“Justice and Witness”

by Laurel Atwood

WOMEN’S SUNDAY

FEBRUARY 17, 2002

 

 

          In 1994 when I went off to Hartford Seminary to find out exactly what it was God was calling me to do, I was an “Old Testament-hater”.  I loved the psalms, and proverbs, and the Book of Ecclesiastes, but not the rest of that stuff.  I thought prophets ran around yelling,  ‘here comes Jesus,’ and that was that.  I am a pacifist, and the ancient Hebrews were much too violent and war-like for me.  I left there an “Old Testament-lover,” a lover of the prophets and how they always reminded the people of Israel of their obligation to keep their half of the covenant God made with them.  I wrote a paper on the prophets for my Hebrew Scriptures course, and from then on, I was in love with their teachings.  So…a brief background to our reading from Micah before we consider how this idea of doing justice impacts our lives today.

          Micah is an eighth century BCE prophet who lived in the border region of the southern kingdom of Judah and espoused the tradition of his northern neighbor, Israel.  In Judah, the emphasis was on the capital, Jerusalem and there was a distinct attitude of reverence for the king.  Micah preferred the exodus tradition of the northern kingdom, which emphasized God’s redemption of the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt and the covenant it made under Moses.  The exodus tradition sympathized with the poor and the oppressed, and the freedom and justice of the exodus tradition was to be expressed in daily life.

          Micah did not find justice flourishing around him.  In fact, he found much the opposite.  He found fields coveted and seized, women and children evicted, and the covenant broken.  God calls the people to account: Micah presents the image of a court of law in which the people of Israel are being reminded of how God has guided and nurtured them and then of the ways in which they have broken the covenant.  The community as a whole is indicted, and finally one individual, asks the question that is on everyone’s mind, “So what do you want from me?” and begins to offer sacrifice after sacrifice.  The prophet steps forward and very succinctly reminds the people of Israel (and us) of what God requires: to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with our God.

Their lifestyle needed to reflect their love of God, their passion for God’s justice, and their willingness to walk with one another in faithful love and loyalty.

          It sounds easy, doesn’t it?  We are called by God, in the words of the prophet Micah, to seek justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God.  Okay, but how easy is it to do this?  Our behavior often does not reflect what we believe in our hearts.   We all love a bargain, and when we shop we rarely think about where the products we buy come from or who made them, or how the profit from their production was shared.   Doing justice requires action on our part: not just thinking about it. 

As members of God’s community, the new Israel, we are being asked to challenge our apathy, our lifestyle and our values and to hear God’s call to make a difference and change the way things are.  And this is the part that isn’t easy.

          Through my experiences with Connecticut Women of the UCC, I was introduced to the United Church of Christ’s Justice and Witness Ministry.  It looked interesting, so I went to the UCC website and got more information and became a member of the UCC Justice and Peace Action Network.  Justice and Witness is not a mission: it is not asking for monetary commitments, but rather commitments of time and energy, for being an advocate for the issues I feel are important today.  I chose this time today as the perfect moment to introduce this ministry to our own church family here at First Congregational Church of Coventry.   It is a way we can all do justice, and make our voices heard.   

          How do I get all this information?  There is a booklet published each year in March call the UCC Justice and Peace Ministry Issues Briefing Book.  In it the issues before us (which are brought before the General Synod of the UCC which meets every two years as resolutions and pronouncements which are discussed and voted on by the delegates).  With each issue are organizations for further information and persons and groups with whom you may share your views and supports.  One person is not expected to jump on the bandwagon for all issues, but to select the one or ones that are especially meaningful to her/himself and speak out in support. 

          The UCC does not endorse political candidates or make financial contributions to political causes; instead it counts on the integrity and courage of local members (that’s us) to join in concert with people of faith and conscience to write, call, e-mail and visit elected officials and publicly witness to injustice as prophetic truth-tellers.  Since Sept. 11th, most of the information received from Justice and Witness has included e-mail addresses for our lawmakers and the President:  no one wants anymore germ-spores   on their mail, so calling or e-mailing is now the preferred way to make our opinions heard.

          The Justice and Witness Ministry also sends weekly bulletins by e-mail, and a larger monthly letter by regular mail.  I plan to share these with the congregation on a bulletin board committed to Justice and Witness ministries, which will be placed in the hallway between the sanctuary and the social hall.  In the social hall today there is a display of the Justice and Witness ministries materials.  These materials include how to write a letter to a lawmaker or the President or other elected official and where to send them.  Sometimes all that is required is that we ask our lawmakers to support or vote against a bill before them; when this is the case, there is adequate explanation of the situation from the justice perspective that we know what we are asking and why. 

          Here is an example of a recent mailing I received.  It suggests that we as a congregation use these materials for a celebration of Health and Welfare Sunday on March 10th.  I opened it up and there was my face reflected on a shiny piece of foil mirror, and under it it said, “Look at the face of the next potential victim of the breakdown in the health care and social service systems” and there I was.  Yup, I thought.  It could happen to me.  What if I couldn’t work until I had 25 years so service so I could retire with health insurance?  Where would I be:  I could not afford all the medication it takes to keep me walking without insurance—what would happen to me?  Scary thought!!!

          We are asked, as a congregation, to make an endorsement supporting Health Care Access Resolution (House Concurrent Resolution 99) and fax or mail this form back to Justice and Witness Ministries.  This resolution directs Congress to enact legislation by October 2004 that provides access to comprehensive health care for all Americans.  I think we should support this resolution.  Can I have your support?

          I have learned a lot since I became involved in justice and witness.  I don’t always agree; not having to agree is a part of being UCC.  Each of us is entitled to our own opinion, which has formed from our own life experiences, and our experiences are very diverse.   (In one of the courses I took at Hartford Seminary about the sociology of congregations, everyone always said that if there was a meeting at a UCC church, and there were 12 persons present, there would be 12 different opinions.)  We can decide for ourselves what we want to support.  All the issues that face us as Christians are too numerous to mention here; there is even a process in which a congregation can officially declare itself a “Just Peace Church” and make justice and peace a center for its congregational life (two summers ago when I worshipped at the Mansfield Church it was to learn about what a Just Peace church was and how it went about doing justice—and the justice and witness folks there were really helpful—because Justice and Witness is all about sharing--letting others  know where our advocacy is needed.)

          Let me close with this quote from The Reverend Noelle Damico in her preface to the 2001 Issues briefing book:

          “Throughout his ministry, Jesus Christ resisted religious taboos,

          political rhetoric, or social conventions that demeaned, excluded,

          or disenfranchised the poor to whom he was bringing “good news.”

          We are called to do likewise.  One arena where we can have a

          tremendous impact is that of public policy which shapes so much

          of our culture and economic life as a nation and as a world.”

Let us pray:  Mighty and loving God, open our ears and our hearts to the words you spoke through your prophet Micah so many years ago which were reiterated in the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Help us to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly and closely by your side. 

Amen.