What is justice?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The greatest minds in human history have often pondered this challenging question: Plato in his Republic<\/em>, Aristotle in his Ethics<\/em>, Thomas Aquinas in his Summa<\/em>.\u00a0 Wise women and men do not pretend to have all the answers, but they stir up our curiosity by inviting us to ask the right questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Justice is a theme that runs\nthroughout the Scriptures. In God\u2019s plan, justice is wedded to mercy (Psalm\n85:10). He does not desire the sinner to die but to turn back and live (Ezekiel\n18:23). He sends his own beloved Son Jesus to seek out and save that which has\nbeen lost (Luke 19:10). He does not desire to condemn the world but to save it\n(John 3:17). When he acts justly, it is always ultimately with a view to heal\nand restore the creatures he has made \u2013 if we desire it. When he acts\nmercifully, it is never without an invitation to tell the full truth about the\nharm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Think of Adam and Eve in the garden in Genesis 3. In their shame, they hide themselves \u2013 as though from an angry tyrant who is going to make them pay. He does bring Fatherly justice \u2013 holding them accountable and explaining to them the consequences. But he also promises eventual healing and restoration through \u201cthe woman\u201d and her offspring. Adam and Eve are unable, at first, to tell the truth about what they have done. They try to shift the blame \u2013 anything to get the attention off the shame they are experiencing. God\u2019s questions are for their good: Where are you? Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree?<\/em> God exhibits both justice and mercy because he is a loving Father who ultimately desires our wholeness and our sharing in his glory. He never lies or ignores the truth, but he also does not desire our loss. Rather than make us pay in strict retributive justice, he sends his own beloved Son so that we can receive his mercy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But there is so much more than a “not guilty” verdict! The Father and Jesus desire our healing, our restoration, and our wholeness! That is the primary motive for the Father asking his Son to die and rise. Jesus proclaims to his disciples that he came so that we might have abundant life (John 10:10). When he starts appearing to people after the resurrection, he brings life, joy, peace, healing, restoration, wholeness, and holiness \u2013 so much more than what they had hoped or dreamed!<\/p>\n\n\n\n How damaging it has been for some Christians to think of the death of Jesus only<\/strong> in the sense of paying the price for our sins. Yes, there is justice \u2013 God is a loving and truth-telling Father who does not pretend as though our sins never happened. We can only be healed and restored if we take seriously the harm that our sins have caused \u2013 the way in which we have ruptured relationships with him, with others, and with ourselves. AND the Father desires restoration, wholeness, and holiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Consider Jesus and Zacchaeus, the\ntax collector who has exploited many vulnerable people (Luke 10). Jesus eagerly\nseeks out Zacchaeus, who is stunned at being desired and delighted in. But\nJesus also allows Zacchaeus to name the harm he has caused and work to repair\nit. Mercy and justice go together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Consider Jesus and Peter in John 21. Jesus stokes a charcoal fire there on the seashore \u2013 fully knowing what he is going to do. Following the miraculous catch of 153 fish, he then invites Peter into a conversation that is simultaneously remembering, truth-telling, and healing. Peter stands once again by a charcoal fire, just like the night before Jesus died \u2013 only now Peter is allowed the opportunity to say three times that he loves Jesus. Peter experiences much distress in this experience \u2013 as Jesus knows he will. It is not a shaming of Peter, but rather helping Peter journey through and out of the labyrinth of shame as he begins experiencing healing and restoration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Peter is much humbler in this\nencounter than at the Last Supper, when he boldly declared he would lay down\nhis life for Jesus. In the Greek text, Jesus asks Peter \u201cDo you love me?\u201d \u2013\nusing the verb agapein<\/em> to denote a\nself-sacrificing love. Peter responds (truthfully this time) that he loves him\nwith philein<\/em> \u2013 a brotherly love.\nJesus foretells the eventual day when Peter will indeed love him so greatly as\nto lay down his life. For now, he simply invites Peter, \u201cFollow me.\u201d When we\nread the Acts of the Apostles, we see the restoration and transformation of\nPeter taking ever fuller effect. The risen glory of Jesus begins shining in and\nthrough him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Repair and restoration take time.\nBut they include a safe space in which both the one who has harmed and the one\nwho was harmed can be heard, can tell the truth about what has happened, and can\nseek so much more than simply making someone pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I have friends who desire this kind of reform in our criminal justice system \u2013 which we all know to be broken and badly in need of repair! I am not an expert in those areas, but I hope we begin asking more of the right questions! Both Scripture and our Catholic Tradition have so much more to offer than a justice that only thinks about retribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a priest, I am especially\ninterested in how restorative justice can take root in our marriages, our\nfamilies, and our church institutions. Too often, when serious harm has\nhappened, we do not use our God-given creativity to open up a safe and healing\nforum in which all sides can tell the truth about the harm and seek full restoration\nfor all who have been impacted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our families of origin and our church families have often failed in this area \u2013 especially when there has been sexual harm. Most people I know feel even more shame and awkwardness talking about sexuality \u2013 even though it is one of God\u2019s most glorious gifts to us. Consequently, those who have been harmed sexually \u2013 whether by someone working for the church or by someone else \u2013 often find that neither their family of origin nor their church family is a safe haven to bring their story. I can think of more than a dozen individuals I know personally who suffered even greater betrayal because their story was not received with care.\u00a0 Simultaneously, our society currently offers no path of redemption or restoration for those who have perpetrated sexual harm \u2013 they are branded as permanent outcasts beyond the reach of mercy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our just and merciful Father says otherwise \u2013 he desires healing and restoration for all who will receive it. As with Adam, Eve, Zaccheaus, the Samaritan woman at the well, or Peter, such restoration is only possible if we are willing to be truth-tellers \u2013 both about the harm done to us and about the harm we have done to self and others. Jesus will invite us to follow him on a healing path that includes (sometimes awkward or messy) repair. We will die and rise with him as we come to full maturity in him. In the end, if we welcome this full encounter with his love and truth, his righteousness will shine in us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What is justice? The greatest minds in human history have often pondered this challenging question: Plato in his Republic, Aristotle in his Ethics, Thomas Aquinas in his Summa.\u00a0 Wise women and men do not pretend to have all the answers, but they stir up our curiosity by inviting us to ask the right questions. Justice … <\/p>\n