Justice in the inner city

by Tara Bishop

M

y friend Ling* looks better than she has in months.  The pallor of death that rested on her face has been buried alongside her husband.  The housing authorities have granted a reprieve to the annual process of trying to evict her.  Most of her husband’s pension went towards his hospital care, but soon she will be of age to draw her own pension and decrease her dependence on social support.

Ling has spent years trying to keep her family together.  Her daughter works and goes to school in the evenings, so Ling raises the grandchildren.  As she hasn’t been given legal custody, the Housing Commission recognizes her as a single person who is “over-housed” in a two-bedroom apartment.  When she wasn’t at the hospital caring for her husband, Ling worked under the table, earning money for groceries by babysitting and house cleaning.  Ling recently asked me to help her find the right word in English to express her feelings.  Through her gestures, we determined she wanted the word “love”.  She said, “Yes, yes, Tara, that’s it.  I love you.  You are my church family.”

I am not from the city.  I always have had compassion for people in difficult situations.  However, prior to actually meeting people like Ling, I also would have been quick to notice that certain activities were outside the realm of law.  In this case, logic would suggest that if Ling gained custody of her grandchildren and applied for a regular job, many of her worries would disappear.  Her language difficulties, her husband’s illness and her age wouldn’t have been considered.

Our logic and our desire to help and correct often prevent us from being actively involved in true Biblical justice.  I am not advocating action above the law, but for Jesus to be the fulfillment of the law.  In North America, we have the propensity to funnel justice into the realm of law and punishment.  In propagating such a narrow perspective, we deprive ourselves of the riches held within the Biblical connotation of justice.

I have come to realize that God’s justice is less about right and wrong, and more about restoring relationship to Him and to each other. The Bible is clear in positioning God as just and righteous.  Indeed, justice is the foundation of God’s throne (Ps.97:2).  To be just means that we participate in right activities, and when we act rightly we are in right relationship.

Justice and righteousness are clear themes woven throughout the Old Testament.  As Adam and Eve broke faith with God, the impulse for Christ’s restoring act was set in motion.  God’s relationship with His creation had to be made right.

The Ten Commandments, the very laws given from Heaven were a comment on relational rightness; the first tablet outlines man’s relationship to God and the second tablet outlines man’s relationship to man.  When we understand justice as relational rightness, then it moves from being a theme to being the theme in the Bible.

Justice is active.  The Hebrew verb tsedaq means to be just, to be made right, to bring justice, to save, to justify or to make righteous.  In Genesis 18:19, Abraham’s faithfulness was counted as tsedaq.  In Micah 6, God’s faithfulness to Israel is manifested in tsedaq.  Justice and righteousness, then, are not only active but often long-suffering.

As Israel asked for a king, God provided a mandate for the king to be the safeguard for the rights of the poor and crier for the cause of the marginalized.  God’s call was for justice, for every person to be aware of each other’s worth in His sight.  True justice, then, also has much to say about equality.

Throughout the prophets, God is seen in Israel as justice, as faithfully present and active, pleading for His people to understand true relational loyalty.  In Proverbs 21:3 we read, “To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.”

To do what is right and just.  We are a fallen people.  We are frequently unfaithful to God.  We do not always care for one another with love.  Through our sin, we constantly offend the righteousness of our perfect God.  Without God, we are incapable of right and just relationships.  With this understanding, Jesus becomes the ultimate sign of God’s justice.

Jesus began his politically-charged ministry with the words of Isaiah 61; preaching good news to the poor, binding the spirits of the brokenhearted, proclaiming freedom for captives and release from darkness to prisoners, proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favour and providing for those who mourn — so that they will become oaks of righteousness (which, not coincidentally, is also a form of tsedaq).

Through Christ’s long-suffering and sacrificial love, we all have the opportunity to accept that Jesus has made us right with God.  Jesus is the justifier — redeeming, restoring and reconciling our relationship to God.  In His righteousness, He became justice for all who were, and were yet to be, created.  He died for everyone who fell short of the glory of God.  He died for the Pharisee, the Gentile, the thief, the judge, the homosexual, the poor, the poor in spirit, the pastor and the convicted murderer — for you, for me, for Ling.

In response to accepting our redemption, we have responsibility to continuously pursue right relationships with each other as equals.  We are agents in actively engaging a true justice that restores and reconciles.

In the inner city, advocating for right relationships is process-oriented and punctuated by very small victories.  A friend of mine smokes like a chimney and he loves Jesus.  Some would condemn him for not respecting the body God has given him.  Contextually, smoking is a victory for him, as he was released from his addiction to crack and alcohol by the love of his Redeemer.  Just relationships means he doesn’t steal from others to support his habit, he doesn’t cloud his mind so he can’t think about God’s grace to him.

