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Social justice
A talk by Michael j. Spoula
2004 Version

Prayer: The Social Justice Our Father by Michael J. Spoula

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name

Let my life glorify your holy name.

Thy Kingdom Come,

Help me build your kingdom using the bricks and mortar of love by
serving my brothers and sisters.

Thy will be done

Your will is that we love one another, Gracious Father let me surrender
your will.

On earth as it is in heaven
Help me use your grace so that I may be your hands and feet in this
wonderful garden we call Earth in which you have placed me.

Give us this day our daily bread

Strengthen my weak knees and my tired arms so I may tirelessly serve
you through those that need my help.

And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass

against us,
For we have all sinned against you Lord and we are already forgiven by
you. Let us learn how to forgive those who are not perfect in our eyes, let
us see them instead with your eyes and treat those people with the same
compassion and mercy you have already treated us with,

And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil

For all on heaven and on earth, in the sky and below are yours, teach us
to share and love the children you call our Brothers and Sisters. Amen.

Tonight our topic is social justice. It is good that we speak of this topic

before you make your final decision to enter the church or not. A word of

warning here. What we are talking about is not necessarily Catholic

Doctrine, it is Christian Doctrine. Many of the concepts cross the line

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from the Church to the denominations. So in general no matter which

brand of Christianity you embrace, your responsibilities will be

remarkably the same. Why should we as individuals be concerned with

social justice? We human beings are social animals. Whatever we do

has an effect on the rest of human kind. We make choices in our life and

we tread down paths of our own choosing. We can tread the road of a

Hitler or a Stalin and bring misery and suffering to the world or we can

choose the path of Mother Teresa and bring relief to untold thousands of

people by what we do and say. As a social animal we interact with one

another so the consequences of our actions, good or bad, are never in a

vacuum. The Church consists of those of us here on earth, sometimes

called the Church Militant, those members in Purgatory and those in the

bliss of heaven, sometimes called the Church Triumphant. We are one

community that stretches from the beginning of the human race until

the end of it sometime in the near or distant future. Our actions have

affects on all three communities. Think of our actions as if they were a

rock being thrown into a quiet pond. The rock hit’s the water and from

the epicenter the ripples go out, one after another, and each ripple, no

matter how tiny has some effect on the whole. This is a key concept

because it introduces our responsibility to one another. If what we do or

say has an effect on others, then it is our duty as a professed follower of

Christ to be sure that what we do matches what we claim to be. A

second question we must answer is; what in fact is justice? Is justice

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just what is “fair?” Is it fair, for example that in the United States we

pay about $1.75 for a gallon of gasoline, and we fill our tanks with only a

couple of hours worth of our labor, while it takes the citizens of Japan or

Europe an entire day’s labor to purchase as much gas as we bought.

Our justice has to go beyond what is fair. The Christian symbol for

justice cannot wear a blindfold for we must have sharp eyes to see what

is going on in the world around us. Justice then, will entail for a

Christian person an element of self sacrifice. Ouch! Self sacrifice is not a

concept that sits well with us Americans. We need to watch and not only

wait for ways to help our fellow humans. We Christians must search

them out as well. This is our right and duty as adopted sons and

daughters of the King. We are together a community of saints and a

community of sinners. What makes us saints is the death of Jesus on

the cross. What makes us sinners are the ways we fail to return that

love to Him. I think social justice constitutes the fine print of being a

Catholic Christian. I want to caution you here. When we are speaking of

integrating social justice into our life, we must not confuse the work we

do with “requirements to get into heaven.” Salvation is pure gift which

was paid for when Jesus died on the cross (“Father, Forgive them.”) The

gift was confirmed when Jesus rose on the third day. No, our labors

cannot purchase heaven for us. So then why do we care about Social

Justice at all? We care because we are Christians and again, it is our

right and duty to share the love we have been given with others. We do
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this not in the hope of some pie in the sky reward, no, we do it because

we have brought God into the center of our being and have become so in

love with him that we want to do these things. So it does matter why we

do things. If we do things expecting a reward, our work will become

burdensome and hard for we are taking it all upon our shoulders. We

become not sons and daughters of God the Father, but mere hirelings

working for a wage. On the other hand if our work springs from love of

God then our ministry will refresh us as we work at it. Sure, we will be

tired and sometimes even discouraged. But always the grace of God will

renew our spirit as we pray and place our ministries in His loving hands.

We will touch the “why” again in a few moments but first let’s here what

the Church thinks about social justice.

