Sermon 08/15/10
Psalm 82
|
by Rev Rick Yramategui "Compassion, no matter how immediately necessary or profoundly human, cannot substitute for justice, for the right of all to equal dignity and integrity of life. Those who live by compassion are often canonized. Those who live by justice are often crucified." -John Dominic Crossan In Dominic Crossan's opinion, Psalm 82 is the most important scripture in the Bible because it so clearly reveals the character of God. The psalmist imagines a gathering of all the gods in which Yahweh accuses them of divine malfeasance. They didn't give justice to the people who were the most vulnerable and powerless. Last week's lesson focused on the prophet Isaiah's critique of the priests, the people and the sacrifice rituals performed at the temple. They were a burden to God because the people were not doing justice to the widows and the orphans. Another Lectionary text for today, Jeremiah 23:23-32, condemns the prophets who claim to have visionary dreams yet lead people astray from the true character and nature of God. In our Psalm for today it is the gods themselves who are deemed false because they have not done justice. Seems like everybody's getting a piece of this pie! Perhaps we should begin by gathering together all of our lesser gods. Who would they be? Power would have to be on the guest list. Wealth, too. How about security? What about retribution? What are the things we strive for that we think will make us feel better? What are the things we avoid because we fear them? Let's gather all of these gods together and ask them, "How have you done justice?" How have you served the people most in need of divine help? How long will you continue to rule? How long will we continue to allow you to take the place of the God of justice? Our lives are far too short to spend our days serving lesser gods. There are many opportunities we have today to make the world a more just, more egalitarian place. In the news this week has been the issue of marriage equality for same-sex couples, the immigration issue (particularly in light of Arizonaës recent law), the right of Muslims in New York City to build a community center. Also fresh on our minds is the BP oil spill and the many injustices to the people and all life living in the Gulf of Mexico that this environmental disaster has wrought. There is no shortage of opportunities to do justice. But first let us consider the character of God. The character of a God who created the world and blessed it. A God who initiated a covenantal relationship with Abraham. A God who liberated a people who were enslaved in Egypt and led them into freedom. A God who deepened the covenant through the Mosaic Law and the words of prophets. A God who throughout history has heard the cries of the oppressed. Crossan writes, The Hebrew tradition did not proclaim philosophical manifestos about equality. But without that as its deep presumption, its words and deeds against the growth of inequality make no sense. The problem is, of course, that when God is revealed by freeing doomed slaves from imperial control, the future is set on a collision course with domination, oppression, and exploitation - even when those actions are exercised by a people on itself. In the biblical texts, accusations of injustice are made against the rich and powerful within Judaism itself. That is because Jews were then in charge of their own people and land. In the postbiblical texts, accusations of injustice are made against the pagan nations, the great empires, and the imperial gods. That is because they were then in charge of the Jewish people and the Jewish land. But what is always at stake is the Jewish God of justice, who stands against injustice, against unjust individuals, against unjust empires, and against unjust gods. Justice as equality is demanded not just by God's decree but by God's character, and it is up to human beings to figure out how that works in practice. Crossan, THE BIRTH OF CHRISTIANITY, p. 184 I believe that God's character is justice because that is where God's passion is. God is passionately involved in the movements of liberation, freedom, and equality within human history. These movements toward justice are profoundly spiritual movements and they are biblical movements. They reveal a God who journeys with us in exodus and exile, in covenant and in homecoming. This is God in which all belong because the well-being of all is nurtured. And it is up to us to work together with God to bring justice to the human community and to creation. How else can we live with a God of justice and liberation in a world of injustice and oppression? We will not find in the Bible texts that speak unambiguously to modern day controversies like marriage equality, freedom of choice, atomic energy, global warming, cloning, etc. But what we do find in the Bible is a God whose nature and character is revealed throughout our history and while we may want things to be a little more cut and dry when it comes to hot-button issues, I find it more profoundly comforting to know that in our time in history today we have a God of justice walking beside us. Who knows what the next challenge will be? Yet we can live in confidence and hope because we live, move and have our being in a God of justice. Thanks be to God! Psalm 82 God has taken a place in the divine council; In the midst of the gods Yahweh holds judgment: "How long will you judge unjustly And show partiality to the wicked? Give justice to the weak and the orphan; Maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; Deliver them from the hand of the wicked." They have neither knowledge nor understanding, They walk around in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are shaken. I say, "You are gods, Children of the Most High, all of you; Nevertheless, you shall die like mortals, And fall like any prince." Rise up, O God, judge the earth; For all the nations belong to you. |
Copyright © 2010, the Reverend Rick Yramategui, All Rights Reserved