Do Justice - 1 Kings 21

When I was a kid, there was this adorable disney pixar movie that came out called Monster Inc. - it was such a fun, novel idea. We enter the world of monsters who are all a little bit cute, and they have this elaborate system of creating doors into kid’s bedrooms to scare them, because screams are electricity for monsters. And when I was little, in the movie a kid gets loose in the monster world and causes all kinds of havoc. Fast forward ten years - I am a grown adult, married with a big boy job - No kids yet. But you better believe when the prequel Monsters University came out - I was all over that. If you’ve never seen it, Monsters University is the story of the two main characters, who are best buds in the first movie, it goes back to when they are competitors in college and they can’t stand each other. And they wind in this massive college team challenge - and they’re on the same team, but they’re still competing with one another. And the first challenge is this race, through a dangerous course, and I remember this one scene where they line up at the starting line. And they’re on the same team - but they’re trash talking, “I’m going to wipe the floor with you” all that. And the starters pistol goes off, and these two leave their team behind - like the other four guys on their team, and they take off. Hijinks and chaos - but they get to the finish line, and they cross it neck and neck. They’re way ahead of most of the other teams, and they both jump up to see which one of them was the best. And they look up and realize their points aren’t on the board. There’s a moment of confusion and then the second team crosses the finish line, all together. And that’s when another player tells them, your whole team needs to cross the finish line for it to count - so they end up in last place. Now I know it’s just a plot device for a kid’s movie - but there’s a profound truth hidden the cartoon silliness. 

Truth is, in our world - there is so much rugged individualism, there’s so much incentive to sprint out ahead and leave everyone else behind. And in a world where selfishness is the default posture of every person - it is actually rebellion to put others first. To treat the slowest as a part of the team. To elevate the weak, to let the first be last and the last be first. It defies normal expectations. I wonder, in your life - have you ever had a moment where you felt like it was harder to wait for others? I see it with my kids - the older boys are more physically capable, like if we’re going on a hike, or sledding or something - and they want rush ahead. And they can get so frustrated because they have to wait for little brother, or baby sister - who are just SO slow, especially if there’s snow. Or maybe for us parents - how many times would it be easier to just do the thing yourself, including the kids will slow everything down. Like when my toddler wants to help make dinner, or bake cookies. The cookies will take twice as long to make, and they will not be even - but we do it, because fast, evenly sized cookies are not my goal as a parent. Making memories, and teaching life skills are my goal. Or maybe it’s a co-worker at work, and they offer to help - but it will take longer to teach someone else to do it, and so you just say, “Nah - I’ll just do it myself. I don’t want to slow down for my team mate” I know I’m guilty of this - anybody a “I’ll just do it myself” person? What does it mean for a Christian to take the individualism of the modern age and transform it with God’s radical proposition to love our neighbors? That’s what we’re going to get into today.

Today we are continuing our series called “The Rebels Guide To Goodness” - and our anchor text has been Micah 6:8. [read it]. If you use one of the NIV translations on the back wall, instead of “do what is right” it says “act justly” - or some people will squish them together: Do Justice. Love Mercy. Walk Humbly With God. This is the project in front of us, and last week we spent some time with Micah and some of the evils that he was calling out. And what I want to remind you from last week as we get into it this week is the teaching that What God has done for his people, that gives him an authority over his people. God, in Micah 6:3, points backwards at their history and how he has walked alongside them as evidence for why they should listen to him. It’s not just because he is powerful, it’s not because of clever arguments or the promise of a good life. What we saw last week is that we try to live the way God teaches because he loves us, and he has asked us to live this way. We reject the world’s system of selfishness, we rebel against it, because the God who made us, and loves us and walks with us and died for us and has a good and beautiful plan for us - he said this is what we should do. Micah says, “The Lord has told you what is good: do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.” And built on the foundation of God’s love, we’re going to start today with “Do Justice”

“Do Justice” - bah, but what does that even mean? Can I share a struggle that I have had this week with you? As I was getting into this message - I have this fear. Justice, as a concept, it feels too far away. Do you know what I mean? Like, I get up here and I say, “ go Do Justice” and you say, “sure thing, will do” - but… what does that even mean? If you set yourself a goal to do justice this week, what’s going to be different about your monday morning? The very idea of justice seems abstract. Far away. It’s like a high minded philosophy quote we might share on facebook or instagram - but it doesn’t… actually… mean anything, does it? And so we’re going to get into a story in just a minute from 1 Kings - but I’m going to warn you right from the start, our project today as we read God’s word is going to be, to bring the concept of Justice in close. And what I hope to show you by the end of this is that closeness is EXACTLY what Jesus has in mind for your life. 

