Last Monday I preached a sermon in my Biblical Preaching class. The content of the sermon focused heavily on the powerlessness we often feel in the face of global injustice and corruption, and how we are empowered as the church to work towards a more just society through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Afterwards, I received some comments that surprised me. When the professor asked the class if feeling powerless in the face of the problems in the world was a concern for them, several people answered "no". Not concerned about the powerlessness we feel in the face of world problems? I was amazed that future pastors would voice such opinions. That was shocking, but what surprised me even more was the comment one young woman made. "I think that some of us fall more into the category of theology nerds and maybe not so much the social justice enthusiasts. Like for me, I don't particularly feel a call to social justice or a connection to that. So, yeah, it is a concern, but I don't really connect to it that much."
What the young woman said really hit on a general mentality that we see in many of our churches today. By distinguishing interest in theology from interest in social justice, she exemplified a common perspective in many churches today, that social justice is more like an extra-curricular activity than an integral part of the good news of Jesus Christ. It is as if someone could ramble off their concern about injustice in the world along with their other activities outside of class. "I love to play soccer on weekends, I cook for the church group on Wednesdays, and sometimes I do social justice on Tuesdays".
I think there is a misunderstanding of social justice in the church that really harms the way we live as Christians in our communities and world. If we say that social justice is like an extra-curricular, then that means some people can take care of social justice while others can ignore it. But justice is the core of Jesus' message! We cannot read the gospels and ignore the fact that Jesus'life and teachings aimed to turn the tables on the powerful and uplift the poor and oppressed.
If we are to call ourselves Christ's disciples, then we must recognize that we are each individually called to work for justice and peace in our world. Let us work to transform the mentality in our churches today, so that social justice and the gospel are no longer separable concepts. If we can really change this mentality and unite our communities behind work for justice, only God knows what we are capable of.