Pope John Paul II

“If you want peace work for Justice”

The Book of Micah 6:8

“Act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with your God…”

The U.S. Council of Bishops

“Catholicism does not call us to abandon the world but to help shape it.

This does not mean leaving worldly tasks and responsibilities but

transforming them…Social justice and the common good are built up or

down day by day in the countless decisions and choices we make.”

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Pope John Paul II

“For the Catholic faithful the commitment to build peace and justice is

not secondary but essential.”

The U.S. Catholic Bishops

“Being a believer mans that one lives a certain way - walking with the

Lord, doing justice, loving kindness and living peaceably among all

people. Christian discipleship means practicing what Jesus preached.”

The Book of Sirach 18:25

Remember the time of hunger in the time of plenty, poverty in the day of

wealth.

Pope John Paul II

“Radical changes in world politics leave America with a heightened

responsibility to be for the world an example of a genuinely free,

democratic, just and humane society. From salvation history we learn

that power is responsibility: it is service, not privilege, Its exercise is

morally justifiable when it is used for the good of all, when it is sensitive

to the needs of the poor and defenseless. America first proclaimed its

independence on the basis of self evident truths, America will remain a

beacon of freedom for the world as long as it stands by those moral

truths which are the very heart of its historical experience. And so
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America: If you want peace, work for justice. If you want justice, defend

life. If you want life, embrace the truth, the truth revealed by God.”

The Letter of James 2: 14-18

My brothers, what good is it to profess faith without practicing it? Such

faith has no power to save one has it? If a brother or sister has nothing

to wear and no food for the day and you say to them: “Good bye and good

luck! Keep warm and well fed” but do not meet their bodily needs what

good is that? So it is with faith that does nothing in practice. It is

thoroughly lifeless. To such a person one might say “You have faith and

I have work, is that it?” Show me your faith without works, and I will

show you the faith that underlies my works.”

So there we have some quotes from the Old Testament, New Testament

and the Church. There is a common thread that runs through all of

them. There is a common fabric, a seamless garment that the church

wears when teaching on social justice. The church is the defender of the

poor and vulnerable. In our own times we can hear her speak out loud

and long on the injustices of abortion and euthanasia. She speaks about

bringing people of all races, countries, languages, genders and cultures

together. She takes unpopular stands on different topics simply because

she knows right from wrong. Fashions in public opinion come and go.

The Church has been around for almost two thousand years and in spite
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of bad popes, in spite of misguided clergy, in spite of the scandals of the

moment, she has always embraced a single ethic in her teaching. Life is

sacred. We are God’s children, yellow, black, red, white or brown. We

are all the same in God’s eyes. Carl Sagan, an atheist who is now

deceased once said something that I have always remembered. He said

that the universe is infinitely large and this being the case, any one spot

in it is just the same as any other, equally distant from the end of the

universe. So it is with us. Each of us, the good, the bad, the ugly, when

compared with the goodness and love of God fall far short. With this

common failing in mind, I claim that we need to be generous with our

forgiveness of one another because the Father has forgiven us much. We

need to serve one another because Jesus served us by stepping from

eternity into time, living among us, serving us and then suffering the fate

of all humans, he dies and he died for each of us. While he was on earth

Jesus walked not as a God, but as a servant. He worked hard at serving

all. At the very end of his life he ministered to his apostles by taking the

form of a slave. He bent down and tenderly washed their feet. It was a

final service to them and a final reminder to them of what they were to

do. They were to serve. They were to serve the lowliest one.

John 13: 1 - 15

Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world
to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end. The devil had
already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over. So, during supper,
fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from
God and was returning to God, 4 he rose from supper and took off his outer garments.
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He took a towel and tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and
began to wash the disciples' feet and dry them with the towel around his waist. He came
to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Master, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus
answered and said to him, "What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will
understand later." Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered him,
"Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me." Simon Peter said to him,
"Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well." Jesus said to him,
"Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all
over; so you are clean, but not all." For he knew who would betray him; for this reason,
he said, "Not all of you are clean." So when he had washed their feet (and) put his
garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, "Do you realize what I
have done for you? You call me 'teacher' and 'master,' and rightly so, for indeed I am. If
I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one
another's feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you
should also do.

In the time of Jesus, washing a gust’s feet was a matter of practicality. If

you wanted to keep your house clean, you washed the dirt of the road off

of your guests feet as they arrived. This was also a matter of hospitality.

