British theologian, author and pastor, the Rev. Sam Wells, recently presented a wide-ranging lecture on justice at Greenville University’s fifth annual Andrews Lecture on Christian Unity.
The vicar of St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church in Trafalgar Square in London for the past decade and former dean of the Duke University Chapel titled his address “Act Justly.” He was introduced by Ben Wayman, a Greenville University associate professor of theology, who studied under Wells at Duke
“We spend very little time imagining justice,” Wells asserted, as he opened his lecture in the Whitlock Music Center on the Greenville University campus. “Instead, we put most of our energies into overcoming injustice.
“I want to create a framework within which we can set our desire to overcome injustice alongside the necessary efforts to sustain justice.”
12-Point Address
Wells laid out that framework in a 12-point address, a process through which his audience was encouraged to recognize that injustices do exist in our society and then to consider if they have – intentionally or unintentionally – contributed to those injustices.
His first three points – imagine, see, and recognize – point out ways society is impacted by injustice. “Be careful when you call for justice because one day justice may call for you,” he said. “Recognize your complicity in injustice. It’s very difficult to extricate oneself from such culpability.”
He gave an example of people protesting the exploitation of workers, but not realizing that their signs or T-shirts were potentially produced in shops that similarly exploit workers.
“The point is to cultivate the humility that accepts that it’s almost impossible to ever be completely in the right, entirely on the side of justice and unimpeachable in one’s intention and execution,” he said.
He then offered several words that speak to the actions needed to promote justice – build, practice, scrutinize, struggle, organize, and support – and expanded on the process of achieving each word.
“A system of justice can’t be created overnight,” Wells said. “The goal is that there should be no difference between legal justice and social justice. Social justice tends to focus on campaigning against injustices, while legal justice seeks a place where justice is done.”
Wells offered two more words in the framework – realize and become.
“We must strike a note of humility by realizing that we can’t address everything that is wrong with the world,” he said. “All justice is only a partial achievement; there always will be much left to do.”
True Justice Through Christ
Wells said that true justice can be realized only through a relationship with Jesus Christ. “If justice is defined as giving each person their due, then we can only do that by understanding what is due to the Lord Jesus Christ because of the grace he has given us. Thus, it is worship that ultimately re-sets the scales of justice.”
And finally, the last word in Wells’ speech was “share.”
“Each of the 11 previous stages is a description of what the church is called to be,” he said. “The church is about organizing – not merely about economic hardship, but in every aspect of life. For the triumph of good, it must be better organized than evil.
“In the end, I strive to act justly because I seek to inherit the world that God is bringing into being, and will one day usher in. I wish to be trained to belong in that world and learn to take its habits for granted. That’s what being a Christian looks like.
“I’m still discovering that I need the wisdom and guidance of others to light my path,” he concluded. “That’s not a reason to give up on myself or give up on justice. It is a reason to be grateful for those walking beside me – whether in the church or otherwise. I’m glad for having been given good work to do.”
Following the lecture, Wells characterized his talk as “a lecture about Christian unity.”
“I sought to promote harmony,” he said, “by presenting a case for ‘constructive justice’ (the courts and the legal system) and then for ‘corrective justice,’ (for people who slip through that system and suffer from that system). We need both.”
Wells also spoke at GU’s The Wednesday Experience the following day.
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