December 2: Justice

Our Sunday morning readings for Advent highlight prophetic voices - from Jeremiah to John the Baptist - that cry out for justice. These voices invite us to consider the need for justice in our time and place. Yet, Advent also invites us to trust that the love of God made known to us in Jesus is both with us and actively at work in the world drawing all things closer to the dream that God intends. We participate in this coming dream as we strive for justice and peace and respect the inherent worth and dignity of every human being. For “justice,” as theologian Cornel West once said, “is what love looks like in public.” 

—The Rev. Dr. Adam Shoemaker, rector of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Charleston, and a member of the Standing Committee