2025-02-14T03:17:40-05:00

Last updated on: February 14, 2025 at 3:17 am   By
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The William Blake Archive: Mercy And Truth Are Met Together / Wikimedia Commons

Mercy and justice go together. Mercy makes no sense without justice, because it is through justice and its expectations we understand why various actions need to be rejected and punished, while such punishment tells us where the potential for mercy will be needed. Without mercy, without an ability to help those who have done wrong to change and be forgiven, and even helped they seek to make restitution,  justice becomes legalistic and brutal, allowing no transformation, that is, it allow no possibility for someone to change for the better. Justice should be about the promotion not only of the good, but the greatest good, and the greatest good is found in the transformation of those who have done bad into those do good so that they can then add to the good found in the world. This is why pardons can make sense: if those who are being pardoned prove they have changed for the better, society would be better off welcoming them back so they can then contribute to the common good. Similarly, pardons are necessary when the  punishment is excessive, that is, they help rectify the harm done by an unjust judgment. Mercy, therefore, has a role in the justice process; justice is not executed merely at the time of judgment, but all that happens afterward. William of Auvergne used the way mercy works in relation to secular justice to help us better understand God’s mercy:

Now if someone were to say that for someone who confessed to one or more crimes there is no longer any room to say something in justification of his case; rather, he should only await the sentence of condemnation, I reply that even in secular courts for those who have confessed their guilt there is room for clemency, by which the punishments are lessened, or even for forgiveness or mercy, by which someone is at times completely pardoned. For it is not possible that it is true mercy which completely does away with justice or that it is true justice which totally excludes mercy.[1]

For, as William said in one of his many prayers to God, God’s judgments and punishments are given, not to be cruel, but to help those being judged:

“Moreover, such punishments can do nothing else in those whom they are except torment and torture them, but this by itself never pleases your goodness, Lord of mercy. For you do not take delight in the perdition of the living; it is, in fact, a mark of diabolic malice, namely, to love the punishments and torments of human beings.”[2]

God is love, but we can also say God is justice and God is mercy. All that God does, God is. However, when examining God’s activity some actions are far more fundamental than others. We can see that behind everything God does, God’s love is found, which is why it is far more appropriate to understand God under the mantle of love than any other action. When we represent God in the world, therefore, we should take love as the foundation of our actions, doing so in a way similar to God, working, therefore, for a just mercy applied to everyone.

Love, and the mercy which comes from it, serves hope, because it shows us that God’s response to us is able to change as a result of our own personal change. We can transcend all the evil we have done, and therefore, what we have done, thanks to grace. When we transcend the evil we have done, we will be able to look back and reflect upon those evils and look at them not as something we should despair, thinking they make it impossible for us to be saved, but rather, as proof that we can become better, leaving us hope that we can continue to transcend ourselves and become all that God wants us to be. This is why Fr. George Maloney says: “Were it not for our hope that God’s eternal mercy and love will help us to transform them, it would not be a healthy thing for us to dwell on our past sins.” [3] For, if  we were not offered mercy, if  there were no way for us to transcend what we have currently made ourselves out to be, what we have done will only lead us to despair.  We should, likewise, following the way God works with us, offer such mercy and grace to others. If we don’t do so, our own lack of mercy can adversely impact the transformation of those who need to become better,  which is what Tolkien mentioned in a letter to C.S. Lewis:

What happens when the culprit is genuinely repentant, but the sufferer is deeply resentful and withholds all ‘forgiveness’? It is a terrible thought, to deter anyone from running the risk of needlessly causing such an ‘evil’. Of course, the power of mercy is only delegated and is always exercised with or without cooperation by Higher Authority. But the joys and healing of cooperation must be lost?[4]

There is a sense of this in the interplay between Samwise and Gollum in the Lord of the Rings; Sam was right to question Gollum and Gollum’s loyalty but he did so in such a way that was, for most of his time with Gollum, quite unmerciful. Sam’s lack of mercy undermined Frodo’s work with Gollum, for Frodo, with his mercy, was having a positive influence on Gollum.  Nonetheless, Frodo’s mercy to Gollum helped Frodo when he needed a similar mercy, for the fact that he had failed in his mission and had begun to become like Gollum could have made it so that he would suffer the same fate of Gollum. But because of his embrace of mercy, he was able to understand mercy can be given to him, to accept it when it was offered, and not let despair destroy him (even if he would have to deal with his own failure throughout the  rest of his life).

