Christianity

Elements To Build A Church Or Prayer Service

• Opening Prayer
• Scriptural Approaches to Justice
• Responsive Reading
• Homily I
• Homily II
• Prayers of the Faithful / of Intercession
• Prayer Invoking the Theme
  ENGAGING US ALL IN THE DIALOGUE
• Closing Prayer
• Blessing

Opening Prayer

We gather today O Lord, to hear your words and to reflect upon how we can best treat those amongst us who steal from us, abuse us and at times cause us pain when we are assaulted.

Many of us take refuge in the words given to us in the Old Testament - "an eye for an eye" and contrast that to what Jesus was telling us when he asked us to turn the other cheek.

We know dear God that there are those amongst us who are violent; people so broken in spirit that they cannot contain their anger and rage at hurts both real and imagined.

Be with us today as we reflect on these issues and struggle to respect people who often have very little respect for themselves.

Scriptural Approaches to Justice:

Punishment, redemption and restoration are core themes of our Christian teachings. The restorative justice advocates take an approach that is significantly less punitive and as restorative as possible.

What do the scriptures tell us? For the purposes of a restorative justice service you might want to look at Leviticus and Deuteronomy which are solid sources of different approaches and purposes of punishment:

Leviticus 24: 17 - 22 is very explicit - that 'eye for an eye" is very evident. For a phrase that appears just three times in the Bible it has certainly gotten a lot of mileage. Many forget that the phrase included - "but not more than an eye for an eye.

Deuteronomy 17: 12-13 and 13:11 are clear examples of a deterrent approach to punishment. In Paul's first letter to Timothy we read: "As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest also may stand in fear."

In Beyond Retribution Christopher D. Marshall points out that: "The concepts of "just desserts" and of the punishment fitting the crime are open to question on moral grounds. As general principles they have some value in guiding the administration of justice, even though, as we have seen it, it is impossible to measure objectively what a persons "just desserts" really are.

"More significantly, while it makes moral sense to repay good deeds with further good, it is surely unjustifiable to requite evil deeds with further evil. Malice is unquestionably a vice, and to insist that evil doers be repaid in kind is surely to make a virtue out of a vice.

"It also runs directly counter to perhaps the most distinctive emphasis in the moral teachings of the New Testament: the obligation to show goodwill towards all people, including one's enemies."

Matthew 5: 38-48 - Portions of the Sermon on the Mount where an "eye for an eye" is exchanged for "turning the other cheek"

Romans 12: 14-21 - "Call down blessings on your persecutors...Care as much about each other as about yourselves..."

The scriptures teach us that we can and should move from a harsh retributive approach to justice to one where restoration and reconciliation allow offenders, victims and the community to heal.

Responsive Reading

Psalm 98

Response by the assembly: The Lord has made his victory known;
he has displayed his righteousness to all nations.

Leader:
Sing a new song to the Lord
for he hath done marvelous deeds;
God's right hand and holy arm have won him victory.
The Lord has made his victory known;
he has displayed his righteousness to all nations.
He has remembered his constancy,
his love for the house of Israel.

Response:
The Lord has made his victory known;
he has displayed his righteousness to all nations.

All ends of the earth have seen
the victory of our God.
Acclaim the Lord, all peoples on earth,
break into songs of joy, sing psalms.
Sing psalms to the Lord's honour with the harp,
with the harp and with the music of the psaltery.
With trumpet and echoing horn
acclaim the presence of the Lord our King.

Response:
The Lord has made his victory known;
he has displayed his righteousness to all nations.

Let the sea roar and all its creatures,
the world and those who dwell in it.
Let the rivers clap their hands,
let the hills sing aloud together
before the Lord; for he comes
to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness
and the people in justice.

Homily I

Thirty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time - C
November 14, 2004
(Restorative Justice Week)

Common Lectionary Readings

Malachi 3.19-21a; 2 Thessalonians 3.7-12; Luke 21.5-19

Early in the last century while travelling in Europe, American writer Mark Twain received a news item stating that he had died. He cabled his publisher: "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated. Twain's response is relevant to those hearing the message today's Gospel. If we allow the reality or fear of death to overwhelm us, then we give up our hope as Christians that we are born to live, not to die. The liturgy of these final days of the Church year reminds us that we must not allow death any exaggeration - it is not victorious over our final destiny. We are given the possibility of living in the presence of God, not only in eternity, but recognizing the Divine Presence with us in this world. Putting this reality into practice is the life-long mystery to all people of faith in the face of the many contradictions of the world. How do we reconcile the words of Christ in the Gospel: "They will put some of you to death.But not a hair of your head will perish". (Just what I always wanted - dead but imperishable hair.) What does it mean when Christ says: "By your endurance you will gain your souls?" How can we Christians proclaim a Gospel of Life and Hope in a world that continuously is reporting death and despair?

