Standing Up for Victims of Injustice

Standing Up for Victims of Injustice

March 2, 2025
8th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Helen Weber-McReynolds, RWCP
Daniel 13:1-62, excerpts (Susanna); Ps. 138; James 1 19-22, 26; 1 Peter 4: 8-11; Luke 6:37, 39-49
 
           So today we have three really dynamic readings, and they all focus on judgement. Our first reading included another fantastic female role model for us, and a male hero as well. Last week it was Abigail, and today it is Susanna and Daniel. We read that Susanna was a holy and sincere woman who was cornered by two corrupt judges. When they presented her with a sexual ultimatum, she risked her life to remain faithful to her husband and follow God’s law, even though she suspected she would still be condemned to death. Only when Daniel stood up for Susanna, refusing to believe she was guilty, was she spared. In the end of this story, which we did not read today, but which you may remember, the judges were proved to be the guilty ones, when Daniel questioned them, asking under what kind of tree Susanna’s tryst had supposedly taken place. When the predators named different trees, they were foiled. They were proved unworthy to judge others.
 
           Our second reading admonished us never to judge one another, and to treat one another always with love, giving one another the benefit of the doubt. It said our anger never serves God’s justice. In other words, only God can judge another person, no matter how upset we may be about their actions. Criticizing others, especially when we are not willing to change our own ways, certainly does not serve God’s justice. When we speak, the reading said, we must “…speak with care, in a manner consistent with the desire of God’s heart for the world.”
 
And in the Gospel, Jesus’ parables also told us we must not judge others. They said we are as blind as those around us, so we have no basis on which to judge them. Jesus’ parable about the plank and the particle in one’s eye helps us realize we never truly have enough information on which to base judgement of another person. We may not understand the person’s upbringing, or what traumas they have endured in their life. Has that person eaten today? Is her child sick? We don’t know what motivates other people. We are never adequately qualified to judge another person.  Besides that, we all have faults and weaknesses of our own. Judgement is truly only God’s.
 
So we must “bridle our tongues” and avoid judging others. But, like Daniel, we can stand up for the victims of injustice. We can call out corrupt behavior when we see it. We can look at the effects of the unjust decisions of others, and judge those effects. And we can organize to educate people about unfair systems and how those systems can be changed or discontinued. As it said in today’s Gospel, we can hear Jesus’ words and act on them, and be like people who build on strong foundations. In fact, in order to carry out Jesus’ teaching to be fair and loving in our words and deeds, we must stand up for those in need. In today’s world, I think that could mean calling your legislators to help defend funds for public schools. It could mean helping at an immigrant center. It could mean protesting the unconstitutional actions of the White House any way we can. And if you have any Ukrainian friends, you could let them know you still support them.
 
Daniel stood up for Susanna, and proved that her judges were corrupt. For whom do we need to stand up? To whom do we need to stand up?