Justice is the concept of things being right, or as they should be. This means ultimately that things are aligned with God’s character and intention for that thing. One time when I was driving my car it all of a sudden lost all electrical power. The engine still ran, but things were not working as they should. After taking it to the shop, it turned out that the bracket holding the alternator had broken, and because of this there was no electricity being generated. To remedy this a new bracket was installed and the car ran great! (until it got totalled in an accident just a few months later). When things are put as they should be, things operate correctly.
This principle works on a larger scale as well. Our world has a lot that is wrong with it. Sin has wrecked havoc on not just persons, but on the planet itself. We are broken, lost and in need of help; physically, emotionally & most importantly spiritually. This core concept of love-driven justice is not just a key distinctive of the Free Methodist tradition, but of the Gospel itself. Through Jesus, the world is being put right by His work on the cross, and the subsequent process of His church operating in the world through the power of the Holy Spirit.
As Kingdom people, we are called to be conduits of God’s justice in the world. To be workers who operate in, and towards God’s good intention for His creation. This means acting justly towards other persons, living creatures & the planet. The challenge with this is of course with everything else that we often confuse and syncretize the way of the world with our well-intentioned pursuits. And yet, with God’s help, we will be agents of God’s Kingdom, representing a truly just way of living in our world.
The Book of Common Prayer is a transformative tool in our worship in regards to the concept of love-driven justice. As we have already spoken of, the concept of confession before God and extending peace to our neighbor is front and center. We must first always realize our own need for God’s love and grace to be transformed from our brokenness into the fullness of life that is only found in Him.
Secondly, the Book of Common Prayer through a variety of prayers and canticles calls us from where we have encountered Christ (through His Word, and in the Sacrament), to go into the world,
“And now, Father, send us out to do the work you have given us to do, to love and serve you as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord.” – Post Communion Prayer
We must always have this two-fold perspective if we are to correctly extend God’s justice in a loving way in our world. We must always remember our need for His help, and then we can be empowered and equipped to extend that to those around us. The BCP provides not just the words, but the framework to understand that process in our own lives. When we fail to do this (as we all have done), we begin to put the cart before the horse, and the culmination of God’s justice through the work of Jesus Christ in His death & resurrection becomes a bludgeon by which we clobber others into our picture of what everything is supposed to look like.
Rather, love-driven justice is a call to walk humbly, and act through the ultimate work of justice, which was our atonement through Christ on the cross. Any version of justice that never offers absolution represents injustice because there is an implicit denial of Christ’s final sacrifice for all. At the same time we must also hold to the reality that the work Christ does is us and does not stay in us. That work is done so that we go out and do the work He has called us to. Being His hands and feet in our communities extends His truth, love & justice to those who need it the most.
Almighty God, you created us in your own image: Grant us grace to contend fearlessly against evil and to make no peace with oppression; and help us to use our freedom rightly in the establishment of justice in our communities and among the nations, to the glory of your holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. – Prayer for Social Justice, BCP 2019