Prophetic Lament: A Call for Justice in Troubled Times

by Soong-Chan Rah

Even as evangelicals discover and recover these important biblical themes, many want to use these themes to grow their church or expand their influence rather than participate in the enactment of God’s justice. The term justice is too casually thrown about without the corresponding sacrifice. We want the popularity associated with being justice activists, but we don’t want to lament alongside those who suffer. Instead of a justice that arises from the lament of the suffering, justice is misappropriated as a furtherance of the narrative of celebration. American Christian justice leaders are applauded for their self-sacrifice, which allows for a furtherance of Western exceptionalism and even an exploitation of justice as a career-building move. The uplifting of privileged individuals who use justice to expand their own influence serves a narrative of triumphalism rather than engaging the narrative of lament. There are too many examples of justice misappropriated and even thwarted.