It's not often that Christians might find some practical means of professing their faith or even some inspiration in a government sponsored initiative. But this week throughout Canada the Federal Government is promoting Restorative Justice Week. In a strange turnabout of roles, many Canadians might be surprised that the motto of the Correctional Service of Canada reflects the essence of our Gospel message today. "Futura Recipere" means "Grasp the Future" or "Reach out to the Future". It is meant to remind those who work with offenders, victims and their families that, in the midst of the trauma and brokenness of crime, death, despair, pain and violation, they should not give up. Hold onto the hope-filled belief that everyone involved in these ugly events has the possibility of wholeness, restoration, healing and even peace for victims and their families. Hold onto that future hope and you will save yourself from plunging into despair today. "By your endurance, you will gain your souls."

Jesus warns us of our human inclination to make hasty decisions based on first impressions and a simplistic sense of justice. The people of our Lord's time felt a profound security in things such as the ornate temple, but were filled with overwhelming fear in times of natural tragedies and the terrors of war. The prophet Malachi tells us in our first reading of the fleeting nature of our own perception of the things of this world - the apparent rewards offered to the unjust and the punishment that, at times, seemed to afflict the godly and righteous. "It just isn't fair" is a cry that is as common today as it was during Malachi's time. And it is not difficult to provide evidence that supports the claim that - "Yup, we're going to hell in a hand basket. Just look around".

Jesus warns us not to let our vision be compromised by the evils of the world. We cannot let ourselves be overwhelmed by the horrors of crime or the inhumanity people inflict on one another. Our response could then be one primarily based on revenge and punishment. For so many years our justice system has been based on the premise of a fitting punishment for the crime committed - "Eye for eye, tooth for tooth". In many countries, this is still the foundation of their justice system with capital punishment as its ultimate tool. In the Scripture passage where Jesus is confronted with this very issue his response offers a new perspective: "Let the one who is sinless cast the first stone". And offering us a challenging example he speaks new and seemingly contradictory words to the convicted woman - "Neither do I condemn you. But go and sin no more." Jesus portrays the Divine ability to truly balance justice and mercy in a way that we find so perplexing and difficult to put into practice in our personal lives and beyond.

The phrase "restorative justice" reflects a desire to put this balance into practice. It acknowledges and responds to the wrongs done, calls the criminal to account, and recognizes the harm done both directly to the victims and to society. It is also a justice guided by hope - the hope that the victim can move toward healing, security and the fullness of humanity even after being disrespected and violated sometimes to the very core of their being. It is a justice which gives the criminal the opportunity for remorse, rehabilitation and the return to society as a productive and law-abiding citizen. It gives victim, criminal and all in society an opportunity to engage in a meaningful dialogue to elicit hope from a frightened and frightening world. It can be done. "By your endurance you will save your souls". Stand firm against the traumas of the world that tend to blind us to the vision of Divine Justice, where a God who knows all, understands all and judges all will restore all on that final "Day of the Lord". In the mean time, Jesus tells us that we cannot afford to simply wait passively to put this hope into practice. Some Thessalonians did just that presuming the end times would were imminent. To them Saint Paul says rather bluntly: "Anyone unwilling to work should not eat." Living our Christian faith, engaging in the dialogue of restorative justice and putting into practice our Christian vision is hard work. But it is not impossible if we invite God on the journey.

Christ Himself admits these difficulties. It takes courage even to accept this vision for ourselves. It takes courage to hold and offer a different possibility to the world whose insights have been obscured or darkened by "wars and insurrections. earthquakes. plagues and famines.and dreadful portents. The prophetic vision of a Christian can easily be written off as naïve and foolish or an escape from reality. Far from it. The very reason for Our Saviour's coming into the world was to bring strength and new sight, to offer through His words and more importantly through His deeds a truth-filled interpretation of the events of the world in the light of a deep faith and trust in a God who is perfect justice and perfect mercy. This trust in God is our future reality and our present vision. Futura Recipere. Grasp that truth in order to be people who live and profess life today.

