Justice & Peace
What seed of justice do you feel called to plant today so that we might later be rich in the harvest?
Philippians 1:11
“It’s my wish that you be found rich in the harvest of justice.”
We can’t talk about peace without talking about justice. My mind goes straight to the protest chant: “No Justice, No Peace.” And it’s true. We will not experience the kind of life-flourishing peace that is intended for us without justice that liberates the poor, cares for the sick, and makes right our relationships with one another and the earth. Dr. Cornel West says that “justice is what love looks like in public.”
Paul, the writer of Philippians, used this phrase as a kind of greeting to those to whom he was addressing. Like, “I hope this email finds you well.” I might start using “I hope that you’re found rich in the harvest of justice,” as my new email opener. Because it’s true. I hope that justice finds you.
I hope that the injustices that you are facing are made right, so that you may have peace. I hope that the injustices that we are experiencing collectively are turned right side up, so that we all can be at peace. I hope that we as humans find ways to take up our right-sized space on this planet and create justice and peace with the trees and animals and oceans. Only then will we have the big, universal, collective peace that we all seek.
What seed of justice do you feel called to plant today so that we might later be rich in the harvest?
– Candace Woods