UNIT 5 – 6.1 Be Just

What Keeps Us Apart? Justice is a virtue of moral rightness. Christians are called to seek true justice in every situation. We are called to have an attitude where we work to change injustice and avoid taking advantage of unjust situations. We are called to develop a habit of always working towards justice and not sitting back while others are suffering.

What Keeps Us Apart? Christian justice is rooted in love. It is based on fairness, mercy and compassion. Compassion is the ability to feel and act with and for another person. It is a human emotion that prompts us to recognize and feel the pain of others. Seeing God in other people and ourselves (we are all similar, able to overlook our differences).

What Keeps Us Apart? Peace is the fruit of justice. It is characterized by a harmonious relationship among members of a community. Prejudice - is a form of injustice that involves seeing others as being different and forming preconceived generalized assumptions about them that are based on race, gender, ability etc. It is the opposite of compassion. Jesus teaches us to respect and protect the dignity of the human person.

What Keeps Us Apart? Everyone should look upon his or her neighbour as another self (the basis of respect and the common good). Jesus calls us to love and respect everyone (no us vs. them or ingroup/outgroup). Promoting justice is not an option for Christians, but rather a mission that we are all required to do. It requires time and prayer to learn how to respond to the poor.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan Luke 10:25-37 In Jesus’ day, the Jews and Samaritans had an us vs. them attitude. Prejudice towards Samaritans by Jews was the norm. When Jesus told this parable he challenged these beliefs and notions. Jesus said nothing about prejudice though – his concern was whether people were as loving as they could be. We are told by Jesus to love our neighbour but who is our neighbour?

Who is our neighbour? Friends Enemies Family Strangers Criminals The poor and marginalized Those who oppress us Those who defend us Those who we have never met

Discussion: Think/Pair/Share Have you ever been the victim of prejudice? Have you ever shown prejudice to someone else? What did it feel like in each situation? What causes us to show prejudice? What can we do to ensure that we show love to our neighbour? Are there people who don’t deserve to be cared for?