The Justice League
People have asked me often, when did God give you this compassion for the poor and passion for justice as though it suddenly appeared out of nowhere one day? Now that I have some “perspective” I can respond to that question with some understanding.
When I was a boy I loved reading comic books but they were not permitted in the house unless they were of a non-violent nature. Archie and Disney comic books were about as adventurous as it got. My favorite comics in that vein were those about Donald Duck’s nephews; Huey, Dewy and Louie who were forever getting into all kinds of mischief. While those comics were OK, the really cool ones with the superhero characters that rescued people in trouble due to the actions of evil villains, were not allowed in the house. They were considered much too violent.
Fortunately for me, the boy next door did not have the same strict parental restrictions and had a bedroom full of these “really cool” comic books. We became good buddies and I spent many a day after school in the cold Wisconsin winters over at his house getting my fill of adventure. I loved reading about Superman, Batman, Flash and The Green Lantern. Of course there was always the absolutely gorgeous Wonder Women and we fought over who was going to marry her one day! My favorite character was Batman as he was the only one of the Superheroes that did not possess supernatural powers. Batman was an “early adapter” when it came to technology and had all the latest in high tech gadgets.
While each of these characters on their own was a force to be reckoned with, what was really impressive to me was when they banded together as a team. They had their own organization called “The Justice League” and when working together they were unstoppable. I happened to find the whole idea of the “Justice League” to be very appealing. It spoke to something deep within my soul that I did not understand until years later. As that point in my life I simply knew that there was something very right about it.
As an adult I began to understand the significance of what the word Justice meant to God. I came to realize that it is the foundation stone that the Government (Kingdom) of God is built on. Knowing what I know now as an adult, the idea of a “Justice League” still sends a chill up my spine. Can it get any better than a group of men and women united together for the purpose of enforcing justice? While I seem to have a particular passion for it, justice seems to be built into each of us. It’s a part of our genetic makeup. Even as children we have an innate sense of it, even if it is selfishly motivated. I cannot think of a more noble cause than to be part of a group of people whose life goal is to enforce, enable and fight for Justice.
Justice without compassion can become law enforcement. This was the very thing that Jesus hated as He saw this as another form of oppression or slavery. As I look back with perspective, I realize that again this concept of compassion was forming in me as a child.
I recall years ago standing at a mall entrance between the two sets of outer doors waiting to be picked up by my parents. I observed a young blind boy walking inside the mall with his distinct white and red cane in front of him. As he probed the dark space in front of him I noticed that a few shops ahead there was a floor display of stacked goods. I do not remember what they where, only that they were stacked in the form of a pyramid. As I stood there watching between the glass, I had this knowing come over me that he was going to get disoriented and fall into the display. I was horrified at the thought of it and yet I argued with myself that there was no way I could possibly know that and did nothing. As I stood there and observed, my worse fears unfolded as I watched him become confused, trip, and then fall into the display. He was terrified as he didn’t know what had happened. The more he tried to get up, the worse things became as he continued falling over more of the display. I saw the store managers running to try and rescue him. With tears streaming down my face and my feet seemly stuck to the floor, I watched the whole thing unfold in what seemed like slow motion. I felt every emotion of his confusion, his fear and his shame. It was like I was in his body and I was the blind boy. To this day for some reason I continue to feel other people’s pain. At times it can be unbearable and make me physically ill.
I have come to understand that God not only has given me a passion for Justice but compassion for those in need. It is not something that I have to put on; it is something that has been hard wired into my very makeup as a human being. I cannot get away from it. It surges through every corpuscle of my being. The only way I cannot feel it is to numb myself.
In 1973 when the movie “Jesus Christ Superstar” came out I went to see it. Though I was not a Christian, I was a great admirer of Jesus and his compassion for the poor. It seemed to me that whenever He was moved to compassion and became emotionally engaged in a person’s life they were never the same. To my surprise, I became emotionally invested in the movie. There is a scene where Jesus visits a leper colony. As He walks among the lepers who are dressed in black rags, they begin to crawl out from between the rocks and caves. Soon you notice a sea of black lepers surrounding Jesus who is dressed in all white. They were so desperate for his touch and frantically clawed at him to get healed. The camera then pans out and gives you a bird’s eye view of the scene below where this ocean of black eventually swallows the one lone white figure in the middle. I was terrified and could barely breathe as the feeling of Closter phobia permeated me. I felt the whole scene. I understood Jesus compassion for the oppressed and the overwhelming need. It shook me as something was pulling at me and I was afraid that in the end it would swallow me. I did what most of us do – I ran away.