Kenya received rainfall levels equal to their total average annual rainfall. This extreme rain event reached a climax at the end of the month, when the saturated land could hold no longer, and a massive mudslide ripped through the village, killing three children in its wake.

“But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream.” (Amos 5:24)

God requires justice from his people – and not just a little drip of it here and there, but a rushing flow, a river of it that cleanses, renews and refreshes. Justice is a life-force that soaks into parched hearts and communities bringing with it peace, renewal, shalom.

We must have water to live. We must have justice to live the way God requires.

Join us as we ponder the connections between Christ's walk to the cross, our mortality and sin, and creation's limitations. 

Schimmel, you fiend, you barely gave me a chance to supervise this one! You just learned of this Kelly, assessed her progress towards a life of justice as discipleship, and have already steered her off the path.

The following prayers and litanies are only a sample of the resources available from the new Refugee Justice toolkit. Want more? You can find sermon examples, children's messages, children's books, Sunday school plans, film discussion questions, and much more in the toolkit. And coming soon, a 90-minute workshop! 

For the Courage to Do Justice