\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cI will forsake my house, abandon my inheritance; I will give the one I love into the hands of her enemies.\u201d (Jeremiah 12:7)<\/p>\n
But if their society would return to justice, their God would also return to them and their temple:<\/p>\n
\u201cI will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,\u201d says the LORD Almighty. (Malachi 3:1)<\/p>\n
The underlying theme of Jesus\u2019 story in our reading is that the coming of the kingdom, Jesus\u2019 vision for human community, could come at any moment, so stay ready. This reminds me of the clarion call often given today to \u201cstay woke.\u201d Don\u2019t allow yourself to be acculturated to injustice. Don\u2019t let yourself become desensitized to the suffering of those being presently harmed. Don\u2019t let inequity, corruption, and brutality become normalized.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nIt is interesting to me that both last week\u2019s and this week\u2019s readings have us praying for and being prepared for the kingdom to arrive at some unexpected time in the future. This week\u2019s reading also uses the figure of the Son of Man. The Son of Man was a liberating agent from imperial injustice, oppression, and violence in the apocalyptic chapter of Daniel 7. Calling us to look for these events in the future is a change in the Jesus story from those passages where Jesus announces that the kingdom had arrived or that the time had come.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nGiven that Luke was most likely written not only after Jesus\u2019 crucifixion but also after the Romans razed the temple in Jerusalem in 70 C.E., it would be much easier to call people to be ready for the kingdom. It would be much easier to tell them that it was still coming than that it had already arrived. Honestly, 2,000 years later, not much about that has changed. But I\u2019m reminded of Dr. Martin Luther King\u2019s vision of the moral universe as a long arc bending toward justice. We must also remember that the arc doesn\u2019t bend toward justice automatically. If the universe\u2019s arc is going to bend toward justice, we\u2019re going to have to bend it that way. And that may explain the change in the gospels\u2019 language: the people were still in the ashes of imperial violence with Jesus\u2019 execution and Jerusalem\u2019s destruction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThat famous arc of justice requires deliberate and courageous efforts from those who choose to stand on the side of equity, compassion, and truth. Choosing to bend that arc toward justice is an act of hope, and also one of resistance. It means refusing to accept the world as it is and daring to imagine a world as it could be\u2014a world where all people are treated with dignity, where systems serve the vulnerable, and where peace is rooted in justice or fairness.<\/p>\n
This choice is not always easy. Especially right now, when we are witnessing so many caving to injustice and bowing the knee for expediency. Choosing justice may cost us comfort, popularity, or privilege. But it is a path that gives life deeper meaning. It invites us to be co-creators of a more just and loving society. Whether we are advocating for racial equity, economic fairness, gender and LGBTQ inclusion, or environmental stewardship, each small act of justice matters. Every word spoken, every protest joined, every policy challenged adds weight to the arc\u2019s bend. History honors those who didn\u2019t wait for justice to arrive, but who helped carry it forward. That choice\u2014to act\u2014is always ours.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Begin each day being inspired toward love, compassion, justice and action. Free.<\/p>\n
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![\"Moral](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1222\/2025\/08\/SJ25844.png\")