Faith,
Economic Justice and Free Trade
Mennonite Central Committee, October, 2003
Our
world in El Salvador is not an abstraction.
… That world of the poor, we say, is the
key to understand the Christian faith …
The poor are the ones who tell us what the world
is and what service the church must offer to
the world. -Oscar Romero, February 17, 1980
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice anywhere.
-- Martin Luther King, Jr. 1966
INTRODUCTION
The
Bible abounds in passages that address issues
of money, wealth and economic justice. As recorded
in the first chapter of Genesis, God gave the
abundant fruits of the earth to all people and
animals for their sustenance (Gen. 1:29, 30).
And God gave all humanity – not just a
few – the authority to steward the earths
resources for the benefit of all (Gen. 1: 27,
28)
This
means that humanity has both the duty and the
ability to organize economic life in such a
way that all people can have lives of dignity,
sufficiency and community participation. Because
of this, God’s intent for people to enjoy
just and compassionate economies can begin to
be realized.
CHRISTIAN FAITH AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE
Jesus
says: “Sell your possessions and give
to the poor” (Luke 12:33). Acts describes
how the early believers carried out this instruction
(Acts 2:45). Paul writes that affluent Christians
must be “rich in good works, generous
and ready to share” (1 Tim. 6:18). John
warns that God’s love does not live in
anyone who refuses to help brothers and sisters
in need (1 John 3:17).
GOD’S WORD ON SYSTEMAC INJUSTICE
Scripture
addresses systemic, not just individual, issues
of economic justice. The Law of Moses called
for debts to be canceled and slaves to be freed
every seven years (Deut. 15). Every 50th year
an equitable redistribution of land was to be
carried out (Lev. 25). The Law also included
many other public legal provisions for just
economic relationships (e.g. Lev. 19, 25; Deut.
14, 16, 24).
Isaiah
censures monopolistic practices that deprive
people of their homes and livelihood (Isa.5:8-10).
Amos condemns exploitation of the poor through
unjust institutions (Am. 2:6,7; 4:1; 5:12).
James denounces the wealthy who defraud their
employees (James 5:4). And Jesus himself promises
a great re-ordering in which the positions of
the rich and poor will be reversed (Luke 16:19-3;
Luke 6:20-31 and 1:52-53).
PRAYERS AND READINGS FOR WORSHIP
The
Trade Pledge Prayer
I dare to pray: Lord, let the world be changed,
for I long to see the end of poverty;
I dare to pray: Lord, let the rules be changed,
for I long to see trade bring justice to the
poor;
I dare to pray: Lord, let my life be changed,
for I long to bring hope where good news is
needed.
In the strength of your Spirit and inspired
by Your compassion, I make this promise to work
for change, and wait confidently for the day
when You make all things new.
Amen.
© Peter Graystone/Christian Aid, used by
permission.
In
Our Hearing: A Responsive Reading
Refrain Leader: Generous Lord,
show us how to trade places to see with the
eyes of the prophets Your truth.
All: In Your mercy, forgive
us. In Your grace, help us to hear Your word.
(Continue repeating the refrain after each scripture
reading.)
Reader: Isaiah said, “Justice is
turned back, and righteousness stands at a distance,
for truth stumbles in the public square.”
(Isa. 59:14)
Reader: Jeremiah said, “Woe to
him who builds his house by unrighteousness,
and his upper rooms by injustice, who makes
his neighbors work for nothing, and does not
give them their wages.” (Jer.22:13)
Reader: Amos said, “Hear this,
you that trample on the needy, and bring to
ruin the poor of the land saying, … we
will practice deceit with false balances, buying
the poor for silver and the needy for a pair
of sandals, and selling the sweeping of the
wheat.” (Amos 8:4-6)
Reader: Malachi said, “See, I am
sending my messenger to prepare the way before
me.” (Mal. 3:1)
Reader: Mary said, “... The Lord
has shown strength with his arm, and scattered
the proud in the imagination of their hearts.”
(Luke 1:51)
Reader: Jesus said, “The Spirit
of the Lord is upon me. He has anointed me to
bring good news to the poor. He has sent me
to proclaim release to the captives and recovery
of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed
go free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s
favor.” And he said, “Today the
scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
(Luke 4:18-19, 21)
All: In our hearing, God’s
word will be fulfilled.
Adapted from a prayer written by Linda Jones/CAFOD,
used by permission
“The
central issue is not whether a particular arrangement
is better for everyone than no cooperation at
all would be… The critical issue is not
whether the poor are getting marginally poorer
or richer. Nor is it whether they are better
off than they would be had they excluded themselves
from global interactions. The real issue is
the distribution of globalization’s benefits
… the inequity in the overall balance
of institutional arrangements, which produces
very unequal sharing of the benefits of globalization.”
— Amartya Sen, Nobel economist, in “How
to Judge Globalization,” The
American Prospect, January 2002.
“Globalization
can be reshaped, and when it is, properly, fairly
run, with all countries having a voice in policies
affecting them, there is a possibility that
it will help create a new global economy in
which growth is not only more sustainable and
less volatile but the fruits of this growth
are more equitably shared.”
— Joseph E. Stiglitz, 2001 Nobel laureate,
in Globalization and Its Discontents.
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