The main verse that I think of when the topic of God’s call for justice comes up is 1 John 3:18, “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and truth.” Pursing justice requires people to act and bring to power. Justice takes courage and vulnerability. God calls all people to follow in the pursuit of justice and truth.
Working together for justice and mercy truly means that one must be an advocate. Advocating for justice is extremely important to me in my ministry. I served as an advocate for a patient’s family member during my ministry at the hospital. The patient I was ministering to was declining very fast, she was not married but had a significant other and they had been together for 33 years. The patient’s significant other claimed to have an advance directive that stated that the patient would not want the machines turned off in this kind of situation. However, the significant other could not produce this paperwork to the medical team so the patient’s children were to serve as proxy. The patient’s daughter chose to move her mother to comfort measures only, and that was going to be happening the next day. However, the significant other was not informed of this decision. That evening I had to make a call to the significant other because the nurse had informed me that he had found the paperwork. I called the patient’s partner and offered him spiritual support. He wasn’t understanding the urgency of getting the paperwork during our conversation (come to find out later this is because there wasn’t any paperwork), because I couldn’t share with him about the plans to put his partner to comfort measures only that was going to take place tomorrow. I felt so bad during the conversation because I could tell how much this man loved his partner. He deserved to know what was going to happen with her the next day. After that conversation, I made a phone call to the Clinical Administrator and we met in the unit in person to discuss the case. During the conversation, the Clinical Administrator was very hesitant to call the significant other and alert him to the plans. In that conversation, I advocated on behalf of the significant other by stating that he has been with her for 33 years and deserves to know what her children have decided so that he can properly say goodbye. The Clinician ended up hearing me out and called the significant other. The next day he was able to come to the hospital and have a proper goodbye with his loved one. I felt at peace leaving the hospital that night knowing that I had helped the patient’s partner and advocated for justice on his behalf to the medical team.
This advocacy helped my future ministry because it gave me the confidence to know that I do have pastoral authority and I can use it! I was intimidated to speak up in the meeting with the Clinician, but I knew I had to use my authority to do the right thing for the patient’s partner. I had to use my voice and act. The Clinician didn’t want to make the call at first but I was able to help her understand the harm we were doing to this poor man by not telling him the full story. This advocacy moment was a confidence booster for me personally because I was able to see that I do have a voice as a chaplain in meetings with the medical team and they do respect and value that voice. Speaking up on behalf of someone powerless is what pursuing justice and mercy looks like.
I believe that working together for justice and mercy means not being afraid to take stances on issues that deal with humanity’s basic rights. I believe that a church should be open and affirming. LGBT+ people are made in the image of God and should be able to fully be accepted with open arms in the church and be allowed to use their gifts to serve. I believe that black lives do matter. This should not be a political issue, there is systematic racism that exists in this country. I desire to use my privilege as a white man to speak against this system and work towards dismantling it. I believe that no person should ever be discriminated against because of the color of their skin, immigration status, sexuality, gender, or religion.
I believe that church and politics should be separate. However, injustices exist in our world today that transcend politics and the church needs to be able to speak against these issues. I believe in teaching about justice and helping people see that pursuing justice and mercy is how we reflect God’s love in the world.
Leading a congregation in justice work takes time and there is no one size fits all model. Every community is going to pursue justice differently because each church and community has different needs. Part of a pastor’s role is to help a congregation to discern what justice ministries to focus on. Pastors must know the needs of the community they serve in and they must help their congregation connect the dots between the church’s gifts and the community’s needs. I also believe that the pastor’s role involves encouraging congregants to be involved in the community themselves so that they can discern what direction the church should go in pursuing justice in a community. Jesus’ love shines bright when the church works within a community to advocate for justice for all.