And so if you want to grab your bible, either on your phone or a physical one from off the shelf - we are going to be in 1 Kings, chapter 21, the story of Naboth’s vineyard, starting right there in verse 1. [read v.1-2]. So we open up on the King of Israel, who owns a palace, and this other fellow named Naboth who owns a vineyard next door. The King likes how convenient it is, and so he wants to buy it. BUT, [read v.3]. Can’t sell it to you, it’s a family inheritance. I can appreciate that - I’ve got a hand painted china set from my Oma. No amount of money would part me from that set, it’s a family inheritance. But watch how the king responds, [read v.4]. Just..wha- I love the description of putting his face to the wall, what does that sound like to you? Parents of toddlers, help me out! It sounds like the temper tantrum of a four year old! King Ahab is basically a pouty child. [read v.5-7]. So his wife gets to change his diaper, and pretend to be his mommy - “here’s your sippy cup, you go eat and I’ll take care of this.” Verse 8, [read v.8-10]. So Jezebel has got, like, a little plan - Queen Jezebel would have made a great mafia don. This lady is straight up sinister! 

And actually, we’re not going to get into this much - but this is a key feature of their relationship. At this time, Kings in Israel were not supposed to marry people from other countries, like Jezebel. Because Jezebel worshipped a false god called Baal, and if you marry someone who worships Baal you probably will start worshipping the false god too. And that’s exactly what happens to King Ahab. He was already a bit of a handful by himself, but once he gets married to Jezebel - her influence ripples into his life. And what we see with this is a really simple concept that we continuously forget in the Christian life. The people around you matter. And in light of our conversation on justice - the same thing holds true: the people around you matter. How many of us build our system of justice on the actions of our neighbors? I’m not sure if it’s okay - but they’re doing it - so that must make it okay. If they’re spending this much money on a vacation, or a new boat, or whatever - then it must be okay for ME to spend this much money on this, this and this. How many of our teenagers - “well, I’m not really sure what’s right with dating and sex and all of that - but they’re doing it over there” or (God forbid) “Well, they’re doing it in that tv show - so it must be okay.” Honestly this teaching about influence that we get from King Ahab and Jezebel is just the grown up version of the “peer pressure conversation” we have with every middle schooler. [wag finger] “If your friends all jumped off a bridge, does that make it right?”, “If all your friends are willing to murder their neighbors and steal their vineyards for the convenience of their pouty child of a husband, does that make it right?” [pause] When we don’t have a standard to measure justice against - for a lot of us, the first place we look is to the influences around us. The voices, the influences we put into our lives matter - and the little challenge that comes with that is, “are you listening for God’s voice about justice in your life?” Jezebel was a terrible influence, and she does a terrible thing! Her little plan goes off without a hitch. Verse 11, [read v.11-16]. Now here’s what I don’t want you to miss. Jezebel calls for a time of fasting and prayer, a religious tradition, and then uses it to falsely accuse Naboth of cursing God. It’s a terrible thing all by itself, but it is EXTRA offensive because the law was meant to protect people and help them grow closer to God, and she used it as a weapon. It’s a horrible reversal. The role of the king is to uphold the law, and to be a steward of justice. Like, if I was searching for a definition of justice - the first place I might look is to my neighbors. But King Ahab shows us that’s not going to work! But the second place a lot of us turn to find justice is the law. The government determines what justice is - but King Ahab IS the government. Who protects us from the injustice of the supposed source of justice?!? If it’s not in our neighbors, and it’s not in our system of laws - where do we get the concept of justice?

In Micah 6:8, that phrase “Do justice” - the Hebrew word there is Mishpat. And the root word means to judge or to govern, but all throughout the old testament it is used in connection with four groups of people: widows, orphans, immigrants, and the poor. Do you notice the theme in those groups? They are the vulnerable in society. The slow team member in the race - those who need help. And this shows us something SO important - God defines justice as care for the vulnerable. In the old testament, 1 out of every ten verses is about how God’s people actively care for the poor. In the new testament, in the book of Luke, with the teachings of Jesus - it goes up to 1 out of every 6 verses. Justice is not what our friends think, it’s not peer pressure, it’s not what power will allow, it’s not what our government thinks - it is care for the vulnerable.

