Open eyes for justice

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Open eyes for justice

• with Gideon Strauss

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psalm readings

• Eugene Peterson, Working the angles and
  Answering prayer
• Walter Brueggemann, Spirituality of the
  Psalms
• Thomas Troeger, Rage! Reflect. Rejoice!
  Praying With the Psalmists
• Calvin Seerveld, Rainbows for the fallen world
  (Introduction, on psalm 19)

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• The webbing together of God, humans, and all
  creation in justice, fulfillment, and delight is
  what the Hebrew prophets call shalom. We call it
  peace, but it means far more than mere peace of
  mind or a cease-fire between enemies. In the
  Bible, shalom means universal flourishing,
  wholeness and delight a rich state of affairs
  in which natural needs are satisfied and natural
  gifts fruitfully employed, a state of affairs
  that inspires joyful wonder . Shalom is the
  way things ought to be.
• Cornelius Plantinga,
• Not the way its supposed to be (1995)

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• Sin is culpable shalom-breaking.
• Cornelius Plantinga,
• Not the way its supposed to be (1995)

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• When we sin, we pervert, adulterate, and
  destroy good things. We create matrices and
  atmospheres of moral evil and bequeath them to
  our descendants. By habitual practice, we let
  loose a great, rolling momentum of moral and
  spiritual evil across generations. By doing such
  things, we involve ourselves deeply in what
  theologians call corruption.
• Cornelius Plantinga,
• Not the way its supposed to be (1995)

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Psalm 1 (translated by Calvin Seerveld)

• The heavens are telling the glory of Godthe
  very shape of starry space makes news of his
  handiwork. One day is brimming over with talk for
  the next day, and each night passes on intimate
  knowledge to the next night there is no
  speaking, no words at all, you can't hear their
  voice, (but) their glossolalia travels
  throughout the whole earth! their uttered noises
  carry to the end of inhabited land!God set up a
  tent for the sun at the ends of the earth have
  you seen the sun?! beaming forth like a
  bridegroom from his marriage-bed! The sun laugh's
  joyfully like a strong man glad to run a race it
  circles over and around to the (other ) ends of
  the sky nothing is able to hide from its
  burning heat.The leading (torah) of the Lord
  God Yahweh is utterly reliable, bringing people
  back to life again!The magnificent testimonies
  of Yahweh prove themselves to be everlastingly
  true, making inexperienced young people wise.The
  commanding words of Yahweh are truly
  straightening, causing one's heart to laugh and
  be glad!

• A task imposed by Yahweh is bound to be
  integrally whole, making one's eyes shine (with
  insight). Fear of the Lord God Yahweh is
  cleansing it stands up for ever and ever. The
  ordering judgements of Yahweh are firmly true
  Amen! The Lord's fiats all together are
  thoroughly just more desirable than gold, yes
  than much fine gold, sweeter than honey, yes than
  natural honey of the honeycomb. Let me, your
  servant, also be warned by these (ordinances,
  Lord), for in keeping them much good results
  who can discern (all one's) errant missteps?! O
  (Lord!) set me free from the spoilsome sins kept
  hidden from my notice!And please hold me back
  from every overweening presumption I am your
  servant, (Lord!) do not ever let
  self-confidence push me around then I will
  (finally) be able to be unpretentiously
  blameless, rid of all the guilt-making
  rebelliousness . . .Let the sayings of my mouth
  and the inarticulate groanings of my heart be
  something acceptable in front of your face, O
  Lord God, my rock! the One who always comes
  through to set me free from my bondage!

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Psalm 8 (The Message)

•  1 God, brilliant Lord, yours is a household
  name.  2 Nursing infants gurgle choruses about
  you       toddlers shout the songs    That
  drown out enemy talk,       and silence atheist
  babble.  3-4 I look up at your macro-skies,
  dark and enormous,       your handmade
  sky-jewelry,    Moon and stars mounted in their
  settings.       Then I look at my micro-self
  and wonder,    Why do you bother with us?
        Why take a second look our way?

•  5-8 Yet we've so narrowly missed being gods,
        bright with Eden's dawn light.    You put
  us in charge of your handcrafted world,
        repeated to us your Genesis- charge,
     Made us lords of sheep and cattle,
        even animals out in the wild,    Birds
  flying and fish swimming,       whales singing
  in the ocean deeps.  9 God, brilliant Lord,
        your name echoes around the world.

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Isaiah 58 (excerpt)

• 6 Is not this the kind of fasting I have
  chosen to loose the chains of injustice and
  untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed
  free and break every yoke?
•     7 Is it not to share your food with the
  hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with
  shelter when you see the naked, to clothe him,
  and not to turn away from your own flesh and
  blood?
•     8 Then your light will break forth like the
  dawn, and your healing will quickly appear then
  your righteousness will go before you, and the
  glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
•     9 Then you will call, and the LORD will
  answer you will cry for help, and he will say
  Here am I.
•     If you do away with the yoke of
  oppression, with the pointing finger and
  malicious talk,
•     10 and if you spend yourselves on behalf of
  the hungry and satisfy the needs of the
  oppressed, then your light will rise in the
  darkness, and your night will become like the
  noonday.
•     11 The LORD will guide you always he will
  satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and
  will strengthen your frame. You will be like a
  well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters
  never fail.