1 / 11

Reflecting on The Call to Justice in Scripture

Reflecting on The Call to Justice in Scripture. Sandie Cornish www.social-spirituality.net. Overview. There are many, many texts from both the Hebrew Scriptures and the Gospels concerning social justice. This presentation highlights only a small number of them.

shubha
Download Presentation

Reflecting on The Call to Justice in Scripture

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Reflecting on The Call to Justice in Scripture Sandie Cornish www.social-spirituality.net

  2. Overview There are many, many texts from both the Hebrew Scriptures and the Gospels concerning social justice. This presentation highlights only a small number of them. It is offered to stimulate reflection on how the Scriptures call us to work for the justice of God’s Reign in the world. You might: • Use the whole presentation as a discussion starter for a group • Select one slide as a focus for personal or group reflection • Choose completely different texts! • Created in the Image of God • The Story of the Exodus • The Jubilee • The Prophets • The Word Became Flesh • Sharing in Jesus’ Mission • The Beatitudes • The Great Judgement www.social-spirituality.net www.facebook.com/socialspirituality

  3. Created in the Image of God • The first creation account in Genesis tells us that we are made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26) • We are called to be a sign and instrument of God’s love, as individuals, and as a community of persons. We are called to reflect the perfect community of the Trinity in our social relationships. • How do we make God’s love visible? www.social-spirituality.net www.facebook.com/socialspirituality

  4. The Story of the Exodus • In the Exodus, God takes the side of the oppressed. • God saves the whole Hebrew people, not just virtuous individuals. They are set free from unjust economic, political and social processes and structuresto be God’s people. • The people of the Covenant are to be a model of a new and more just society. (Exodus 22: 21-23) • How do we take the side of the oppressed and seek to build Covenant relationships? www.social-spirituality.net www.facebook.com/socialspirituality

  5. The Jubilee • The jubilee laws in Leviticus 25 are processes to prevent injustice and disadvantage from becoming entrenched, or creation abused. • The land is allowed to lie fallow, debts are forgiven and exiles return. • How can we honour the spirit of the Jubilee Year today? www.social-spirituality.net www.facebook.com/socialspirituality

  6. The Prophets • The prophets called the people back to fidelity to the Covenant. • Isaiah sees oppression of the weak as an offense against God (Isaiah 1:17-20) • Hosea calls the people away from idol worship (Hosea 14: 1 – 3) • Amos denounces the religious hypocrisy of the corrupt and powerful (Amos 5: 18-24) • Micah denounces the corruption of political and religious leaders (Micah 2: 1- 5) and points to the demands of God (Micah 6:8) • What might the prophets say to us today? www.social-spirituality.net www.facebook.com/socialspirituality

  7. The Word Became Flesh • The Gospels tell the story of how God breaks into human history in a radical way in the Christ event. • Everything genuinely human is meaningful, part of salvation history – faith isn’t separate from daily life. • God’s extravagant love is expressed in solidarity with human beings. • How do we act in solidarity with each other? www.social-spirituality.net www.facebook.com/socialspirituality

  8. Sharing in Jesus’ Mission “The Spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for the Lord has anointed me. The Lord has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind new sight, to set the downtrodden free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” Luke 4:18-19 • How do we share in this mission? www.social-spirituality.net www.facebook.com/socialspirituality

  9. The Beatitudes • The beatitudes appear in both Mathew (5:1-12) and Luke (6:20-26). • Those who are poor, hungry, grieving, or thirsting for justice are blest because they know their need of God, and God is on their side. • Luke includes a series of woes to those who are rich, full or laughing now. • What might hunger for the justice of God’s Reign lead us to do? www.social-spirituality.net www.facebook.com/socialspirituality

  10. The Great Judgement • In Matthew’s scene of the Great Judgement (25: 31 -46) there is just one test of whether one is to be saved or not – how one has treated the hungry, thirsty, homeless, naked, sick and imprisoned. Jesus identifies totally with these people – what we do to them, we do to him. • How do we as a society respond to hungry, thirsty, homeless, naked, sick or imprisoned people? www.social-spirituality.net www.facebook.com/socialspirituality

  11. For Reflection & Discussion • Which passages from Scripture do you experience as calling you to live justly and to make your society more just? • Imagine the justice of God’s Reign present among us. What would it look like, sound like, and feel like? • Scripture is one of the basic sources of Catholic ethics. How does it inform your work for justice in society? www.social-spirituality.net www.facebook.com/socialspirituality

More Related