“Keep justice and do righteousness.” Those two things always go hand in hand or we
become Pharisees. Forgetting justice was
and is the sin of the Pharisee, it is an inward curve of the heart towards
self. justice is something we do for
others but justice must be done with righteousness in mind to define it. The Law said that there was one law in the
land for natives and foreigners alike which made it different from other
nations at the time. Here, the
announcement is made that even eunuchs could be included in the covenant, those
who have no remaining ability to carry the sign of the covenant of circumcision
in their flesh. They and foreigners who
keep covenant in the Name of the Lord can and will be gathered into the
covenant community. For this reason,
Israel and we in the church should be careful to keep justice not only for
members of the community but for those who are potentially members of it, which
includes every person. Now, we have to
determine the meaning of justice in a way that is true justice, it has to also
be righteousness, the definition has to be found in the Word not in the
world. Some things the world calls
justice are to be left alone by Christians and others demand our
participation.
Moses and Elijah represent the Law and the prophets and
Jesus eclipses both these men. The
disciples see Jesus talking with them as He is transfigured and I wonder how
they recognized the two. At any rate,
Peter suggests making three tents, one for each of the three men, a place apart
from the world and when he does, the moment is over, a cloud descends and Jesus
stands alone and the voice comes from heaven declaring Him to be the Son and
the command is given to listen to Him.
Jesus always balanced justice and righteousness, the Law and the
prophets. He healed on the Sabbath,
setting God’s people’s wholeness above the tradition of what it meant to keep
Sabbath. Justice, loving the image of
God before you, was the higher form of righteousness. He healed and hung out with Gentiles, tax collectors
and sinners but never forgot righteousness, calling them to truth about both
sin and a holy God.
How can we keep justice and do righteousness? Paul gives the answer, live by the Spirit and
don’t gratify the desires of the flesh.
Sometimes what we think of as justice is nothing more than a way to
gratify the desires of the flesh. We
want and when our wants are frustrated
they are so powerful that we think now that it is a matter of justice to
gratify them. We can’t live without them therefore it must be wrong to deny
them to ourselves or others. Paul is
clear that these must be dealt with in our own lives. If we know what righteousness and experience
the reality that the Spirit is given to allow us to live above the level of
desire when desire conflicts with God’s way then we know that these things are
not matters of justice to keep for others, they need the Spirit as well. The Spirit is more than the power to quell
our desires, self-control, however, the fruits of the Spirit aren’t to help us
grit our teeth and win that battle, they set us free to love and live in peace
and joy. Jesus lived without sinning,
but He showed us the way to live with joy as well.
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