Justice and Righteousness

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today use the history of the exiles in Babylon and the response of Joseph to the call to be husband of Mary to open our minds to contemplate justice and righteousness.

Joseph is told all will be well in a dream. So he sticks by Mary. #nativity #PutnoeLibrary @BedsLibraries pic.twitter.com/46rgVVo8zT

— Barbara Burbidge (@GrannyBeej) December 6, 2017

The prophecy in the Book of Jeremiah is for justice for the exiles in Babylon that redeems the people from the poor leadership of their kings.

* [23:1–8] With the false rulers (shepherds) who have governed his people the Lord contrasts himself, the true shepherd, who will in the times of restoration appoint worthy rulers (vv. 1–4). He will provide a new king from David’s line who will rule justly, fulfilling royal ideals (vv. 5, 6). “The Lord our justice” is an ironic wordplay on the name of the weak King Zedekiah (“The Lord is justice”). Unlike Zedekiah, the future king will be true to the name he bears. Verses 7–8 may have been added during the exile.

The Gospel from Matthew relates the transformation of Joseph, the righteous man, to open his heart as Mary’s husband who adopts Jesus.

* [1:18–25] This first story of the infancy narrative spells out what is summarily indicated in Mt 1:16. The virginal conception of Jesus is the work of the Spirit of God. Joseph’s decision to divorce Mary is overcome by the heavenly command that he take her into his home and accept the child as his own. The natural genealogical line is broken but the promises to David are fulfilled; through Joseph’s adoption the child belongs to the family of David. Matthew sees the virginal conception as the fulfillment of Is 7:14.

In the nation’s apostasy Jeremiah saw the sealing of its doom.

The prophet supported the reform of King Josiah (2 Kgs 22–23), but after the death of Josiah the old idolatry returned. Jeremiah opposed this as well as royal policy toward Babylon. Arrest, imprisonment, and public disgrace were his lot. In the nation’s apostasy Jeremiah saw the sealing of its doom. Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem (598 B.C.) and carried King Jehoiachin into exile (Jer 22:24).

Joseph is inspired in a dream to marry and adopt Jesus.

Don Schwager meditates on these texts and comments that we are called “in hope to believe against hope” (Romans 4:18) that God can and will fulfill all his promises.

Mary had to face an enormous challenge to her faith and trust in God and to the faith of her family and Joseph, the man she chose to marry. She was asked to assume a burden of tremendous responsibility. It had never been heard of before that a child could be born without a natural father. Mary was asked to accept this miraculous exception to the laws of nature. That required faith and trust in God and in his promises. Second, Mary was not yet married. Pregnancy outside of wedlock was not tolerated in those days. Mary was only espoused to Joseph, and such an engagement had to last for a whole year. She was asked to assume a great risk. She could have been rejected by Joseph, by her family, by all her own people. Mary knew that Joseph and her family would not understand without revelation from God. She nonetheless believed and trusted in God's promises.

Fred Hanna finds hope in the texts today for the difficulty of being separated from family at Christmas.

Friar Jude Winkler offers some background to the second Exodus described by Jeremiah and the understanding that Joseph would be described in Hebrew as Sadiq [tsaˈdik]. Joseph redefined redefined righteousness to include being obedient to the Lord with Compassion Friar Jude observes.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, opens a series of talks on Universal Resurrection that the early Church Fathers described as apokatastasis.

Universal restoration or apokatastasis (see Acts 3:21) was recognized by many in the Eastern Church, but Western Christianity, both Roman and Protestant, paid little attention. We interpreted the New Testament largely in terms of individual and private salvation, which is hardly salvation. Only a very, very few win by our stingy criteria. How soon are you ready to allow God to show infinite love to you? Many do seem to wait until the very end. Some of the Church Fathers said that once we see the Infinite Mercy, we wouldn’t be able to resist it.

Apokatastasis in the Thought of Origen and Gregory of Nyssa

 The question of a universal restoration of all Creation is nothing new. Both Clement and Origen of Alexandria, as well as the Cappadocians, Gregory of Nazianzus and Gregory of Nyssa, wrote theological reflections that explore the topic of apokatastasis, a Greek word translated variously as restitution or restoration, which is associated with the ideas of personal and cosmic salvation (apokatastasis). What follows is an overview of some of the primary sources available to us from Origen and Gregory of Nyssa. Taking into account the historical circumstances that prompted these men to write on these questions, we will examine their thoughts and explore how they might aid in our contemporary discussion. While these early Church Fathers both discussed hell as a reality, both saw it as a temporary state for purification and correction rather than an eternal punishment.

Contemplation of justice and righteousness may alert us to the changes in how people have understood the action of God in their lives throughout salvation history. Joseph provides a timely example of being open to grace and loving compassion in accord with the Will of God.