Justice

I can't sleep tonight.

It's one of those nights where thoughts whirl and twirl
in my head until I don't know where one thought
began how it ended up where it did.

Writing is my therapy for such nights.

And so, I will share with you the better thoughts.
The blog worthy thoughts, perhaps.

On Sunday, my pastor shared a sermon based on
I Peter 3: 8-11. There were a lot of good things
that he said, but the thing that stuck out to me the
most had to do with these verses:

"If you want to enjoy life,
an see many happy days,
keep your tongue from speaking evil
and your lips from tell lies
Turn away from evil and do good.
Search for peace and work to maintain it."

The pastor described justice to me as I have never
heard it before.

Justice means that every person has the right to
good days.

That is all. It seems so simple.

After all, what did I want today? I wanted it to be a good day.

What do I want for my family and my friends?
I want them to have good days.

And yet, somehow, I think that it is easy
to convince myself that maybe I deserve
good days--and maybe I deserve them
more than other people.

After all, maybe certain people
have done something to deserve bad days.
It is mostly a subconscious thought, but sometimes
even a conscious one.

The man on the street must have done
something to deserve where he is.

Maybe in the name of karma, or choice, or sin.

I don't think this is what Jesus thought.
I don't think thats what Jesus currently thinks.
I think Jesus was fiercely filled with love and compassion
for these people. And sadness at their brokenness.

Today, I ran along the path by Lake Michigan. It was beautiful.
It was breath-taking.

The sun was shining, and as the sun was going down, pink
and purple laced the skyline of Chicago.

It's was easy for me to look at the beautiful skyline and walk into
my pretty grad classroom and then my Lincoln Park apartment.

It's better, after all, than looking closely at the city--
looking at the poverty, the exploitation, the hatred and racism,
the domestic violence and substance abuse: in other words,
the bad days of people all around me.

My pastor went on the tell us that we are to bearers of peace:
"seek peace and work to maintain it."

We are the bringers of peace. Bringers of love--and truth--
and justice--the message of hope, not judgment into the world.

To the "least of these", especially, I think--
even though it is to everyone.

It's funny, though, because I know that I am
given peace from God, but a lot of times
I don't even feel it within myself.
So how do I give it to others?

But I still wonder,
who am I bringing peace to in this city? If I look at it
closely, who am I seeking peace for?

I am not sure that it is anyone just yet.

But I am praying about it.