Wash yourselves clean!
Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes;
cease doing evil; learn to do good.
Make justice your aim: redress the wronged,
hear the orphan's plea, defend the widow.
An Internet dictionary defines redress with,
"reparation and restitution, making amends or giving indemnification for a wrong. Redress may refer either to the act of setting right an unjust situation (as by some power), or to satisfaction sought or gained for a wrong suffered: the redress of grievances."
The scriptural command to "redress the wronged" has become controversial in the United States since the Second World War. That the United States supported with its laws and customs the most barbaric form of slavery in human history is well-documented. But that the Civil War failed to redress the wrong is not.
Perhaps because the War between the States was so savage, victors and defeated alike agreed that no further reparation was necessary. The freed slaves should raise their families and fend for themselves in a hostile society of Jim Crow laws and terrorist violence. But they should regard themselves as free and equal. Even if society barred their entrance to upper education and the corridors of power, they should be content with their lot. Amid plenty, in the land of opportunity, they would remain poor and vulnerable.
By the 1960's even the Supreme Court of the United States could admit that the policy of "separate but equal" had failed. The situation was not only unjust, it was unstable and might destroy the entire nation. There were legal efforts to redress the wrong like bussing and open housing but when lower class whites found their restricted opportunities were further straitened by these feeble efforts they rebelled. Because the will of the people is the supreme law of the land, our democratic system cannot repair centuries of injustice.
There is nothing new in that brief analysis.
The call for reparation might come from the descendants of former slaves, indigenous peoples, and other minorities but it cannot effect change without the authority of God. If we will not hear, "Come now, let us set things right" we can expect only increasing violence. A secular society denies the dogma of Original Sin and ignores its constant disruptions.
When we admit that we have sinned, we and our ancestors, we can hope for mercy. When we make serious efforts to redress the wrongs of the past, the suicides and mass shootings will end. We will know peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.