Little injustices

When Jesus proclaimed the kingdom, he wanted us to enter into a new way of living.  Christians often talk about love but love without justice means very little.  Jesus' love had a sharp edge and challenges us out of our complacency to challenge injustice wherever it is found.

 Christians are good at responding to injustice when it involves generosity and service as food banks clearly show.  Where it gets more difficult is when we are complicit in injustice.  

We blame the bankers for many of the ills of the last few years.  We are sorry for the young people struggling to get on the housing ladder. But how many of us are quick to take advantage of the markup on our house price as soon as the housing market starts to move upwards again?

We support the Living Wage in principle.  No-one should have to work for wages that are insufficient to sustain the basics of life, housing, heating and food.  But we all take advantage of the value offers in the supermarkets that pay these wages and the next day service from Amazon which has some of the poorest working conditions of all.  And we find excuses not to join in when TCC (Together Creating Communities) or other activists call on us to hold government and employers to account.

We are horrified at the examples of human cruelty that reach our media.  Perhaps we even sign the petitions which sometimes ameliorate such wickedness but how easily we become campaign weary and leave it to the activists to write the Amnesty International letters.

We acknowledge that Fair Trade can make the world of difference to third world producers.  A few of us have even heard it first hand from the producers Christian Aid has brought to us in Fair Trade fortnight.  But some parishes fail even to return the pledge form to ensure the Church in Wales can claim to be a Fair Trade Church.  How easy it is to concede to the loud voice which had a cup of fair trade coffee they didn't like twenty years ago and hasn't tried any of the many other fair trade brands now on the shelves.  Are the clergy buying fair trade clergy shirts?  Are our churches using fair trade communion wine?

Jesus' kingdom message challenges us to act consistently justly.  We need to recognise that big injustices are often built on lots of little ones.