Jesus, Justice + Mercy: Bold faith, radical love and justice for the church

Ger | Not Stranger. The One God Kept Naming.

Depending on your translation, this Hebrew word shows up as "stranger," "sojourner," "alien," "foreigner," or "immigrant," and none of those words are neutral anymore. This week, we dig into ger, the word Torah uses more than any other command in the whole book to describe the person living among you without the built-in rights of a citizen, and then systematically gives that same person nearly every one of those rights anyway. Same Passover, same tithe, same cities of refuge, even a place in Ezekiel's vision of the restored land. We trace it from Deuteronomy all the way to Ephesians 2:19, where Paul tells a Gentile church they're no longer strangers and aliens but fellow citizens, the exact same move, centuries later, now called gospel. Scriptures referenced: ·       Deuteronomy 31:12 ·       Deuteronomy 28 ·       Leviticus 19:34 ·       Numbers 35:15 ·       Ezekiel 47:21–23 ·       Ephesians 2:19 Archive callbacks: ·       Season 1, Ep 12 | Embracing the Other: Faith, justice, and immigration in America [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jesus-justice-mercy-bold-faith-radical-love-and/id1646753366?i=1000652862242] ·       Season 2, Ep 3 | Jesus Isn't Triggered by Justice, but We Might Be [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jesus-justice-mercy-bold-faith-radical-love-and/id1646753366?i=1000716637162] Theology Unleashed is a summer series of short Greek and Hebrew word studies from Jesus, Justice + Mercy. Justice-rooted, seminary-informed, and considerably less scripted than usual. Dogs present. See the full series at kristenabrock.com/theology-unleashed For women who stayed small and called it faithfulness : a reading list to start finding your way back. Get it here! [https://prodigious-trailblazer-8172.kit.com/993f20b646] If this episode was meaningful for you, the best way to help others find the show is to: * Text this episode to a friend who might need it * Leave a 5-star rating and review * Subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes * Wrestling with faith and justice and not sure where to start?  * Grab my free theological reading list, Beyond Faith as Usual, HERE! [https://prodigious-trailblazer-8172.kit.com/993f20b646] Here’s to a faith that tells the truth, refuses silence in the face of harm, and follows Jesus all the way into healing and justice. RESOURCES: www.kristenabrock.com [https://www.kristenabrock.com] Justice Coaching [https://kristenannette.com/justice-coaching/] options!

Shalom | Not Absence of Conflict. Wholeness for Everyone.

We use "shalom" as a Hebrew hello and goodbye, and mostly leave it there. But this word carries way more weight than a greeting. In Hebrew, shalom describes a state where nothing is missing, broken, or lacking; it shares a root with the word for paying a debt in full. To bring shalom means to restore what's broken back to completeness. You don't just have it. You make it. This week we trace shalom from the priestly blessing in Numbers 6, through Jeremiah calling out false prophets for declaring "peace, peace" over a wound that was never actually healed, into the Greek word eirene and Isaiah's "Prince of Peace" title, which in Hebrew is Prince of Shalom, not a conqueror, but the one who restores what's missing. And we get honest about how often "keep the peace" language gets used in churches to silence the people naming real harm, around gender, sexuality, and race alike. Theology Unleashed is a summer series of short Greek and Hebrew word studies from Jesus, Justice + Mercy. Justice-rooted, seminary-informed, and considerably less scripted than usual. Dogs present. See the full series at kristenabrock.com/theology-unleashed Related episodes mentioned: * S2 E24 | The Advent of Justice: Peace that Disarms [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jesus-justice-mercy-bold-faith-radical-love-and/id1646753366?i=1000740839467] * S3 E8 | Starting in the Rubble: Reconciliation That Holds [https://kristenabrock.com/reconciliation-without-repair/] * S3 E13 | He Knows Your Name: A Resurrection for the Scarred, the Shut Out, and the Still Waiting [https://kristenabrock.com/resurrection-meaning-he-knows-your-name/] * S3 E17 | No Casseroles Required [https://kristenabrock.com/grief-in-scripture-no-casseroles-required/] Scripture Mentioned  1. Judges 6 — the angel's greeting to Gideon (shalom used as a greeting) 2. Leviticus 25 — sabbath rest for the land 3. Numbers 6 — the priestly blessing ("The Lord bless you and keep you...") 4. Jeremiah 6:14 — "Peace, peace... but there is no peace"  5. Isaiah 9:6 — "Prince of Peace" title  For women who stayed small and called it faithfulness : a reading list to start finding your way back. Get it here! [https://prodigious-trailblazer-8172.kit.com/993f20b646] If this episode was meaningful for you, the best way to help others find the show is to: * Text this episode to a friend who might need it * Leave a 5-star rating and review * Subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes * Wrestling with faith and justice and not sure where to start?  * Grab my free theological reading list, Beyond Faith as Usual, HERE! [https://prodigious-trailblazer-8172.kit.com/993f20b646] Here’s to a faith that tells the truth, refuses silence in the face of harm, and follows Jesus all the way into healing and justice. RESOURCES: www.kristenabrock.com [https://www.kristenabrock.com] Justice Coaching [https://kristenannette.com/justice-coaching/] options!

