Justice without intention is hollow

Sermon for Pentecost XIX, 2025, delivered at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Louisville, KY
Text: Luke 18:1-8

Three weeks ago, we took a road trip vacation to Memphis and then on to New Orleans. Weeks before we left, my son wanted very much to see the Bass Pro Shop pyramid building near the Mississippi river in Memphis. He had mentioned it so much that on our first morning, my wife said “Let’s go there first and get it over with.” We weren’t so much interested in seeing this oddity as we were in stopping his reminders that he wanted to see it. Once we were there, it turned out to be impressive - it was a huge outdoor sporting goods store under a 7 story tall pyramidal roof with hotel room balconies overlooking the sales floor. There was even a restaurant and observation deck at the top. He also asked us to drive over the Mississippi River and step out of the car so that he could say that he had been in Arkansas. And, we did that on our way to New Orleans. We all wanted to “set foot” in Arkansas, so our attitude in granting this request was different from our attitude of visiting the pyramid.

This illustrated to me the attitude of the judge in this morning’s gospel reading, where he grants the widow justice, not because he wants to see justice done, but because he wanted to get her off of his back. And he even says so, which makes him appear willfully indifferent to the presence of injustice that he should be addressing as a judge. He’s aware of his attitude and sees no reason to change it. You have heard the phrase that justice delayed is justice denied, but in this case we can add that justice without intention is hollow. Justice without the intent to correct injustice is not satisfactory to those seeking it because it is delivered out of inconvenience rather than out of a true desire to do right by someone. We did right by my son when we followed through on our promise to go to the pyramid, but it felt hollow because our primary intention was not to fulfill his request. It wasn’t until we were actually there in an unusual and unusually large retail space that we appreciated his request. We had had that experience before in the equally large and impressive L. L. Bean store in Maine. But that was because we had bought into the desire to go there, unlike the judge not buying into the widow’s request for justice. The same holds true for setting foot in Arkansas - in the end, attitude makes a difference.

So, it would appear that justice is not determined only by righting or addressing a wrong, but also by the attitude of those who have the power to make justice happen, to carry it out in the name of others. This raises the question of who do we strive for when we seek out justice: do we strive for justice for those wronged, or the oppressed, or the vulnerable, or is it just for us? How committed are we to fulfilling the spirit and intent of Jesus’ call for justice when there is a pull toward just looking righteous out of convenience? This is an ongoing issue in several areas of social discussions right now. One of them has been a call within our church to provide reparations to the 21st Century Black American community for slave labor used to build Episcopal seminaries, cathedrals, and churches. That labor is at least 6 generations removed from the living descendants of those slaves, modern Americans who continue to experience, in some form, institutional oppression based on policies and practice. I have to ask who will benefit from reparations the most: Black Americans or White guilt? Why not instead focus on the embedded policies and attitudes that perpetuate inequality today? 

Beyond justice, there is a second message in the story of the widow and the judge and it is that God eventually answers when we persist in our prayers. This is not so much about God getting around to granting our prayers so much as it is us not giving up hope for justice. If we persist, we are holding onto hope, the widow's hope, and it is that hope that drives our persistence. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy, but a good kind of self-fulfilling prophecy. But, there’s another side to this cycle, and that is the attitude of the person who can grant justice, and sometimes that person is us. When we are pestered or badgered into granting a request, we can easily be annoyed and reflexively say “no.” We can easily create excuses and suspicions about the motives of people asking us for justice not because we have actually seen anything suspicious, but because of our own emotions, our own priorities, and our own definition of justice. 

Justice is not only abut fairness or equity. It is also about having what you need for a Godly life. Justice can also be about peace. In that context, think about when you learn from someone that they are going through a hard time, or need help, like caring for a family member, but have no resources. We would say that it is unfair that they have no help or are denied help. Often, our response is “Call me if you need help.” Call me. That makes it sound like we want to do something to help, but aren’t really committed to helping, or are afraid of imposing on the other person. We shift the burden of acting on the person least able to act. When we do that, we become the judge who takes away the hope of those who ask us for help. They may persist in asking for help, but now it is out of desperation, not hope. The other side of that coin, though, is where someone in need does not ask for help. Unlike the widow, they do not ask for help, whether out of pride, lack of energy, or not wanting to be a burden themselves, and their unjust situation is what persists. And, unlike the judge, there are others who want to help, who are ready to help, people who can bring true justice by helping because they want to help.

If we are motivated by love of neighbor to do the right thing, to do justice by them, then that is true unconditional justice, real justice, coming from real righteousness. That is where true faith in Jesus leads us, to care about the plight of others, whether descendants of slaves or people in need. True faith ensures that theirs and others’ salvation is not eclipsed by an indifference to their call for justice. If we are committed to the justice we strive for wherever it is needed, and then follow through on making it a reality, then there is faith in God’s will on earth for Jesus to find.