Listen

Learn to do good. Seek justice: help the oppressed; defend the orphan; plead for the widow.

Isaiah 1:17

Think

It’s not that I didn’t want to help; it’s that it meant helping a bully! When I was in high school, a kid who bullied me and later left the school was now returning. This made me really anxious because I remember everything that happened. One day, when school ended, my mom picked me up, as usual. But it began to rain. It was storm-like rain. When we got to a red light, my mom said, “Hey, isn’t that kid from your class?” When I saw them getting wet, I’ll be honest, I smiled. And I heard my mom say, “We should help them.” I said, “WHAT?!” But honestly, the rain was getting worse. I called them, and they got in. They hadn’t even realized I was in the car. As I looked back, they were shocked.

Eventually, there was forgiveness, eventually. What happened that day? I could have been an oppressor and let them get wet in the rain, but I learned to do good. Our call to justice is not to do what we want, but to do what must be done.

Daniel Andrés Rivera Rosado

Question to Ponder:

In what ways are you answering the call to justice these days?

Pray

God of justice, I pray that you help me respond to your call to learn to do good. Even when it’s hard. Amen.

Go

Let’s go, vamos

Let’s run God’s race

With love and action

Come on, let’s go: ¡Vamos!

– ¡Vamos! by Colleen and David Burroughs