I don’t think I’m alone in believing we are living in some of the stranger days most of us have ever experienced as Americans. Coming off the heels of a worldwide pandemic (and the economic destabilization which accompanied it,) we appear to be entering a period of increased political agitation and polarization as we approach the U.S. presidential elections in November.
The unanimous guilty verdict of a former United States president on 34 felony counts appears to have only exacerbated the great divide between those who believe our justice system is largely fair and equitable and those who believe there is a conspiracy to unfairly prosecute the former president. Now I’ve never been much of a conspiracy theorist myself. But I do know that attitudes shape reality and, if enough people claim the American justice system is rigged, it may begin to look like it actually is to some people.
Like our electoral process, our justice system is based upon trust. It is certainly not a perfect system, and we can all name instances of deep injustice which have gone unpunished… and we can name innocent people who have been wrongly punished. Still, the system seems to get it right more often than it gets it wrong. I marvel at the twelve citizens (as well as all the alternates) who willingly accepted the responsibility to be jurors in this case. They made a sacrificial offering to our democracy and have, in some instances, placed themselves in harm’s way.
Now you may want to know what any of this has to do with “religion” or “faith.” Isn’t this just all about politics? Well, I believe justice is one of the foundational building blocks of the Christian faith. As a Christian minister, I seek to avoid being partisan. I am not an advocate for Democrats, Republicans, or Independents. However, I can’t avoid discussing politics because politics involves deciding who gets what and how justice is distributed, and those are moral and ethical issues no preacher of the gospel should try to avoid. Let us pray that our God will continue to guard and guide our nation in these uncertain times.
The Book of Common Prayer offers these resources for our prayers.
A Prayer for Courts of Justice:
Almighty God, who sits in the thrones judging right; We humbly beseech you to bless the courts of justice and the magistrates in all this land; and give to them the spirit of wisdom and understanding, that they may discern the truth, and impartially administer the law in the fear of you alone; through him who shall come to be our Judge, your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
A Prayer for Social Justice:
Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart (and especially the hearts of the people of this land), that barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatred cease; that our divisions being healed, may live in justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Faithfully,
The Right Reverend Dean E. Wolfe, D.D.
Rector