The “J” Word
“No justice, no peace. No racist police!” This still rings in my soul from a candlelight vigil turned protest outside of the home of a 92-year old neighbor who was shot and killed in her home by undercover police officers in what has since been described as a “botched” drug raid. Kathryn Johnston is her name and a park a few blocks away now bears her name and is a searing reminder of the legacy of injustice in one particular community on the historic westside of Atlanta. Almost twenty years have passed, yet something in me can go right back to that cold November evening a few months into living in English Avenue for the first time. That night like many others in my life kindled a flame I presume we are all born with, a desire to seek and see justice. Over the next few decades of my life, as a neighbor, and then later a founder of a school seeking to repair generational impacts of educational injustice I began to notice that if you say the quiet parts out loud you either find fast friends or create silent enemies, often without even noticing. In some ways, this left me convinced that justice was a dirty word in some circles, worse it was a dirty word in many church circles. As confounding and confusing as this has been at times, in this season of my life I am beginning to see that the formation of our imagination for justice matters and that our own healing is directly related to the kind of justice we perceive to be possible and the kind of justice we seek to enact in the world.
Go with me for a moment down a few roads. First, it feels important to name that justice is God’s idea. Justice, and Social Justice have deep roots in the scriptures we read and refer to in the Bible. The concepts of reparations, redemption, restoration, etc. all have roots in the scriptures and are an arc and central theme from the Old to the New Testament. The perspectives of many of the writers of the scriptures we read are from those of a people on the margins of society, not those in power. The Bible is not essentially a call to philanthropy or good will, rather it is a deeper call to make repair in our lives and in the lives of the people and places around us so that all things reflect their desired and intended state of wholeness with and in God. More simply put, all things made new is the lasting image we are to look towards and reflect with our lives and therefore our approach to justice and our appetite for justice must also be made new. I’m curious if the justice we seek and see most often is the outworking of our failed imaginations when it comes to the invitation from God to be collaborators with God for the renewal of all things.
I’ve experienced the outworking of this in my own story in a few archetypes I’d offer for reflection.The first is that of the hero or the savior. Without overworking it here, this is the person who with all good intentions believes themselves to be the savior in the story. Setting out on the hero’s quest, they are well intended and resourced with the imagination that they have the salve to the problem at hand and are here to bring that to bear. They don’t much like criticism, alternative solutions, and they have imagined a justice they are working towards with God’s blessing which leans hard towards self righteousness and pride. While many praise their efforts and love their stories, injustice flourishes, despite their best efforts. Control is the name of this game, not collaboration. A second figure that may show up in justice spaces is the wounded healer. (This is not an indictment of nor judgment of the incredible work of Henri Nouwen by this same name.) More humble than the hero, but no less effective, their wounds shape the way they perceive the healing and justice needed in a situation. Often showing up to be what they were not offered in the world, sincerity and authenticity are their aroma, and yet they have imagined a justice they are working towards in spite and against all odds. This also makes it hard to suggest another way because they are so deeply connected to the pain they are seeking to cure in their own story and in the world around them. Chaos is the comfortable confines, not collaboration.
Perhaps there is a third archetype to imagine. A healing healer. One who is aware that they are in process, on a path, and paying attention to the ways in which their own trauma and story are shaping the imagination they have for the good and beautiful work they are seeking to do in the world. The justice they are seeking and seeing come to bear are from a place of wholeness, abundance, and belovedness rather than a fractured, striving, earning identity. Could the kind of justice imagined on the pages of scripture and in the heart of a just God be coming to bear in collaboration with this kind of person? I’m curious if the better way Jesus offers in Matthew’s gospel as He says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” is an invitation to collaboration for the renewal of all things from a place of healing rather than for our own healing.
Having identified all three of these archetypes in my own story, creating spaces for healing and hope on the way to a more just and beautiful world is my offering to companion and champion mercy and justice practitioners on their own paths. There are many good, just, and beautiful things happening in the world in spite of what we regularly see. That is not to say we should look away or disengage, but it is to say wonder together what would happen if we found the healers and helped get them the healing they deserve. What role could healing and hope play in producing the justice God imagines?
There are two distinct ways you can join me in this season:
Help me find the healers. Offering spiritual direction, soul care, and strategic support virtually, means I can connect to anyone anywhere in the world. If you know them, support their work, or are them, let’s connect. The simplest way is to have you make a warm introduction or for them to reach out directly to benjamin@sozojustice.com . Even if someone is unsure what these offerings are or mean, a conversation could be the difference in them stepping towards healing and hope in a new way in this season.
Empower the healing of the healers. This work is made possible without cost and virtually in order to ensure healers do not have to consider how they might step into a space like this. No board to ask, no funding of their own needed, I want healers to be able to reach out and begin walking the path to healing and hope. This means your financial support makes that possible. Would you consider a one-time or monthly gift to begin empowering healers today? If so, you can do that here.
Thank you in advance for the ways in which together we can create space for healing and hope on the way to a more just and beautiful world.
Benjamin Wills
Founder, Executive Director
This is part 2 of a 3 part series in which we walk through the name and methodologies of Sozo Justice Collective.