I see this a lot with my boys. I’ve talked about this a little bit before, I am the oldest of four children. And as the big brother, when I was younger I was an absolute tyrant. I knew what was right and wrong, and I was more than willing to enforce it on my little brothers with my fists. And actually, I can make jokes about being a bully older brother - but the truth is that I carry a lot of guilt for the way I treated my siblings. I thought the point in life was to get ahead. To stand out, to be the star - to cross the finish line first. And in a lot of ways, when my brothers and sister needed my help - I left them behind. And so now that I have four boys of my own - I have had the same conversation with every kid. When they become a big brother, it’s only a matter of time before they bump up against a situation that doesn’t feel fair. Their standard of justice doesn’t match the situation in front of them. And I have to sit them down and explain, “Buddy, you are a big brother. And what that means is that you are bigger and stronger, and so your job is to take care of your little brother. To put him first, to think about what he needs first. Because that’s what God teaches us about power - is that we who have it, have to use it to take care of others.” And I said to Liam, when Amos came around, and I said to Amos when Ezra came on the scene and I said to Ezra when Asher was born, and I even said it to Asher when Maggie completed the family. And then I turned to Maggie and I said, “you are the baby, and the only girl, so you get everything you ever want, forever.” I’m sure that will work out. [laugh]. This idea of justice as caring for the vulnerable, I think one of the best illustrations I’ve seen for it is this picture right here. [put up photo]. For those who can’t see it. There’s two images. The one on the left is three people trying to watch a baseball game over a fence. A dad and an older boy and a younger boy. And they each have one box. It’s equality plain and simple. The problem is that the dad doesn’t need the box, and the younger boy, even with one box - can’t see over the fence. So then the picture on the right - the dad has no box, the older boy still has one, and the younger boy has two, but now they can all see over the fence. And it’s not equal. And according to the world - maybe it’s not fair, it’s not their version of justice. But this is God’s version of justice - because no one is left behind. A system that prioritizes the vulnerable. Where the powerful have a responsibility to lift up those who are weak. And I don’t want to give away the whole teaching all at once - but there is a reason we celebrate this system of justice. Because at some point every single one of us is going to be on the outside of God’s presence - where our sin has led us, weakened and cast out and the only hope we have is that God’s justice will still be aimed at those who are vulnerable. 

The good news that God’s word gives us today - is that God’s justice cares for the least of these. The outcast, the vulnerable -mishpat, justice for the widow, the orphan, the immigrant and the poor. Ever since Jesus showed up, this was his teaching - and this was the way his followers transformed the world they lived in. The early church practiced justice by actively pursuing the outsider. They looked at their world and asked, “who is the most vulnerable? And no matter who it is - that’s who we’re going to go help.” There’s a phenomenal quote from NT Wright - this makes me so proud to be a Christian, where he says, “By the end of the second century, Roman officials were not particularly aware of the nuances of Christian teaching, but they did know what the word ‘bishop’ meant - it meant someone who kept on agitating about the needs of the poor.” Can you imagine that? Christianity is just starting out, and a couple of roman officials are discussing the trend, “have you heard about this new thing that’s starting to spread?” ‘Yeah, I don’t really understand their teachings - but they will not shut up about caring for the poor.” And this was a new idea! This idea actually led to the creation of the concept of human rights. Before Christians showed up with this radical definition of justice - the roman world, and most cultures around the world - they actually felt that some people deserved to be slaves. There were winners who deserved more, and losers who deserved less. But then Christians come in with this idea to care for the vulnerable, no matter who they were - the idea that human beings might have dignity and worth, just because they are human. That every human was created by God and that gave them dignity and value - that was unheard of. In the Roman World it was Patriarchy - men were in charge and they could do anything they wanted to the people underneath them. Women, servants, slaves - in fact, historians can follow the spread of Christianity around the Roman empire, by following where they were changing the laws allowing sex slavery. If a town changed its laws to make sex slavery illegal - that meant the Christians had just showed up and started protecting the vulnerable. One more example - this stuff is so cool. There was an old roman tradition called exposure. And it was sort of like an ancient version of abortion. They didn’t have tools for surgeries, but if someone didn’t want a baby, they would just leave it out in the elements. It would die of exposure. And this was totally normalized in Roman Culture. Enter the Christians - who were obsessed with caring for the most vulnerable, and protecting the weakest in society, and the practice disappeared. Christians would literally go looking for the babies - they would bring them in and protect them and save them and raise them. The widow, the orphan, the immigrant, the poor - by aiming at the most vulnerable, you get the whole team across the finish line. This is what God teaches us, and this is how we need to orient our life today. 

