And yet is that worse? To
look suffering in the eyes and then turn away? I saw and yet I did nothing -
what does that show to them?- Mallory Moench
Thus
says the Lord: “Maintain justice, and do what is right, for soon my salvation
will come and my deliverance be revealed
Thus says the Christian: “God
blesses me because I’m right. I’d better rape and pillage the earth as fast I
can, for Jesus is coming back soon!”
Isaiah clearly demands that
followers of God have an outward focus. Today, with our wide array of mass
media, it is almost impossible to not see the massive injustices that are being
committed around the world. Yet we sit in our churches staring into mirrors,
congratulating ourselves on how holy and righteous we are. We know that we will
be going to heaven, so we stare into the sky, waiting for the Parousia. God in
his mercy sees us failing to do justice, even though it is in our faces
constantly, so he brings opportunities right to our doorways, that even we
filthy sinners should not be able to miss.
“My
house shall be a house of prayer,” quotes the pastor as he bars the door to the
church. Outside, the homosexual, the refugee and the recovering alcoholic look
at each other and say, “The Lord has surely separated us from his people.” The
pastor peers out the window of his office at those whom he has just banished
and congratulates himself on maintaining the purity of the Church; he did not
profane the Lord’s Sabbath. In reality, he is blind and without knowledge. He
pours himself a mug of ‘fair-trade’ coffee and thinks that “tomorrow will be
like today, great beyond measure.”
“My
salvation is coming soon…” It is interesting how ‘happy’ we mortals can make
ourselves, even when we fail to maintain justice and do what is right.
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