Let Justice Roll Down Like Waters
“I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe.” Once again, those haunting, pitiful, powerful words [from the lips of George Floyd] come back to remind us that we live in an unjust, violent society where the life of a helpless black man can be snuffed out without due process – or any process at all. Like a dog. Well, not like a dog, because killing animals actually invokes howls of protest throughout society, whereas killing black men without just cause seems to have become commonplace. The suspicion (and attendant danger) attached to black men engaged in everyday activities by authorities was once called driving while black, then jogging while black. Now, I guess it should be called breathing while black. People of God, we must stand up and take our rightful place as leaders in the fight for justice, speaking out and doing what we can in a tangible way to declare that “Enough is Enough!”
Our Sunday School lessons have been timely, revealing how the Lord hates injustice and expects his people to fight against it. The prophet Amos cried out “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness as a mighty stream!” His cry was a wake-up call which is just as timely now as it was then. Injustice is rampant. When vigilante executions take place and the perpetrators are not even arrested until the video goes viral – that’s injustice. When people of color are shot in their own residences because of someone else’s mistake and the killer walks – that’s injustice. When innocent folk are interrogated and arrested just because they are in a certain space and it makes the “Karens” of the world uncomfortable – that’s injustice. It’s all around. Well, it’s time to speak up and help right the wrongs that we see or experience. As Martin Luther King said “a threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” That which you ignore in the streets will soon show up in the suites. Right now, it may seem to just be a problem over there, but you better believe it will soon show up over here (at your doorstep).
Many are expressing their frustrations by taking to the streets, some in peaceful protests, some, well. . . not so peaceful. Terrence Floyd, brother of George, said through tears, “you have protests, you destroy stuff; they want us to destroy ourselves…let’s do this another way!” He has a point. We’ve had riots and marches and town halls before. Yet, we seem to find ourselves right back at the same place with the same concerns, asking the same questions. So, in the words of Terrence Floyd, “let’s switch it up,” do some things which might take us a little further down the road to what we really desire: justice for all and equal protection under the law. Here are some suggestions:
1. Write (or email) your local and state representatives to demand legislation requiring that police officers wear and activate body cameras during all encounters;
2. Propose and help organize workshops for our youth on staying alive during encounters with police and effective methods for reporting and protesting rouge police behavior, regardless of the interaction level;
3. Speak up when you see or experience injustice. Don’t turn a blind eye and deaf ear to injustice on the job, in the grocery store, at school. If injustice doesn’t bother you on a “small” scale, then your outrage when it occurs on a large scale may ring a little hollow;
4. Register and vote;
5. Do something – maybe organize a day, week or month long “Buy Black” campaign --to demonstrate and advance economic empowerment;
6. Establish a Justice Fund at your church or send money to organizations dedicated to fighting for justice.
Whatever you do, be sure to bathe it in prayer. I didn’tlist prayer as a step because it’s not a step; it’s a practice (and lifestyle) which is the key to any successful undertaking. It’s where you start, maintainand finish. Any effort undertaken without invoking the Holy Spirit for guidance will be futile, a waste of time, energy and resources. But if we humble ourselves and pray, seek God’s face, turn from our wicked ways, God will hear from heaven and heal our land. Action without prayer is futile; prayer without action is falling short of what the Lord would have us do. We must pray as if everything depended on God and work as if everything depended on us.
Of course, our ultimate example is Jesus; he who perfectly embodied and demonstrated what it means to “let justice roll down.” Bringing the oasis of God’s kingdom to fruition in the desert of a fallen world, Jesus advocated for the poor, disenfranchised and outcasts of society. But he didn’t stop there. Our Lord and Savior “turned the tables” (literally and figuratively) on the self-righteous ruling class, putting himself and his followers in harm’s way for the sake of the kingdom and “the least of these.” He pointedly chastised rulers for ignoring weightier matters of the law, including justice and mercy. Matthew 23:23. So here’s the charge: empowered by the Holy Spirit, let us glorify God by exposing and eradicating injustice whenever and wherever it may be found – just as Jesus did. Let’s start where we are, use what we have and do what we can. The God of Justice that we serve will surely do the rest.
Bishop H. Vonzell Castilla
Our Sunday School lessons have been timely, revealing how the Lord hates injustice and expects his people to fight against it. The prophet Amos cried out “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness as a mighty stream!” His cry was a wake-up call which is just as timely now as it was then. Injustice is rampant. When vigilante executions take place and the perpetrators are not even arrested until the video goes viral – that’s injustice. When people of color are shot in their own residences because of someone else’s mistake and the killer walks – that’s injustice. When innocent folk are interrogated and arrested just because they are in a certain space and it makes the “Karens” of the world uncomfortable – that’s injustice. It’s all around. Well, it’s time to speak up and help right the wrongs that we see or experience. As Martin Luther King said “a threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” That which you ignore in the streets will soon show up in the suites. Right now, it may seem to just be a problem over there, but you better believe it will soon show up over here (at your doorstep).
Many are expressing their frustrations by taking to the streets, some in peaceful protests, some, well. . . not so peaceful. Terrence Floyd, brother of George, said through tears, “you have protests, you destroy stuff; they want us to destroy ourselves…let’s do this another way!” He has a point. We’ve had riots and marches and town halls before. Yet, we seem to find ourselves right back at the same place with the same concerns, asking the same questions. So, in the words of Terrence Floyd, “let’s switch it up,” do some things which might take us a little further down the road to what we really desire: justice for all and equal protection under the law. Here are some suggestions:
1. Write (or email) your local and state representatives to demand legislation requiring that police officers wear and activate body cameras during all encounters;
2. Propose and help organize workshops for our youth on staying alive during encounters with police and effective methods for reporting and protesting rouge police behavior, regardless of the interaction level;
3. Speak up when you see or experience injustice. Don’t turn a blind eye and deaf ear to injustice on the job, in the grocery store, at school. If injustice doesn’t bother you on a “small” scale, then your outrage when it occurs on a large scale may ring a little hollow;
4. Register and vote;
5. Do something – maybe organize a day, week or month long “Buy Black” campaign --to demonstrate and advance economic empowerment;
6. Establish a Justice Fund at your church or send money to organizations dedicated to fighting for justice.
Whatever you do, be sure to bathe it in prayer. I didn’tlist prayer as a step because it’s not a step; it’s a practice (and lifestyle) which is the key to any successful undertaking. It’s where you start, maintainand finish. Any effort undertaken without invoking the Holy Spirit for guidance will be futile, a waste of time, energy and resources. But if we humble ourselves and pray, seek God’s face, turn from our wicked ways, God will hear from heaven and heal our land. Action without prayer is futile; prayer without action is falling short of what the Lord would have us do. We must pray as if everything depended on God and work as if everything depended on us.
Of course, our ultimate example is Jesus; he who perfectly embodied and demonstrated what it means to “let justice roll down.” Bringing the oasis of God’s kingdom to fruition in the desert of a fallen world, Jesus advocated for the poor, disenfranchised and outcasts of society. But he didn’t stop there. Our Lord and Savior “turned the tables” (literally and figuratively) on the self-righteous ruling class, putting himself and his followers in harm’s way for the sake of the kingdom and “the least of these.” He pointedly chastised rulers for ignoring weightier matters of the law, including justice and mercy. Matthew 23:23. So here’s the charge: empowered by the Holy Spirit, let us glorify God by exposing and eradicating injustice whenever and wherever it may be found – just as Jesus did. Let’s start where we are, use what we have and do what we can. The God of Justice that we serve will surely do the rest.
Bishop H. Vonzell Castilla