Mahatma Gandhi responded to those who called his vision too vast to be put into practice with these words: "Be the change that you want to see". "Be the change that you want to see". Begin with the risk of a personal conversion. Evangelize ourselves first, dare to accept a vision out of step with the world and live it daily. In risking the choice to believe, our Lord promises that we will be given "words and a wisdom that none of our opponents will be able to withstand or contradict." And when we witness the awfulness of the world around us, the strength will save us is the Lord's call to and raise our hands to grasp and reach up to our future hope of salvation which carries us even now. And we, too, can respond to the world that the reports of the demise of our hopes have been greatly exaggerated.

Rev. Ted Hughes
Regional Chaplain, Prairie Region
Correctional Service of Canada

Homily II

He got what he deserved!

An offender who had a history of conflict with the judicial system was sent to jail for breaking the law.

Society has been protected and a person has been properly punished. Many people who read of the court sentence will say "he got what he deserved" and feel confident that justice has been done.

Punishment may be necessary for some offenders. As to deserving punishment - that is a different question.

What do we deserve?

Canadians feel, and rightly so, that they deserve to be consulted in the decisions government makes on their behalf. Thus we have elections.

Canadians feel that everyone deserves the opportunity to be educated. We feel the same way about housing and medical care. Canada has built a society around these core values and we can get very vocal if those rights - those things we believe we all deserve - are not given to us.

When children are born we believe that they deserve every opportunity possible. All of us would say that children deserve a safe place to live; decent meals every day; a loving, nurturing environment; a place where the child can grow into what they were truly meant to be. But many of our children don't get what we say they deserve.

Alcohol and drug abuse creep into homes and rob children of the things they deserve. Poverty and homes where dissention and mistrust rule the roost and deny growing children the sense of awe and wonder that is available to a child that is properly fed and tucked into bed by a parent who truly loves them.

Do we not say that every child, including the black or the aboriginal child, deserves a place in the community where their innocence is appreciated, loved and accepted?

There are children who are not loved, some were not even wanted and they spend their formative years in foster homes where they are for the most part warehoused until a place for them can be found. Their nurturing is not as complete as it might have been and their ability to take advantage of opportunities is diminished because the self confidence - the knowing they are loved - is not as firm or as grounded as it needs to be in order for them to grow.

There are many many children who do not get what we feel and say all children deserve.

When these children grow into young adults some find that they do not have the emotional stability needed to cope with a fast paced society in which all kinds of mixed messages are put before them. When they make mistakes and we chastise them and ask them to "be accountable" and wonder why they do not respond - do we ask if they got what they deserved when they were babies and then toddlers and then youths?

When we plunk these children down in front of a television set and expose them to hours of content that is often violent in nature - when the words peace and love are not part of their early vocabulary - are we giving them what they deserve?

Do they not deserve to be taught the values that society depends on?

Did the child who was exposed to far too much alcohol while in the womb and now has a fetal alcohol syndrome and cannot pay attention in a classroom - get what she deserved ?

Did that child's Mother not deserve a frank conversation with a doctor about the damage done by alcohol consumption during pregnancy?

The doctor got what he deserved: he was well paid with taxpayers' money for seeing the patient. Doctors know how to get what they deserve; they have social standing and skills and connections that they can use. There is nothing wrong with that - but why can't others have the same access?

Does society get the responsible behavior it deserves from the liquor producers - who can and should educate and inform young people about the use and abuse of alcohol consumption?

Does a child not deserve a breakfast every morning that consists of more than cold pizza and sugar laden soda pop?

Far too many of these children will end up in our court rooms 'getting what they deserve'.

Getting what we deserve is a condition that can't be applied to just those who run afoul of the law and find themselves in a Courtroom where a judge hands down a sentence that is seen as society's way of punishing people who have done something wrong.

Crime hurts and it is part of human nature to want to punish the person who has hurt us. We can however do more than just punish - we can restore.

Our judicial system tends towards punishment - break the law and you could be sent to jail as punishment. A restorative approach to crime would use our justice system to heal those hurt and to ensure that everyone gets what they deserve.

A restorative approach asks the offender to accept responsibility for the wrong they've done then to make amends and compensate the victim.

