Mercy & Justice Round-Up: February Edition

By
Corrie Mitchell
febm&j

What is biblical justice and how does it show up throughout Scripture? What does the NYC subway map look with non-accessible stations removed? What prevailing thoughts have historically guided NYC child welfare policy? You’ll find articles, talks, and resources that speak to these questions and more in this month’s Mercy & Justice Round-Up.

As always, this is a collection of content that got us thinking lately and includes a range of perspectives— some we agree with, others we might not. We hope you’ll read, listen, learn and love better with us.

  • “Justice and righteousness are about a radical, selfless way of life.” This six-minute “Justice” video from The Bible Project provides an overview of the biblical theme of justice—from what it means, to who defines it, to how it is woven throughout the narrative of Scripture.
     
  • “The Crime of Parenting While Poor” unpacks the past 150 years of NYC child welfare policies and highlights recent attempts to change the narrative that the city’s child welfare agency unjustly targets low-income families of color. The author concludes, though, that the ultimate challenge is “whether society as a whole can stop criminalizing poverty and embrace the idea that poor families are worthy of compassion.”
     
  • “Why is it that the church is better known as a segregated community than a reconciling community?” David Bailey asks this question in his Q Ideas talk on implicit racial bias and then goes on to describe what it takes (hint: intentionality, vulnerability, and confession) to become a truly diverse and reconciling people.
     
  • Of the 472 New York subway stations, only 117 are fully accessible by wheelchair. The Guardian created a version of the New York City subway map that removed all of the non-accessible stations, showing the disparity in access and highlighting the difficulty of navigating the city in a wheelchair.
     
  • “Disciples of Jesus not only preach, sing, pray, and serve. They visit,” writes Scott Hubbard in a Desiring God article on following God to the lonely and hurting. Scripture, he writes, describes Christians as those who visit (James 1:27, Matthew 25:34-36) those on the margins who “rarely find someone who will not merely brush by with a smile, but will stop, sit, and linger for a while.”