And so coming out of this key teaching, I have two very simple challenges for you this week. First I want you to take some time this week and ask God, “who am I missing?” Who is the vulnerable in my life that I am not caring for?  Who are the marginalized, the cast out, the rejected? Who, in your life, would Jesus want to go have a meal with? I remember when I moved to Byron Center a couple of years ago, I had some assumption about what this town was like. People told me - it’s growing so fast, with the hospital and then the tangier outlets, the schools are incredible - and so it’s exploding, they can’t build houses fast enough for all the people who want to move to Byron Center, and a lot of the newer folks are very wealthy. And that was the picture I had of Byron Center - and there’s a lot of truth in that. But at one point I was sitting with my Advisory Team, which - I just want to say how grateful I am for those amazing people. They have done just an amazing job helping me understand this church and our community - as I try to make the best decisions as your pastor. But I was sitting with my Advisory team and I made a comment about how there wasn’t a lot of poverty in Byron Center. And someone on the team said, “Well - you know, it’s there, you just don’t see it.” And what I learned is that Byron Center has a talent for hiding things that make us feel uncomfortable. For a lot of us, if we are struggling - we don’t tell our neighbors. If there is poverty, or weakness or vulnerability - so many people in our community do their absolute best to cover it up. And so, if you’re not looking for it - you’ll completely miss it. And I remember when it became so obvious to me - we did this thing, where we were providing Christmas presents for a family in need. And I was so excited, because I got to be the delivery guy. I got to go and drop off all the gifts. And I get the address, and I put it into my phone and I was shocked - it was less than a mile away from this church. And there was a whole little community, tucked away from the road. I must have driven past it 100 times, and I never even realized they were there. And I was so convicted, that I didn’t even see the need in my own community - because I wasn’t expected it to be there. And so this week, my first challenge to you is - ask God to open your eyes. There are vulnerable people in your story - do you see them? Do you know who the vulnerable in your community are? Which co-workers are struggling? Which of your neighbors could use a helping hand? Who in your own family needs someone to lean on right now? My first challenge for you is “Who are they?” Go find them. Ask God to show them to you. 

My second challenge is that once you know who they are - how can you love them? Like I said at the top, my fear with this whole message is that we talk about these concepts like Justice, but its too far away. At the end of the day, no one in this room is an ancient israelite king stealing a peasant’s vineyard. But every single day in your life you are confronted with opportunities to love your neighbor, to love sacrificially, to care for the most vulnerable in your sphere of influence. Sometimes that’s through an incredible program - like hand to hand, or Hope unexpected, or it could be even as simple as sending a text message checking in on that one person you know is going through a hard time. Who do we need to help - and how can we love them. This is what God’s word challenges us to do this week.

Actually - there is an amazing program that does this exact thing that I’m really excited to tell you about. Currently our church has amazing partnerships with Hand2Hand and Hope Unexpected - but as we grow, we are hoping to expand in our mission partners too. One of those groups is Mel Trotter Ministries - which is probably the greatest homeless ministry in the grand rapids area. They not only help people who don’t have a house, but they have a new program to help people who are on the brink of homelessness as well. It’s called Bridge of Hope - and basically what it does is we create a team of 5-10 church volunteers to create a wraparound support team. We’re not interested in throwing blankets and canned food at people - we want to provide an actual support team that meets with a person or family and helps them come back from the brink of homelessness and climb out of poverty. I was very interested when I heard about it, but I knew it would be challenging to afford it for a church our size. So, from one of our wesleyan sister churches - we were given a scholarship to launch the program. All we need is people. It’s a wholistic support system that helps people who are about to be homeless and provides the support and resources they need to navigate standing on their own two feet and moving through the most common obstacles on the path out of poverty. If that sounds like a ministry you’d be interested in - there’s a sign up sheet to get more information in the lobby. 

Maybe you’re not a greedy king in ancient israel who wants to steal his neighbor’s stuff. Maybe you’re not an adorable monster racing his ol’ college buddy, and ignoring the rest of the team. But every single day God’s definition of justice as caring for the poor pushes us to take care of the vulnerable in our society. I say it all the time - Christianity is a team sport. A lot of things in the Christian life you can do alone - you can pray, you can sing, you can even come to church and sit by yourself. But you can’t love alone. 

And when we remember the example of Jesus, who came to us - died for us, gave up his body and blood for us - we realize why God’s definition of justice is so important. Because every single one of us, at one point or another, we have been the vulnerable. We have been the sinner in God’s story of forgiveness. 

And so we have this tradition in the church we call communion - and every time we do it, I love to tell the story…