Putting Justice in Relationships
Explore more deeply what this scripture has to say about relationships in this seven-month series. How can we let Section 164:6a guide and shape us with new understanding in a world that is often more characterized by fear and separation than connectedness and hope? Send your comments to
Herald@CofChrist.org and we may print them in a future issue.
For Further Reflection and Discussion
- The relationship principle of justice calls us to a
deeper understanding of our developing awareness
of God’s vision for creation. How does the
presence of justice in your relationships deepen
your awareness of God’s vision for creation? - How does the cause of Zion become more real
when we allow the principle of justice to be expressed in our relationships with one another? - The quote from Julie Clawson challenges us that our approach to justice needs to be about more
than “causes,” just is lived at a human life level. What barriers make it more difficult to offer the
principles of justice to another person? - How have the “religious codes” you live by impacted your decisions and actions in extending
the principles of justice to another? - How does Jesus’ demonstration of the relationship principle of justice differ from what you see in society?
̶K. Scott Murphy
Council of Twelve Apostles
by K. SCOTT MURPHY,
Council of Twelve Apostles
Herald, August 2011
As revealed in Christ, God, the Creator of all, ultimately is concerned about behaviors and relationships that uphold the worth and giftedness of all people and that protect the most vulnerable. Such relationships are to be rooted in the principles of Christ-like love, mutual respect, responsibility, justice, covenant, and faithfulness, against which there is no law.
If the church more fully will understand and consistently apply these principles, questions arising about responsible human sexuality; gender identities, roles, and relationships; marriage; and other issues may be resolved according to God’s divine purposes. Be assured nothing within these principles condones selfish, irresponsible, promiscuous, degrading, or abusive relationships. —Doctrine and Covenants 164:6a–b
Father, mother, daughter, and grandchild slowly entered the small sanctuary, a space they had not attended in over five years.
There was no opportunity to sneak into the back row undetected. The only seats available were in the front row, which exposed them to the entire congregation. Looks of fear accompanied expressions of uncertainty about how they would be accepted.
Choices in the past had brought hurt, pain, and embarrassment to the family and congregation. Unfortunately, they dealt with their pain by leaving the body. Yet, a yearning to rediscover a connection of healthy relationship had led them to accept an invitation to come from a guest minister.
As the service progressed, their fears and unease softened, and smiles that expressed a sense of peace began to emerge. There was a powerful spirit as leaders shared Doctrine and Covenants 164 with the congregation.
It is imperative to understand that when you are truly baptized into Christ you become part of a new creation. By taking on the mind of Christ, you increasingly view yourselves and others from a changed perspective…As revealed in Christ, God, the Creator of all, ultimately is concerned about behaviors and relationships that uphold the worth and giftedness of all people and that protect the most vulnerable. Such relationships are to be rooted in the principles of Christ-like love, mutual respect, responsibility, justice, covenant, and faithfulness, against which there is no law. —Doctrine and Covenants 164:5–6a
As this passage was read, I witnessed the transformative power these words have in bringing healing and a sense of worth and value into people’s lives.
This transformation began to unfold when the pastor stood to offer the closing prayer. As he stood, he looked at the mother who had come back into their midst and invited her to offer the prayer. With a look of shock, she turned to her husband. He gently gave a nod of assurance.
This invitation expressed to the family and congregation that it was time for a new relationship to emerge. As soon as this woman finished her powerful prayer, I stood in awe, watching the act of justice flood into the lives of the family and congregation.
In a single moment, the congregation enveloped the family, saying in actions more powerful than words, “Welcome home!”
The act of justice infused with the presence of Christ-like love, mutual respect, responsibility, covenant, and faithfulness transformed not only this family, but a faith community called to live the worth of all persons.
The relationship principle of “justice” calls us to a deeper understanding of our developing awareness of God’s vision for creation. Our call as a faith community is to the cause of Zion. Scripture reminds us of our responsibility to create pathways where the “hope of Zion is realized when the vision of Christ is embodied in communities of generosity, justice, and peacefulness” (Doctrine and Covenants 163:3a).
President Steve Veazey, in his 2005 World Conference sermon (www.CofChrist.org/wc2005/Veazey-sermon.asp),reminds us that at the heart of justice is our need to make sure the most vulnerable in our midst have the opportunity to become who God created them to be.
