Spirit, Love, Justice and Truth

We want to take this moment to express our heartfelt gratitude to all of our supporters for your support of Renewed Heart Ministry’s work of love, justice, and compassion. At a time when ministries like ours are being asked to achieve more with fewer resources, your support is so deeply appreciated, and we want to simply say thank you. Whether in our larger society or within our local faith communities, Renewed Heart Ministries remains committed to advocating for change, working towards a world that is inclusive, just, and safe for everyone, and being a source of love. From all of us here at Renewed Heart Ministries, thank you for your generous support. We deeply appreciate you.

If you’d like to join them in supporting our work, please go to renewedheartministries.com and click on “Donate.”  

---

Photo credit: Scott, Lorenzo. Baptism of Jesus, from Art in the Christian Tradition

Spirit, Love, Justice and Truth

Herb Montgomery, January 10, 2025

If you’d like to listen to this week’s article in podcast version click on the image below:

Happy New Year!

Our reading this first weekend after Epiphany is from the gospel of Luke:

The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire . . . When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:15-17, 21-22, NIV)

We covered the first part of this reading during this most recent Advent season. I think the last part of it has a special insight for us as we consider what lies ahead in 2025.

The language in this last portion is rooted in two passages from the Hebrew scriptures, one in the book of Psalms and the other in Isaiah.

  I will proclaim the LORD’S decree:

  He said to me, “You are my son;

today I have become your father. (Psalms 2:7, NIV)

The rest of Psalms 2 is abysmally violent and nationalistic. But as the author connects Jesus to this psalm, they don’t only challenge the Roman claim that Caesar was the son of God, they also tie Jesus to David and the people’s contemporary hopes for their own liberation and restoration.

In Isaiah we read:

 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,

my chosen one in whom I delight;

I will put my Spirit on him,

and he will bring justice to the nations . . . 

A bruised reed he will not break,

and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.

In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;

he will not falter or be discouraged 

till he establishes justice on earth.” (Isaiah 42:1, 3-4, NIV)

As we begin a new year, it’s good to remind ourselves what following Jesus, that Galilean prophet of the poor ministering on the edges of his own society, should be all about. At the core of his message, the heart of Christianity, is the call to love our neighbor. And loving one’s neighbor is what we call today social justice: making sure we and all of our neighbors have what they need to thrive, not just barely survive. Dedication and commitment to the ethic of loving our neighbor will, if consistently applied, ultimately bring “justice on earth.” It would take participation from everyone, but that is the ultimate goal: establishing justice here.

Social justice is rooted in love, specifically love of one’s neighbor. It calls us to engage our civic responsibility toward one another. It calls us to take inventory of how we are sharing space with others we live alongside with on our planet.  

In Isaiah, “my chosen one in whom I delight” will establish justice on Earth as the fruit of the Spirit. In our reading, that Spirit descends in the bodily form of a dove, which many today take as the symbol of peace arrived at because universal distributive justice has been established. There is an interesting passage from the apocryphal book of the Wisdom of Solomon describing the Spirit/Wisdom and its result:

“She renews all things;

in every generation she passes into holy souls

and makes them friends of God, and prophets;”

(Wisdom of Solomon 7:27, NRSV, italics added.)

Wisdom makes those on whom her Spirit rests both friends of God and prophets. So many prophetic voices throughout the centuries have called for justice. Let’s consider a sample from the Hebrew prophetic justice tradition. Look at how many times justice toward one another is the theme:

Justice and the Prophets

Isaiah 1:17 Learn to do right; seek justice.

Defend the oppressed. 

Take up the cause of the fatherless;

plead the case of the widow.

Isaiah 9:7 Of the greatness of his government and peace

there will be no end.

He will reign on David’s throne 

and over his kingdom,

establishing and upholding it 

with justice and righteousness

from that time on and forever.

The zeal of the LORD Almighty 

will accomplish this.

Isaiah 11:4 But with righteousness he will judge the needy,

with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.

He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;

with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.

Isaiah 16:5 In love a throne will be established;

in faithfulness a man will sit on it—

one from the house of David—

one who in judging seeks justice

and speeds the cause of righteousness.

Isaiah 28:6 He will be a spirit of justice

to the one who sits in judgment,

a source of strength 

to those who turn back the battle at the gate.

