Generosity | Compassion | Justice
A True Story
On December 6th, 1240 AD, the great Mongol Golden Horde led by Genghis Khan’s grandson broke down the gates of the city of Kyiv, killed much of the population, and burnt the city to the ground. Kyiv, now the capital of the nation of Ukraine, has seen its fair share of heartache and violence poured out upon it over the centuries. Whether Mongols or Russians seeking to possess the city, their history is violently marked with much suffering. In light of these more recent events, let us consider three good things that provide a catalyst for us to move as one.
Generosity, Compassion, and JUSTICE
When Summit Church sees those in need around us, who need to be fed, protected, clothed, and loved, this is good. God is glorified in such thinking. We call this generosity.
When Summit Church moves to meet the needs around us, and we feed and shelter the sojourner, the widow, and the orphan, this is good. God is glorified in such action. We call this compassion.
Where then can our church pursue justice? The word of the times for so many yet something that often is hard to explain. When Summit Church seeks to engage the roots of what has sent the sojourner wandering, the poor to lack shelter, or the abused to hide, that is good. God is glorified in such bravery. That is what we call justice.
Now Let Us Move
While we live in relative peace, we see injustice all around us. Many of these intersections of injustice are well known. They swirl around the poor, the ill, the sojourner, the jailed, the other. Historically, the Church has been at the forefront of engaging and toppling many of the immense social wrongs of the past, the African Slave Trade being a prime example. It fell on many brave Christians to seek to end the sinful mechanisms of violence that had destroyed entire cultures.
It is unjust to fight for ending the ill-treatment of the Ukrainians while we ignore our neighbor who suffers from the same ill-treatment. We cannot allow the mechanisms of injustice in our nation to blind us to the need for justice.
At The Summit, we should seek to pursue justice using the model of engagement given to us by Jesus in Acts 1:8. While we can readily see the needs of the Ukrainians and the injustices they are facing, do we see our neighbors with similar or equal needs? Are there a people, a demographic, or even a single-family faced with injustice in our sphere of influence? Let us prayerfully consider two things so that we may be active and consistent in our pursuit of justice. First, as a church, we must study and meditate on what scripture teaches about Godly justice and how Christ understood and wielded it. We must bravely embrace what we learn from this and, as a body, seek the intersections of injustice so that we might engage and wrestle with them. Second, we must be single-minded and consistent in how we seek justice in O’Fallon and Kyiv and the ends of the Earth. It is unjust to fight for ending the ill-treatment of the Ukrainians while we ignore our neighbor who suffers from the same ill-treatment. We cannot allow the mechanisms of injustice in our nation to blind us to the need for justice.
Finally, let us remember that justice is needed on both sides of an issue. Take, for example, our opening story of Kyiv and the Mongols. After reading, one would lament for the citizens of the city who were attacked so horribly. As is often the case, the injustice of the Mongols stemmed from an earlier mistreatment by the citizens of Kyiv. History tells us that when the Khan arrived at the gates of Kyiv, intent on not destroying the city, the bodies of his emissaries were tossed from the walls by the belligerent people of Kyiv. This violent breaking of diplomacy helped lead the Khan to his own great injustice. While we continue to pray and lament for what we see happening in Ukraine on the nightly news, let us not lose sight of the injustices in O’Fallon and St. Louis. While we recognize that there is injustice on both sides, let us be willing to take actions locally and speak boldly for those suffering in our community while we continually ask GOD to intervene in Kyiv.
A Prayer for the Church
God, let us be those who seek out an injustice to be met and give us open eyes, Lord, and wise hearts. Let the Holy Spirit illuminate the path ahead that we may see clearly. May we see what injustices might be twisted around the great problems that often occur in our broken Creation. Allow our justice to be consistent, fair, and built upon Your wisdom and for Your glory. Amen.