A restorative approach gives the victim a safe place to face the offender and ask "why me?" and to hear the genuine apology many offenders want to give.

A restorative approach allows the community to take part in the healing process and to understand why the crime took place and to bring about the changes needed to ensure that further crimes do not take place.

There are consequences for the things people do and one of those consequences may include punishment. But to just punish is to lose the opportunity to heal and restore.

Getting what we deserve is a condition that begins at conception and ends with death. It is both our right and our responsibility.

Did you get what you deserved today? Did you give others what they deserved today?

Pepper Parr,
Chair of the Education Committee of the
Church Council on Justice & Corrections

Prayers of the Faithful / of Intercession:

Call to prayer

As we go through our daily lives there are amongst us many who do not share the abundance most of us enjoy.

There are today men and woman working in our prisons and jails that are at considerable risk watching over men and woman who, for a variety of reasons, have been confined to an institution.

Prayer for the victims

Crime intrudes - it invades and for victims that invasion is at times violent and changes forever the sense of safety every person expect to experience as they move through a day.

Dear Lord bring peace and comfort to those who have experienced crime and with that comfort the knowledge that you will give them the support and the direction they need to overcome such a difficulty.

Spare victims any sense of guilt; any sense that they were somehow responsible for what happened to them. Give them the understanding that their pain was the result of some lost soul who was not able to ask for the help they needed and instead acted out and hurt others.

Show that time will heal and that God's grace is there for them - always.

We ask too, dear Lord, that you watch over and keep safe the families of those we have had to imprison.

For those who have caused serious harm

We ask today for prayers for the men and woman on either side of the bars and for the administrators who work to ensure that the public is kept safe while at the same time developing programs for the inmates who are struggling to come to terms with their broken lives.

Prayer for Us - you/me/the community

We are whatever we choose to be in community.

We cannot exist without one another. We all breath the same air and share the same planet and absolutely interdependent on one another.

Grant us the ability to understand and appreciate the strengths and the weaknesses we each bring to our time on this earth.

Help us to celebrate who and what we are and to each day look to you for the guidance, the directions and the answers to the many questions we have to ask.

In the name of Jesus, let us each go forward and become what you truly intended of and for each of us.

We ask this in the name of thy Son Jesus Christ who gathered about him disciples and taught us how to live together in community.

Prayers for the judiciary, the lawmakers

We ask too for prayers for the judiciary; the judges, the defense lawyers, the crown prosecutors, legislators and all the other men and women who work hard to ensure that our judicial system is fair and humane and at the same time upholds the rule of law that has made this country the peace loving nation that it is.

We seek prayers for the police officers and the security guards who watch over the communities we live in while we sleep.

For those who minister on our behalf in prisons

Our prison chaplains work tirelessly to bridge the gap between the small prison cells and the homes where friends and families of inmates struggle with situations that were not of their choosing. Fill the chaplains with your unconditional love, your wisdom and discernment.

Bring peace and comfort to those to whom chaplains minister, to staff and their families, as well as those incarcerated and their families who seek to re-develop their lives and become what God truly intended them to be.

Prayer Invoking the Theme ENGAGING US ALL IN THE DIALOGUE.

You brought us into this world and expected us to engage with each other in a dialogue that would have us caring for one another; understanding our strengths and our weaknesses and having the courage to step forward and ask the hard questions and do the hard work.

We seek from you this week the loving grace that is part of our understanding of who you are and the role you play in our lives.

Engage with us - hear our prayers, answer our questions and help us to anticipate rather than supplicate. Give us the strength to take the risks that result in a better place for all of us.

Help us open our eyes to see where we can improve things for others and in doing so know that we are here to serve.

Closing Prayer:

We have heard your words.

We have pondered a viewpoint and we take away with us today a promise to look upon those of us whose circumstances are such that society has had to decide to confine them so that we may feel and be protected.

Teach us to demand that those we do have to confine are treated well and given every opportunity to reform their lives through the Grace that you have for each and everyone of us.

We ask this in your name.

Blessing:

That the seeds of life planted by our reflections and celebration today, may be nourished and grow into their fullness by God's grace.

That each of us may exercise our freedom in ways that bring healing and hope wherever there is discord.

That we may be willing to be stretched and grow as the depth of the meaning and possibilities of restorative justice takes root in our hearts.