Justice in Advent

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.” - Jeremiah 23:5-6

This prophecy of the Messiah came while Israel was in exile, facing great hardship and darkness. Interestingly, like the other prophecies we’re looking at this advent season, Jeremiah’s word about the Messiah is unmistakably tied to the justice that the Messiah will bring.

In a world of where Israel was both oppressor (the powerful exploiting the poor was why God sent them into exile) and oppressed (by the Assyrians and then Babylonians during exile), justice was a two-edged sword. Justice both challenges and comforts. It challenges the way that the powerful leverage their resources and influence - calling into question self-serving approaches and threateningly upending systems that are produce inequity. Justice also comforts because those who are on the wrong end of those systemic structures need both God’s presence for comfort in the moment and God’s power to change the systems for a better future.

For me (Bill), growing up in my faith as a conservative evangelical, I never realized that all of the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah spoke about the theme of justice. Is that a new thought for you? What does this theme of justice mean for you, personally? For your family? Do you see yourself more on the side of those who benefit from the current system or the side of those who are taken advantage of it, or both?

Talk with Jesus about those things.