Without mercy, reformation is impossible, and so, without mercy, we often make self-fulfilling prophecies concerning those we deny mercy. But if we look to ourselves, and the way we need mercy, we should see how it is mercy which, more than anything else, which gives us not only the hope, but the ability to become better. When we offer it to others, we are offering them   the chance to become better. Yes, we must exercise caution and not expect or accept instant transformation. What is important is that we should seek the kind of justice which is rehabilative and not punitive, for by doing so, we seek the greatest good, the kind which justice is meant to establish in the world. This is exactly how God acts with us, and it is how God acts, then it is how we should act, for by doing so, we live out the nature God gave us, one which is meant to reflect God’s ways in the world.

[1] William of Auvergne, Rhetorica divinia, seu ars oratoria eloquentiae divinae. Trans. Roland J Teske SJ (Walpole, MA: Peeters, 2013), 63.

[2] William of Auvergne, Rhetorica divinia, seu ars oratoria eloquentiae divinae, 89 [From an example of a prayer to God in the text].

[3] George A. Maloney, SJ, Your Sins Are Forgiven: Rediscovering the Sacrament of Reconciliation (New York: Alba House, 1994), 22.

[4] J.R.R. Tolkien, The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. Revised and Expanded Edition. Ed. Humphrey Carpenter and Christopher Tolkien (Broadway, NY: William Morrow, 2023), 182 [Letter 113 to C.S. Lewis].

 

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2025-01-21T03:17:12-05:00

Last updated on: January 21, 2025 at 3:17 am   By
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Picu Pătru: Sodom And Gomorrah Burning – Romanian Peasant Museum / Wikimedia Commons

Sodom and Gomorrah are frequently brought up in Christian conversations, but often for the wrong reasons. Too many think of them only in relation to sex, and not to the fundamental errors Scripture indicates lay behind the destruction of the cities. Politicians, and demagogues, like to mention them for the sake of culture wars, once again, dealing with sexual matters, while ignoring the real reason why the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah cried up to heaven. Yes, there was sexual immorality, with the worst kind represented in the way many of the people were shown wanting to sexually assault strangers (who happened to be angels) when they visited the city. Their attitude, their desire to dominate, control, and cause harm shows us what the real problem is, the one which the prophet Ezekiel called out and warned Israel not to imitate, the problem of social injustice:  “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, surfeit of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.  They were haughty, and did abominable things before me; therefore I removed them, when I saw it” (Ez. 16:49-50 RSV). The libertine lifestyle many think about when reflecting upon Sodom and Gomorrah certainly was an issue, but it was an issue because it represented the crass selfishness of the people. All they sought after was their own private pleasure, even if it came at the expense of others (which is why so many wanted to rape strangers, because they saw it another opportunity to embrace their wildest passions and experience the pleasures they believe would come from it). Prosperity itself was not the issue, it was how they used their wealth, which is how they used everything: in an exploitive manner, showing no care or concern for the consequences  of  their actions upon others (save for Lot, and perhaps the rest of family). They built gates around their cities to fortify their wealth, and with it, the lifestyle which flowed their prosperity allowed them to engage – again, only Lot would be different, as he would go outside the city gate awaiting those in need, helping them as he could (which is one of the reasons why he could be saved).