We have a food bank in St. Jamestown that is open for four hours a week to service a high-poverty neighbourhood of over 27,000 people.  How can I engage in right relationships with those in my community who are hungry, when I am not?

Working women ask for condoms from the health clinic down the street as they prostitute themselves.  I used to be quite opposed to this practice.  Yet, how can I tell them they are beautiful and worthy creatures of God if I can’t be concerned for their health and well-being?

Social advocacy becomes inextricably linked with Biblical justice.  In order to facilitate right relationships, we need to equalize our perceived positions in the world.  Jesus, upon proclaiming his position as God incarnate, set forth a clear mandate for social justice and relational fidelity.  When he first appeared to humanity in his risen form, he appeared not in majesty to the multitudes, as he had every right to do, but in humble love to the woman he knew was profoundly grieving his death.  Who are we in the inner city to do any less? Who are we as Christians in the suburbs, in our workplaces, in our social groups to do less?  Who are we in churches that we seek any less than to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God?

I confess it is very convicting to work in the inner city.  Achieving righteousness in relationship to God and to others can seem overwhelming at times.  If not for the perfect love of God, I know I would have succumbed to the magnitude of failures instead of receiving optimism from the relatively few successes.  I simply advocate for Ling with housing authorities, obtain an interpreter for her meetings with her case worker, and deliver Christmas gifts generously provided by others.  I give her space to talk and try hard to comprehend her broken English.  I tell her about Jesus and how much she is loved by God.  She calls me family, and learns a new word in English to tell me, in words I can understand, how much I mean to her.  I can give no more than faithfulness to God and others, and hope that God counts it right and just.

*Name has been changed to protect privacy.

Writer: 614 St. Jamestown [ed: planted in Toronto, Canada as a joint venture by the Christian & Missionary Alliance, the Mennonite Brethren and The Salvation Army] is Tara Bishop’s first pastoral commission with the Mennonite Brethren Church in Ontario. Prior to accepting her position as Associate Pastor, Tara worked at Waterloo Mennonite Brethren Church in administration. She also volunteered with the Arts Leadership Team, the Global Outreach Executive Team and as a Worship Leader. Tara’s passion is building relationship through mission. She served with Mennonite Brethren Mission and Service International for almost four years, wherein she worked with Youth Mission International and helped to establish an agency-wide Short Term Mission division. It was through her experience with MBMS International that she first interacted with the 614 movement. Shortly thereafter, she felt God calling her to devote the next season of her life to establishing the church in St. Jamestown.

7 Comments to Justice in the inner city

1. You’ve touched on a dozen or so ‘hot buttons’ here Tara but I’m with you all the way.

   Nice piece.
   Dion
Dion Oxford on June 3rd, 2008

2. You make a good case for abolishing public housing. That’s just silly.
Catherine W. on June 5th, 2008

3. Hi Catherine, thanks for your input. It was not my intent at all to suggest abolishing public housing. In fact, I advocate for Ling with the housing tribunal so that she won’t lose her housing. Almost a third of my community is comprised of public housing, and it is truly the only way these inhabitants could afford to live in the city. Ling’s experience of injustice with public housing officials was used as an example of how pervasive justice issues are in the lives of those who call the inner city ‘home’. Kind Regards.
Tara Bishop on June 5th, 2008

4. You seem to have misunderstood my remark as not sympathetic to your friend(s). Sorry if it seemed that way! A cash grant for housing, through which she could decide for herself whether she needs a one- or two-bedroom apartment, to me seems more sensible. It’s certainly absurd to go through eviction proceedings EVERY YEAR over the same issue — a huge waste of time for her, them and you.

   It reminds me of the great raisin bran debate, in which (as I recall) legislators — convoluted with concern that impoverished mothers might slip too much sugar into their subsidized grocery carts — spent hours discussing the merits of said cereal and whether fruit sugar was as harmful as the straight stuff. Should food stamps go for raisin bran? How about plain old raisins? Is this really worth anyone’s debating time? Why not let the mothers decide for themselves? Someone, somewhere might even choose bulk oatmeal, and keep the change.
Catherine W. on June 6th, 2008

5. Catherine,thank you for your clarification. I agree - it is a huge waste of time and an added stress that destabilizes families that often are in fragile circumstances to start.

   Strangely enough, my original interpretation of your comment started me thinking/dreaming/hoping for a time when there wasn’t public housing - a time when people had equity and could decide for themselves where they wanted to live. With or without raisins.
Tara Bishop on June 6th, 2008

6. Glad to see your article here Tara. You provide some wise insights around relating justly… thank you. Write more!
Kate Masson on June 6th, 2008

7. I think this is a better approach than housing projects (not to belabor the point).
   http://www.hud.gov/offices/pih/programs/hcv/index.cfm
Catherine W. on June 7th, 2008

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