In the past several weeks, I have heard several reminders to do justice. A non-Lutheran friend recently returned from a Lutheran World Relief trip to Tanzania and sent me the following message:

"After my trip to Tanzania, I feel strongly that buying fair trade coffee is such a small, easy thing to do and it can make such a big difference for others. Read the Lutheran World Relief website page (www.lwr.org/fairtrade/index.asp") for more information about fair trade. They offer not only coffee, but chocolate and handcrafts as well. I'm not suggesting that you should buy your coffee via LWR - just encouraging you to become familiar with the fair trade concept and how to look for coffee that is fair trade. If you can't find fair trade coffee at your store, ask for it and you'll do a little consciousness raising!"

Since receiving this message, I have spent time browsing the LWR website which reads a little like the Preamble to our Constitution: "By selling through fair trade, farmers and artisans build a better future for themselves, their families and their communities. By supporting fair trade, we make choices in line with our religious beliefs and affirm human dignity." The site points out how fair trade benefits the environment and supports the rights of groups often disadvantaged: children, women and indigenous people.

During this past month, I have also been reading about Reconstruction, that period in American history when an effort was made to change our social system and to correct the injustices of slavery. At the end of the chapter, I was struck by the following quote: "Despite the many positive changes that took place, the nation had squandered the opportunity to achieve true equality and social justice." Ending slavery and attempting to give African Americans and other impoverished groups equality and justice meant giving them land or some other means of economic self support. The Land Grant and Homestead Acts of 1862 resulted in 600,000 claims by 1900 but during that same period six times that amount of land was given by the government to big businesses such as railroads. It should be noted that the land distributed by our government had been taken from Native Americans, usually without fair compensation. Those who were lucky and had enough money to take advantage of the government land grants, often did not have the experience or cash reserves to be successful farmers. During a period when the government could have spent money to assist freed people, millions of dollars were given instead to big business.

Industrial growth, efficient production and large-group purchasing at low costs are concepts I am used to thinking of as positives. I still do, but I have a growing sense of the urgent need to see the whole societal picture. Our church's efforts to educate us about the environment, energy conservation, and the fact that Jesus hung out with the outcasts, not the prosperous, makes me thank my friend for pointing me to some Lutheran programs already in place that will enable me, as an individual, to do more good this coming week.

Dear God, Help us to see the way to doing your will. We are part of a community with global boundaries. Our acts send out waves that impact people around us and on the other side of the globe. Help us make our impact a force for justice and good. Amen

Contributed by Susan
unday February 18, 2007
Liturgical Year C Week 13