Isaiah 28:17 I will make justice the measuring line 

and righteousness the plumb line;

hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie,

and water will overflow your hiding place.

Isaiah 30:18 Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you;

therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.

For the LORD is a God of justice.

Isaiah 32:1    See, a king will reign in righteousness 

and rulers will rule with justice.

Isaiah 51:4,5 “Listen to me, my people;

hear me, my nation:

Instruction will go out from me;

my justice will become a light to the nations.

  My righteousness draws near speedily,

my salvation is on the way,

and my arm will bring justice to the nations.

Jeremiah 9:24 But let the one who boasts boast about this:

that they have the understanding to know me,

that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,

justice and righteousness on earth,

for in these I delight,”

declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 21:12 This is what the LORD says to you, house of David:

  “‘Administer justice every morning;

rescue from the hand of the oppressor

the one who has been robbed,

or my wrath will break out and burn like fire

because of the evil you have done—

burn with no one to quench it.

Note that the end of this passage from Jeremiah sounds a lot like John the Baptist from the first portion of this week’s reading.]

Ezekiel 34:16 I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.

Hosea 2:19 I will betroth you to me forever;

I will betroth you in righteousness and justice,

in love and compassion.

Amos 5:15 Hate evil, love good;

maintain justice in the courts.

Perhaps the LORD God Almighty will have mercy

on the remnant of Joseph.

Amos 5:24 But let justice roll on like a river,

righteousness like a never-failing stream!

Micah 3:1   Then I said,

  “Listen, you leaders of Jacob,

you rulers of Israel.

Should you not embrace justice,

Micah 3:8 But as for me, I am filled with power,

with the Spirit of the LORD,

and with justice and might,

Zechariah 7:9 “This is what the LORD Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.

Malachi 3:5    “So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify . . . against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the LORD Almighty.

This is the tradition in which both John and Jesus ministered, applying the themes to the situational injustices of their day. We are called to work for justice in our contexts in the same way. 

The Justice of the Prophets in Our Context Today

Our sacred texts sometimes spell out how to apply love of neighbor in practice:

It means practicing justice toward migrants:

“When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God. (Leviticus 19:33-34)

Loving our neighbor as ourself means loving even the “foreigner” as a “native-born,” and loving them, too, as ourselves.

It means practicing justice toward the poor:

Proverbs 14:31 Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker,

but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.

It means practicing justice toward the young;

Matthew 19:14    Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 

When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.

It means practicing justice toward the elderly:

Psalms 68:5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,

is God in his holy dwelling.

It means practicing justice toward those who live with disabilities.

Leviticus 19:14    “‘Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the LORD.

It means practicing labor justice:

James 5:4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.

In our context today we could expand to include new areas of justice work: environmental justice, gender equity and justice, racial equity and justice, LGBTQ equity and justice, and more!

Justice is also deeply tied to truth-telling. It is difficult to practice justice as a society when we don’t share the same reality, and when some have been misinformed and convinced through appeals to their own bigotries and fears that the reality is different from what is genuinely happening. One passage that gave me chills this week as I wrote this article is from Isaiah 59:

Isaiah 59:14,15: So justice is driven back,

and righteousness stands at a distance;

truth has stumbled in the streets,

honesty cannot enter.

  Truth is nowhere to be found,

and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.

The LORD looked and was displeased 

that there was no justice.

This year in 2025, however we choose to be a Jesus follower, may we express truth-telling, love and justice for our neighbor, both foreign and domestic. May we renew our commitments to each other and our dedication to taking responsibility to ensure that not just us but also everyone around us has what they need to thrive. This year, more than any other in recent history, it is vital to keep our hand to the plow, continuing the work despite new obstacles of shaping our world into a safe, compassionate, just home for everyone. 

Discussion Group Questions

1. Share something that spoke to you from this week’s Podcast episode with your discussion group.

2. In what ways are you renewing your committment to the work of establishing justice on the earth in 2025? Share and discuss with your group.

3. What can you do this week, big or small, to continue setting in motion the work of shaping our world into a safe, compassionate, just home for everyone? 

Thanks for checking in with us, today.

I want to say a special thank you to all of our supporters out there. And if you would like to join them in supporting Renewed Heart Ministries’ work you can do so by going to renewedheartministries.com and clicking donate. 