The sin of Sodom and Gomorrah cried out to heaven because the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were a menace to the world. Likely, they were as destructive  to the land around them as they were to the strangers who came to be with them, strangers who were asked either to become like them, making Sodom and Gomorrah great, or else to suffer harshly at their hands (and sometimes, probably, both). If we learned the lesson of the story, we would not follow their destructive ways; we would be kind and considerate to others, and work to take care of the planet around us instead of exploit it, because such exploitation ends in destruction. Sadly, it doesn’t seem we have understood the point. Far too many Christians act just like the people of Sodom and Gomorrah: in their prosperity, they exploit all those who come around them, and through their wealth, they think they have a right to treat others, especially foreigners, with contempt; they show no care for the earth, let alone the future of humanity, all the while saying their prosperity makes them great.

The “Song of Moses” in Deuteronomy is one of the places where we find Sodom and Gomorrah mentioned, and it does so, not just to talk about how bad Sodom and Gomorrah were, but to show how the spirit of Sodom and Gomorrah continues after the cities were destroyed. It talks about how many, who otherwise claim to follow God, take more from the  “vine” of Sodom than from God: “For their vine comes from the vine of Sodom, and from the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of poison, their clusters are bitter” (Deut. 32:32 RSV).

St. Maximos the Confessor, when asked how we should interpret the verse, followed the tradition of his time which said we should find out how to make the text relevant to the contemporary reader instead of just talking about its historical meaning. To do that, one engages allegory, analogy, and anagogy, which, for Maximos, meant translating the meaning of the names of Sodom and Gomorrah, explaining what those names mean for us:

“The vine of Sodom” is irrationality. “Sodom” is translated as looking into, or, rather, blindness, and Gomorrah is translated as “embitterment.” For the embitterment of sin results from irrationality, and the manic drunkenness of evil is from wine.  From that point, the passage commands the Nazarite to abstain from such wine; and “Nazarite” is translated as “one who is fenced about.” For it is necessary for the one who has become secure in the law of God to abstain from this wine of irrationality, but also from the grape, that is, from anger, and from the raisin of resentment, for this is the aging of anger; but also form vinegar, from the sadness resulting from the failure to achieve things according to taking vengeance against one’s neighbor – for all fortified drinks are sweet; but also from the pressed remains, the intentional and concentrated (sustatika) forms of evil. But such a person does not cut off his hair, that is, the various concentrated thoughts of the nous that lends amendment to it. [1]

Maximos, therefore, tells us that we are to engage the world around us, not blindly, that is, not being directed by our inordinate passions and desires, giving into them, no matter what they suggest we should do, but according to the use of reason, directing and moderating our passions. The people of Sodom were blinded by their desires, and so through that blindness, they lost the sense of justice; without such justice, they then did whatever came to mind, whatever their passions suggested, without considering whether or not they should do so. Similarly, he said that Gomorrah represents “embitterment” and so anger and bloodlust, the kind of passion which develops when people think they should get whatever they want, do whatever they want, and are justly prevented from doing so. Those who are rich and wealthy, those who are prosperous, often think they should be given room to do whatever they want, that the law should not apply to them, and we can see how they rage whenever someone tries to stop them.

We do ourselves a great disservice if we read the story of Sodom and Gomorrah merely as a story about sexuality; rather  it is a story about the lack of restraints, the kind of restraints which comes about when we use our reason to embrace the way of justice, mercy and compassion. It is the kind of story which, if considered in this fashion, criticizes many of those who claim to be religious but who ignore the plight of their neighbor, the plight of the poor and the oppressed, promoting instead, the desires of the rich, because they want to join in with the rich, having their every fantasy fulfilled.  It tells them that such a way of life leads not only to their own destruction, but to the destruction of the society around them.

Sodom and Gomorrah, therefore, should be seen to represent the kinds of societies where basic compassion, basic justice, and the common good is rejected. It should not be seen merely as a story about sexual passions, thinking the main issue God had with the people was that they gave in to their sexual desires.  While, to be sure, they did give in to their lusts, they gave in to so much more, so much worse. The cities thought they were great, and thought that to be great, they would need to continue to be  free to do as they wish, no matter how much their actions hurt others. The story we have concerning  them is a warning of what happens when we lose sight of the common good, of the good will and hospitality which we should have for others; eventually, when the common good is destroyed, society will eat itself us and destroy itself, leaving nothing behind, which is exactly what we see happened with Sodom and Gomorrah.

