Systemic Injustice

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything,I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” - Luke 19:1-10

Often churches ‘spiritualize’ passages of scriptures like this one, making it just about a personal relationship with Jesus. While, yes, a personal relationship with Jesus is crucial to this text - but notice what that connection with Jesus leads to: a transformed relationship with privilege. There’s actual financial implications and reparations made. There’s acknowledgement of a system of injustice that benefits certain people and wounds others.

After meeting Jesus, no longer can Zaccheaus stay the same… no longer does he get to enjoy the benefits of a system that favors him over and against oppressed people. Instead, he joins Jesus in undermining the very system that led to his success. He gives away half of his wealth, saving enough to pay back fourfold every injustice he’s committed.

This week we’ll be looking at some of the systemic injustices of our world - not as a substitute for following Jesus, but precisely because we’re following Jesus’s lead.

Talk with God about preparing your heart to experience Jesus in a new way as your champion in the areas where you’ve experienced brokenness and oppression, and ask God to grant you courage to respond to Jesus as he radically challenges you where you’ve experienced privilege and power.