My latest book Finding Jesus: A Fundamentalist Preacher Discovers the Socio-Political and Economic Teachings of the Gospels is available now on Amazon in paperback, Kindle and also on Audible in audio book format.

As always, you can find Renewed Heart Ministries each week on X (or Twitter), Facebook, Instagram and Meta’s Threads. If you haven’t done so already, please follow us on your chosen social media platforms for our daily posts. 

Thank you for listening to The Social Jesus Podcast. If you enjoyed this podcast please take a moment to like and subscribe and if the podcast platform you’re using offers this option, please leave us a positive review. This helps others find our podcast as well.

You can watch our YouTube show each week called “Just Talking”. Each week, Todd Leonard and I take a moment to talk about the gospel lectionary reading for the upcoming weekend. We’ll be talking about each reading in the context of love, inclusion, and social justice. Our hope is that our talking will be just talking (as in justice) and that during our brief conversations each week you’ll be inspired to also do more than just talking. If you teach from the lectionary each week, or if you’re just looking for some thoughts on the Jesus story from a more progressive perspective within the context of social justice, check it out, you might like it. You can find JustTalking each week on YouTube at youtube.com/@herbandtoddjusttalking. Please Like, Subscribe, hit the Notification button, and leave us a comment.

And if you’d like to reach us here at Renewed Heart Ministries through email, you can reach us at info@renewedheartministries.com.

Right where you are, keep living in love, choosing compassion, taking action, and working toward justice.

I love each of you dearly,

I’ll see you next week.

---

New Episode of “Just Talking” Now Online!

Season 2, Episode 42: Luke 3.15-17, 21-22. Lectionary C, Epiphany 1

Each week, we’ll be talking about the gospel lectionary reading for the upcoming weekend in the context of love, inclusion, and social justice. Our hope is that our talking will be “just” talking (as in justice) and that during our brief conversations each week we’ll be inspired to do more than just talking.

If you teach from the lectionary each week, or if you’re just looking for some thoughts on the Jesus story from a more progressive perspective within the context of social justice, check it out at:

---

New Episode of The Social Jesus Podcast

A podcast where we talk about the intersection of faith and social justice and what a first century, prophet of the poor from Galilee might have to offer us today in our work of love, compassion and justice. 

This week:

Season 2 Episode 2: Spirit, Love, Justice and Truth

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

“Establishing justice on Earth is the result of the Spirit. In our reading, that Spirit descends in the bodily form of a dove, which many today take as the symbol of peace arrived at because universal distributive justice has been established. At the core of Jesus’ message, the heart of Christianity, is the call to love our neighbor. And loving one’s neighbor is what we call today social justice: making sure we and all of our neighbors have what they need to thrive, not just barely survive. Social justice is rooted in love, specifically love of one’s neighbor. It calls us to engage our civic responsibility toward one another. It calls us to take inventory of how we are sharing space with others we live alongside with on our planet. Justice is also deeply tied to truth-telling. It is difficult to practice justice as a society when we don’t share the same reality, and when some have been misinformed and convinced through appeals to their own bigotries and fears that the reality is different from what is genuinely happening.”

Available on all major podcast carriers and at:

https://the-social-jesus-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/spirit-love-justice-and-truth

---

---

Finding Jesus: A Fundamentalist Preacher Discovers the Socio-Political & Economic Teachings of the Gospels.

 

by Herb Montgomery

Available now on Amazon!

In Finding Jesus, author Herb Montgomery delves into the profound and often overlooked political dimensions of the gospels. Through meticulous analysis of biblical texts, historical context, and social discourse, this thought-provoking book unveils the gospels’ socio-political, economic teachings as rooted in a profound concern for justice, compassion, and the well-being of the marginalized. The book navigates the intersections between faith and societal justice, presenting a compelling argument for a more socially engaged and transformative Christianity.

Finding Jesus is not just a scholarly exploration; it is a call to action. It challenges readers to reevaluate their understanding of Christianity’s role in public life and to consider how the radical teachings of the gospels can inspire a renewed commitment to justice, equality, and compassion. This book is a must-read for those seeking a deeper understanding of the social implications of Christian faith and a blueprint for building a more just and inclusive society.

---

Are you getting all of RHM’s Free Resources?

Free Sign Up Here