By Fr Stephan Alexander
General Manager, CCSJ/AMMR
One of the stories in heavy rotation on international news cycles over the last few days has been the killing of 137 persons at a Moscow concert hall on Friday, March 22.
In response to this tragic loss of life, news outlets such as The Times reported that “President Putin lit a candle in memory of the Moscow terror attack victims” on Palm Sunday (March 24).
Like President Putin, many Russians mourned publicly and displayed acts of solidarity with their countrymen who were killed and those who lost loved ones. Videos of these displays were powerful and emotive. They caused me to commiserate with the Russian people to an extent that I would not have if I had not seen the videos.
The depth of sympathy that I experienced ushered me into a reflection that focused on justice, our disconnection from each other and the power of images. These seemingly varied themes all came together within a deeper reflection on the impact of Jesus’ Resurrection.
The beautiful words from Isaiah 42:1–7—the first reading for Monday of Holy Week—turn our attention to the requirements of justice and of God’s desire for us in effecting justice.
Here the author identifies God’s delight in His servant, the chosen one, whom God will uphold because, this ‘suffering servant’ has been endowed with God’s Spirit to bring true justice to the nations.
“Faithfully he brings true justice; he will neither waver, nor be crushed until true justice is established on earth, for the islands are awaiting his law. Thus says God, the Lord, he who created the heavens and spread them out, who gave shape to the earth and what comes from it, who gave breath to its people and life to the creatures that move in it: ‘I, the Lord, have called you to serve the cause of right; I have taken you by the hand and formed you; I have appointed you as covenant of the people and light of the nations, ‘to open the eyes of the blind, to free captives from prison, and those who live in darkness from the dungeon’.”
The effecting of justice through humility and obedience is the beautiful revelation of the prophet. It is a revelation meant to deepen within us God’s call to serve the cause of right and weaken our focus on our ‘self’.
This focus on the self leads us to distance ourselves from what is right. We disconnect ourselves from the hurt of others and especially from the hurt we cause others. This disconnection is itself an act of injustice because it leads us towards indifference and away from the common good of all people.
How many Russians have mourned the loss of Ukrainian lives caused by a war instigated by President Putin? Has their mourning led to a change in the status quo? What does Putin’s re-election—essentially unopposed—suggest about these people who feel so deeply about the ‘unfair’ loss of life?
When we disconnect ourselves from each other, doing justice becomes impossible because righteousness, justice, love, and faithfulness are inseparable from one another. Psalm 89:14 identifies these inseparable virtues as the foundation of God’s throne, and that which goes before God.
Hence, we must always seek the good of the other and ensure right relationships. We cannot sit back and be unmoved if injustice doesn’t directly affect us. We cannot afford to be bystanders.
We cannot go on as normal because we are afraid to speak up or act. Jesus did not call us to a lifestyle of comfort but to serve in the cause of right, the cause of truth. We cannot water down the truth, however unpopular that truth may be. We cannot be inactive if we are true followers of Christ (Matt 16:24–26).
To His disciples, Jesus’ cross represents the greatest expression of justice the world has ever encountered. It was on the cross that righteousness, justice, love, and faithfulness met.
It was in this mystical act that they came to recognise that God’s justice is exemplified and embodied in the Crucifixion and Resurrection of the Lord. Jesus on the cross is the great image of connection and togetherness.
It displays the sacrifice, which justice demands. His bodily Resurrection and His exaltation demonstrate the restoration of God’s justice. It was by His Resurrection that the injustice of His Crucifixion was set aside leading to the restoration and victory of true justice.
When we stand firm with God and each other, when we work for communion instead of division, justice is possible, and we are raised up like Jesus in a most eternal way (Phil 2:9).
As we joyfully celebrate the mystery of Jesus’ Resurrection, this Easter let us live for each other by embracing God’s request that we do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8).
Happy Easter!