There has been a surge in society’s awareness of the need for social justice. Our attention and efforts to provide social justice that speaks to human rights for the oppressed, the elimination of poverty for the hungry, and fairness for all human life is critical to improving the welfare of those marginalized by our human choices.
But as Julie Clawson states in her book, Everyday Justice: The Global Impact of Our Daily Choices (IVP Books, 2009): “Too often our approach to justice is about this cause or that cause. But for justice to make the transformational impact we desire that seeks to bring wholeness, it has to be approached at the human life level.”
The relationship principle of justice goes beyond just causes. It takes us to the doors of people who live in the darkness of oppression, which robs them of a sense of dignity, worth, and wholeness as a creation of God.
In Jesus, we find the act of justice at the heart of who he is and what he is about. The gospel writer of Luke captured this essence in the story of Jesus’ encounter with a woman who was a sinner.
In the home of Simon, the Pharisee, this woman enters the space where they are eating. She goes to Jesus and falls at his feet as tears stream down her face. Her tears reflect the deep sorrow and emptiness of her life and the oppression and sense of unworthiness the community had claimed for her.
But unlike other people in the room, Jesus does not pull away or refuse her presence. Instead, he accepts her vulnerability as she seeks release. In his simple way, Jesus offers the gift of justice in his willingness to be present with her in his love and forgiveness. In that brief encounter of relationship, Jesus invites her to live to the fullness of who God created her to be.
It is easy to look at this story and point Simon and the guests. Yet, in fairness to Simon and the others, they responded from the formation of their training and traditions. Simon was upholding the values expected of him as a religious leader.
Fraternizing with sinful people, especially a woman, was not considered fitting for a person in his position. Justice for Simon and the guests was found in living by the religious code. That code allowed them to choose who was “worthy and who was not.”
When we consider how this scripture passage tells us about justice, a question confronts us: “Whose model of justice do we follow?”
The same scriptures that informed Simon and shaped the laws of faith-abiding Jews is part of the canon of scriptures we claim. Like Simon, who experienced different perspectives of justice in the Roman culture, we, too, are influenced by different perspectives of justice in our cultures.
But what we have that Simon did not recognize is God’s justice modeled in the life of Jesus. It is God’s rightness, revealed through scripture in the life of Jesus Christ, that points us to whose justice we are to follow.
But does that mean we accept every attitude or behavior displayed in humanness? I don’t believe so.
We know human nature holds behaviors that are unhealthy and devalue human life. Yet, if we are to claim ourselves as disciples of Jesus Christ, we must wrestle with what it means for us to be a new creation in Christ and to take upon ourselves the life and mind of Christ, seeing ourselves and others differently.
We can choose to view lives through the lens of “the law” that defines who is worthy and unworthy. Or we can choose to view lives through the lens of God, who sees all of creation as worthy. God’s justice is not intended to push away; God’s justice is always an invitation for each woman, man, and child to live to the fullest potential.
Whose model of justice do we follow? Jesus Christ’s. To live the relationship principle of justice is a call to live with courage for the sake and welfare of another. In each of these stories, courage was present in the people.
It took courage for the family to walk through the doors of the church, not knowing if they would be received or rejected.
It took courage for congregation members to examine their own religious codes and choose to extend forgiveness and love to a family that had been lost. It took courage for a woman, who lived with a daily reminder of her lack of worth, to enter the home of a prominent religious leader and
risk humiliation and physical abuse.
In each of these experiences, authentic justice sought forgiveness and healing where injustice had been present.
If we truly are to follow in the way of Christ, we must realize we cannot be excused from our responsibility to engage in the principle of justice in our relationships. In God’s grace we can find the capacity to understand our responsibility to extend the justice of dignity, worth, and wholeness into all our lives.
Justice is not always what happens to us, but justice is always a choice we have in how we treat each other. When
we make the conscious choice in how we will be with one another, then the cause of Zion will point to God’s unfolding
vision for all of humanity.
Let us have the courage to let the principle of justice infuse the relationships of our families, our work, our communities, our congregations, and our worldwide body of Community of Christ.