Justice

If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched. - Mark 9:43-49

Today our theme is justice. In the selection from Isaiah there is a visceral and powerful call for justice, a picture of the world gone mad, where nothing makes sense, a living hell of life. Jesus' understanding of justice here implies one great thing: that the sacrifice God asks for is one of the heart. His example offers us different body parts as allegories: a hand, an eye, a foot.

Jesus' version of justice here is very poignant. It's not about covering up your bad acts with some good deeds to balance the other side of the equation. No, he never called that justice. He called that hypocrisy, and repeatedly condemned it.

Instead, Jesus offers us justice: whatever is a part of you that causes evil, deal with it. Cut it out. Stop it. Better to lose one hand than to be cast whole into the cleansing fire, than to lose everything. Better to deal with your problems than simply to do a good deed to cover them up.

I know a thief who donates huge amounts of stolen money to charity. Does this make him a good person? Does it bring justice to the world? If he does not deal with his selfish, dishonest and cheating nature, has he "cut off his hand" in Christ's example? Think about it.