Hesed | Not Kindness. Stubborn Covenant Love.

Hesed: Not Kindness. Stubborn Covenant Love. Your Bible probably says kindness. Or mercy. Or lovingkindness. None of them quite get there. Hesed is the Hebrew word that shows up roughly 250 times in the Old Testament, and no single English translation has ever fully captured it. It's not a feeling that might produce a kind act. It's covenant loyalty in motion: the love that doesn't quit even when people blow it, the willingness to show up for the weaker party, not because you feel like it but because the covenant holds. This week, we use the Book of Ruth as our classroom where hesed appears exactly three times, at the beginning, middle, and end, and turns out to be the entire arc of a story most of us were taught to read as a romance or a waiting story. We also trace how hesed crosses into the New Testament through the Greek words agapē and eleos, and why Methodist pastor Lisa Barker's piece "Tired of Being Nice" gets at exactly what's at stake when the church settles for niceness rather than covenant love. Key texts: Ruth 1:8, 2:20, 3:10. Micah 6:8. Matthew 9:13 / Hosea 6:6. Related episodes:  Season 1 Episode 8 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jesus-justice-mercy-bold-faith-radical-love-and/id1646753366?i=1000649992345] | Justice Embodied: Mercy Matters with Luke's Gospel.  Season 3 Episode 10 [https://kristenabrock.com/christian-mercy-and-justice-faithful-tuesday/] | Back Porch Mercy: What Faithful Looks Like on a Tuesday. Lisa Barker, "Tired of Being Nice" [http://fumcb.org/blog/a-word-from-pastor-lisa-tired-of-being-nice] Theology Unleashed is a summer series of short Greek and Hebrew word studies from Jesus, Justice + Mercy. Justice-rooted, seminary-informed, and considerably less scripted than usual. Dogs present. See the full series at kristenabrock.com/theology-unleashed For women who stayed small and called it faithfulness : a reading list to start finding your way back. Get it here! [https://prodigious-trailblazer-8172.kit.com/993f20b646] If this episode was meaningful for you, the best way to help others find the show is to: * Text this episode to a friend who might need it * Leave a 5-star rating and review * Subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes * Wrestling with faith and justice and not sure where to start?  * Grab my free theological reading list, Beyond Faith as Usual, HERE! [https://prodigious-trailblazer-8172.kit.com/993f20b646] Here’s to a faith that tells the truth, refuses silence in the face of harm, and follows Jesus all the way into healing and justice. RESOURCES: www.kristenabrock.com [https://www.kristenabrock.com] Justice Coaching [https://kristenannette.com/justice-coaching/] options!

Mishpat | Not judgment. Justice for the Vulnerable.

