{"id":86000,"date":"2021-01-05T14:20:20","date_gmt":"2021-01-05T12:20:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=86000"},"modified":"2021-01-05T14:20:20","modified_gmt":"2021-01-05T12:20:20","slug":"rain-down-justice-economic-social-political-justice-for-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/rain-down-justice-economic-social-political-justice-for-all\/","title":{"rendered":"Rain Down Justice! Economic, Social, Political Justice For All"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[349],"acf":{"old_id":"86000","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":80223,"related_cahpter":"649","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"by: The Rev. Dr. Katherine Henderson","content":"

Psalm 82 speaks pointedly about the right exercise of power. Less poetic and more prophetic, the psalmist draws us into a courtroom scene where God acts as the Defender of Justice. In the exchange that follows, God takes on the lesser gods\u2014those to whom power has been delegated. Instead of using their power for good\u2014to ensure justice for the weak and vulnerable\u2014these gods do just the opposite, giving preferential treatment to the wicked. They act as though they are above the rule of law, seemingly unconstrained by the guardrails governing regular folk. Without \u201cknowledge or understanding, they walk about in darkness,\u201d with the consequence being that the foundations of the earth are shaken.<\/p>\n

How familiar this story rings as we face the multiple pandemics of white supremacy and racism, economic inequality and COVID-19 in a time of rising authoritarianism\u2014an \u201cepidemic of norm breaking\u201d\u2014that threatens our democracy (See Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt,\u00a0How Democracies Die<\/em>, Penguin Random House, 2018).<\/p>\n

But there is a vision implied by the psalmist that can propel us forward and beyond this doomsday, showing us a way though this time of trial. The hope lies with those among us who are using their power for good, for truth telling and whistleblowing, for revealing abuses of power and bringing criminal activity to light. For giving voice and specificity to egregious violations that most of us might only intuit. The right way forward lies in acting beyond partisan politics; it lies with those who remind us of our shared values: freedom, equal justice for all, and the rule of law.<\/p>\n

We must also learn from brave upstanders throughout human history. Even during the horrific years of World War II and the Holocaust, courageous leaders like Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer of the Confessing Church, and others from government, education, media, and everyday citizens took great personal risks in acting against the brutality of the Nazis. Let these and other such historical figures serve as models for us in our time and place, for the fight we face today.<\/p>\n

Our psalmist ends his prayer with a poignant plea, a call to an all-powerful sovereign God to judge the nations. The psalmist desires vindication. So do we. In this time of widespread illness, inequity, and the erosion of our democracy, we pray for God to rain down justice. In the meantime, it is up to us\u2014truth tellers, activists, faith leaders, and everyday folks from all sectors of society\u2014to work together, keeping our eyes on the prize of a truly inclusive multiracial and democratic society where economic, social, and political justice become real for all. With the psalmist, we appeal to the Defender of Justice, our strength and our shield, to hear our prayers and to guide our path.<\/p>\n

The above is abridged; the original piece can be found at: https:\/\/ifyc.org\/article\/ps-82-exercising-power-justly<\/a>.<\/p>\n","image":{"ID":86007,"id":86007,"title":"Katherine Henderson","filename":"Katherine-Henderson.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Katherine-Henderson.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/writer\/katharine-henderson\/katherine-henderson\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"katherine-henderson","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":86006,"date":"2021-01-05 12:06:17","modified":"2021-01-05 12:17:34","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":724,"height":362,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Katherine-Henderson-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Katherine-Henderson-300x150.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":150,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Katherine-Henderson.jpg","medium_large-width":724,"medium_large-height":362,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Katherine-Henderson.jpg","large-width":724,"large-height":362,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Katherine-Henderson.jpg","1536x1536-width":724,"1536x1536-height":362,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Katherine-Henderson.jpg","2048x2048-width":724,"2048x2048-height":362,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Katherine-Henderson.jpg","post_full_size-width":724,"post_full_size-height":362,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Katherine-Henderson.jpg","home_baner-width":724,"home_baner-height":362}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"The PsalmSeason Project","main_caption":"Rain Down Justice! 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