The master of the house did not do this job. It was reserved for the

lowliest of the servants in the household. It was not a job people aspired

to. You didn’t say as a child “I want to be a foot washing servant.” Now

to the apostles, Jesus was God or he was nothing at all. That is why

Peter first pushed back at the idea of God washing his feet. This was an

affront to the dignity of the Messiah. Jesus said to him in effect that

Peter had to “put up or shut up” at this point. If he refused, Peter would

have tendered his resignation as a follower of Christ. This shocked Peter

back into reality and Peter being Peter, did what Peter did best; he went

overboard and told the Lord to wash not only his feet, but all of him! But

I think the most important thing we see in this story is that Jesus did
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not exclude any of the apostles. He bent down and washed the feet of

Judas, even though he knew full well that Judas was a traitor. Could

you have done this? Even when the name of the traitor was revealed to

the “one Jesus loved” Jesus did not do the thing many of us would have.

He did not shout: “Judas is the traitor, grab him.” As a matter of fact

Jesus seemed to protect him and actually sent him out to “do what he

must do.” So we are called to imitate Christ and to serve our Brothers

and Sisters. Our brothers and sisters are not limited to those friendly to

us, they may be some who hate us. Being a Christian is hard work. As

we read in the letter of James earlier, it is up to us to put our faith into

action. Here are some practical steps we can take.

First and foremost, develop your eyes. Force them to not only see but to

observe. Look for the opportunities presented to you each day to

advance the cause of social justice. Next become socially just yourself.

Do you harbor prejudice in your heart? Do people of “lower station”

offend you? Do people of higher station impress you? If so, cultivate a

deep love for the people you look down on. Do not pre-judge them.

Remember that they too are loved unconditionally by God. Become just

in your heart. For it is in the heart that all of this needs to begin.

Becoming just begins when you acknowledge in your own heart that you

are loved by God and all you come into contact with are also loved by

God. Next practical step is to be honest. Have you ever taken supplies

from work? This is just an example. No matter what you took you
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deprived another of property that they paid for. Cultivate honesty in

your life. Another practical step - is be kind to others Learn to enjoy the

people you come into contact with. Those differences that kept you apart

can become things that will bring you together. Become fair. Take

nothing from anyone unjustly. This means not only property and other

material goods, but guard others reputation as well. Avoid gossip which

can injure another person. Weave for yourself a seamless garment that

includes justice as its prime cloth. It is not enough to avoid doing harm.

We need to do good. As a Christian you need to take proactive action to

help build a just world. For example, conventional human wisdom says

pay the minimum even if the minimum cannot support a worker.

Justice says that we should pay a living wage even if that means we pay

more then the competition pays. Bringing justice into the world will

always come at a personal cost for the Christian. Look what it cost our

Leader, for the sake of Justice, Jesus went to the cross.

Can you see where all of this is leading? As Christians we are called to

be holy as God is holy. We are called to be counter culture. Our values

must reflect those of our God and not of the world. We are called to be a

shining light in a sea of darkness. And what about our reward? Our

reward will probably be scorn from our contemporaries. People may

laugh at us for paying higher wages or working harder for our employer

or giving to the bum who will turn your quarters into a bottle of

muscatel. But why would we do such things when we know that they
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will not earn us praise? They will not even get us into heaven, remember

we cannot buy our way into heaven. If we were paid one dollar for each

good work we did in our live and we did 0ne Million good works, the price

to get into heaven would be one million dollars and one cent and we

would have no where to go to get that extra penny. We do not do these

good deeds as payment against our admittance into heaven. We do them

because we are in love with Jesus and we want to do what he

commanded us.

We must remember that Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God came to

earth and served us. He touched the untouchable. He cured the

incurable, He pardoned the unpardonable. He calls us not to a life of

ease and comfort but to one of sacrifice. This life of sacrifice may have to

start in our homes first of all We might have to simply begin by being

more just to those closest to us. From our homes we might have to

extend justice by marching against abortion. We may need to defend

that person of color or that white person or that Chinese person when

unjust things are said or done to them. We may need to take risks and

make financial sacrifices so that justice can reign in the world. We may

need to suffer when our efforts are misunderstood by others. We may be

beaten or even killed some day because we march for social justice. We

have to press for God’s idea of justice in the world. This will make us as

popular as Jesus was when he walked among us. Jesus ended up on a

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cross, can we expect better? We’ve come a long way tonight and my talk

is just about over. I apologize to all of you because I have wasted a lot of

time. Upon reflection I could have reduced my talk to one simple

question: Have you ever thought that YOU might be

the answer to someone’s prayer