Mishpat. Your Bible probably calls it judgment, and that translation isn't wrong; it's just incomplete. In Hebrew, mishpat comes from the root shafat, meaning "to judge, to govern, to set right." It appears over 400 times in the Old Testament, and throughout Torah and the Prophets, the verdict it describes lands in favor of the vulnerable, the widow, the orphan, the immigrant, the one with no leverage to make their case heard. This week, we look at what gets lost when judgment drowns out justice: why even our language for vulnerable people comes loaded with suspicion, how "hate the sin, love the sinner" borrows the form of judgment while skipping everything mishpat actually demands, and what it looks like when the church hands down verdicts on LGBTQ people and women preachers while insisting it isn't judging anyone. That's mishpat running backward, and we can do better. Key references: Exodus 21:1 - 24:18, Exodus 23:6, Deuteronomy 24:17, Isaiah 1:17, Psalm 82:3, Amos 5:24, Matthew 23:23, Micah 6:8,  Episodes related to this episode: * S1 E3: Church, Race, and Justice: 3 Words Nobody Wants in the Same Sentence [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jesus-justice-mercy-bold-faith-radical-love-and/id1646753366?i=1000645178620] * S2 E20: Weapons Down: What God Requires for a Faith at War with Itself [https://kristenannette.com/weapons-down-what-god-requires/] * S3 E8: Starting in the Rubble: Reconciliation That Holds [https://kristenabrock.com/reconciliation-without-repair/] * S3 E10: Back Porch Mercy: What Faithful Looks Like on a Tuesday [https://kristenabrock.com/christian-mercy-and-justice-faithful-tuesday/] Theology Unleashed is a summer series of short Greek and Hebrew word studies from Jesus, Justice + Mercy. Justice-rooted, seminary-informed, and considerably less scripted than usual. Dogs present. See the full series at kristenabrock.com/theology-unleashed For women who stayed small and called it faithfulness : a reading list to start finding your way back. Get it here! [https://prodigious-trailblazer-8172.kit.com/993f20b646] If this episode was meaningful for you, the best way to help others find the show is to: * Text this episode to a friend who might need it * Leave a 5-star rating and review * Subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes * Wrestling with faith and justice and not sure where to start?  * Grab my free theological reading list, Beyond Faith as Usual, HERE! [https://prodigious-trailblazer-8172.kit.com/993f20b646] Here’s to a faith that tells the truth, refuses silence in the face of harm, and follows Jesus all the way into healing and justice. RESOURCES: www.kristenabrock.com [https://www.kristenabrock.com] Justice Coaching [https://kristenannette.com/justice-coaching/] options!

Tzedakah | Not Righteousness. Justice.

Your Bible has been quietly mistranslating a word that shows up over 150 times, and the gap has shaped centuries of Christian formation. This week: tzedakah. Usually translated as "righteousness." Almost always meant something closer to justice. We trace it from the Hebrew prophets through to the Greek New Testament, where tzedakah becomes dikaiosynē, the same word your English Bible renders "righteousness" 92 times. Same gap, just one language removed. Along the way: Micah 6:8, Amos 5:24, MLK's "I Have a Dream," and why "blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness" means something different than you were taught. Theology Unleashed is a summer series of short Greek and Hebrew word studies from Jesus, Justice + Mercy. Justice-rooted, seminary-informed, and considerably less scripted than usual. Dogs present. See the full series at kristenabrock.com/theology-unleashed [https://kristenabrock.com/theology-unleashed/] For women who stayed small and called it faithfulness : a reading list to start finding your way back. Get it here! [https://prodigious-trailblazer-8172.kit.com/993f20b646] If this episode was meaningful for you, the best way to help others find the show is to: * Text this episode to a friend who might need it * Leave a 5-star rating and review * Subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes * Wrestling with faith and justice and not sure where to start?  * Grab my free theological reading list, Beyond Faith as Usual, HERE! [https://prodigious-trailblazer-8172.kit.com/993f20b646] Here’s to a faith that tells the truth, refuses silence in the face of harm, and follows Jesus all the way into healing and justice. RESOURCES: www.kristenabrock.com [https://www.kristenabrock.com] Justice Coaching [https://kristenannette.com/justice-coaching/] options!