[1] St. Maximus the Confessor, Questions and Doubts. Trans. Despina D. Prassas (DeKalb, IL: Northern Illinois University Press, 2010), 70.

 

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2024-08-20T07:29:43-05:00

Last updated on: August 20, 2024 at 7:29 am   By
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Bartolomeo Pinelli: Monk Giving Food To The Poor (Engaging Social Justice)/ Wikimedia Commons

Jesus spoke out against the abuses of the rich and powerful while defending and promoting the poor and the outcast. In Luke, this is rather clear, as we see him giving blessings to the poor, while giving warnings (or curses) to the rich (cf. Lk. 6:20-26). His mission was to save the world, but that meant more than just preserving it as he found it, it meant he had to transform and reshape the world, righting the wrongs which those who lived in the world experienced. This is why social justice cannot be ignored, as the salvation of the world requires all that is unjust to be made just.

The greater the problem, the greater the injustice, the greater God is drawn to it to work for its reversal. Jesus and the prophets showed, the injustices experienced by the poor, the outcast, and those being oppressed by society experience graver injustices than many others, by the way they focused on those injustices. Christians should take this to heart and make sure their engagement with the world, the work they do to help continue Christ’s reversal of the injustices created by sin, must recognize the greater importance the needs of the poor, the outcast, and the oppressed over many others  (which is why the church talks about the preferential option for the poor and the oppressed).

Sadly, this aspect of salvation, this aspect of Christ’s work, often has been obscured as the rich and powerful have found ways to have it marginalized. They knew if Christians paid attention to the preferential option for the poor as it is revealed in Scripture and tradition, they would risk losing the wealth and power they have accumulated for themselves. This is why James Cone was right in saying, “The Gospel will always be an offense to the rich and powerful, because it is the death of their riches and power.”[1] The rich and powerful, to be sure, like the general message of salvation, they like being told God loves them, and so many are attracted to the Christian faith, but they want to be saved with “cheap grace,” that is, without having to change. And because of this, they have brought about in society a truncated or pseudo-Christianity, one which borrows Christian truths, but subverts them, making it seem like all one has to do is have some sort of intellectual assent to the teachings of the faith to be saved, fighting any expectation of transformation as being a “gospel of works.” But, if Christian paid attention to Jesus, not the rich and powerful, they would note that social justice is a major part of Christ’s message, and Christ clearly wanted his followers to embrace it for themselves.

Sin brings about social injustice. The rich and powerful, or those who would like to be rich and powerful, exploit the system to keep or gain dominance over others, using wealth and the power it brings to achieve their goal. But Jesus warned us we cannot follow Mammon and truly be one of his disciples. We must make a choice between Christ, and his way, the way of love and justice, or the way of Mammon (and the laws Mammon would impose upon the world). This does not mean we cannot be wealthy, but if we are, we are expected to use our wealth for the promotion of the common good, making sure we use our wealth to confront the structures of sin established by Mammon, to counter, that is, the evils associated with wealth with wealth itself.

The plan of salvation, the teaching of the Gospel, is radical, because it takes on, uncovers, and then overcomes sin and the injustices which flow from it. “From the outset, the Gospels wish to convey that the Jesus story is not simply a story about a good man who met an unfortunate fate. Rather, in Jesus God is at work, telling his story and disclosing the divine plan of salvation.”[2] The story of salvation is the story of how God comes within the world, empties himself of all apparently glory out of love for the world, so that those who are oppressed by sin and the injustices it creates, can be and will be comforted as God  confronts the structures of sin and works to bring them to an end. God, surprisingly, does it by becoming, as it were, weak (in the incarnation), so that in and through that weakness, God engages the powerful and overcomes their power, destroying their domination and control over the fate of the world. The God-man, thus, joins in solidarity with all those who are weakened by sin, those who suffer injustice at the hands of the rich and powerful. Through the bond between God and the world created by the incarnation, those who were weak find themselves energized and strengthened by Christ, so that with the grace they receive, they can and should join in with  Christ’s work to overcome the structures of sin in the world and the various systems which create them. Father Ippolito Desideri, a missionary to Tibet, explained this in the following way:

I will add that the Christ would not have had to submit to his painful Passion and death on the cross, as he did, to overcome the Devil in that way – that is, to completely disarm him and to restrict his power within very strict limits. To achieve that, it would have been sufficient to take back the general permission given to him from the beginning of the world to injure human beings, and for  that only a gesture from his Divine Omnipotence would have been enough; nothing else would have been necessary. All of the sufferings that Christ bore in the course of his most holy life were well employed, and the shedding of his divine blood was well spent, because his victory over the Devil had to consist in fortifying weak human beings against him. Therefore, all of the pains and sufferings of  the Man-God were not in vain, as they made it possible for a more miserable man to triumph over such a powerful adversary.[3]

There are many kinds of structures of sin which have been made, each which must be fought against and overcome, with the greatest and worst being the spiritual structures which try to imprison the whole of creation, forcing everything and everyone in it to be slaves to sin. But, many of the most significant structures of sin, the most imperative to deal with, are those which establish temporal injustice, for temporal injustices weaken the spirit and often cause people to despair, a despair which then hinder their spiritual transformation. If we are to confront sin, if we are to work with Christ to bring an end to sin in the world, we must work with him in eliminating the structures of sin. As sin is the root cause of social injustice, and social injustice helps reinforce the structures of sin, keeping people bound in the domain of sin, we must never treat work for social justice as some secondary concern which has little to do with our salvation. When we do that, we end up justifying sin and so hinders the transformation needed for us to truly be saved. .

Our fight against sin is to be waged on multiple levels. We are meant to join in with Christ, strengthened by him, fighting the spiritual fight, especially against those sins and temptations which get the best of us, but also fighting for and promoting social justice, as the two are all a part of the fight we are expected to have against sin. Our work against injustice, our temporal work, will continue until the end of time, that is, until the eschaton; we should not think if in temporal history, we will never find perfect justice, we should just give up the fight and let injustices reign, just as we should never give up in our fight against our own sinful habits, even if we believe will not persevere against them until the eschaton either. The poor will be with us always, so we  must always be working for them and their rights, knowing that our work will come to completion only at the end of the world. If we don’t do this, we begin to ignore sin, and when we ignore sin, we let it regain power in the world and over ourselves. We will find ourselves turning away from Christ, and in doing so, risk losing our salvation as we show we do not care for him and his ways.

 

[1] James H. Cone, God Of The Oppressed (New York: Seabury Press 1975), 78.

[2] James H. Cone, God Of The Oppressed, 73.

[3] Michael J Sweet, trans., Mission To Tibet: The Extraordinary Eighteenth Century Account Of Father Ippolito Desideri, S.J. (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2010), 314.

 

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2024-03-12T02:34:56-05:00

Last updated on: March 12, 2024 at 2:34 am   By
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Anonymous: St Symeon The New Theologian [Feast, March 12] / Wikimedia Commons
What is given out of love is greater, more invaluable, than what is given in spite. “Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fatted ox and hatred with it” (Prov. 15:17 RSV). Many people will do what is considered just because they know they have to do so, not because they want to do so. They don’t want to face the consequences which happens if they don’t. They might follow the law, but as their heart is not in it, and they would be doing differently if there was no law telling them what to do. It is better that they follow the law when it is just and necessary, even if they do not want to do so, than not, because doing what is just is better than doing what is unjust. Nonetheless, it is better for someone to do what is good because their heart is in it. It is even better if they do more than what is merely expected of them, for then they have transcended the simple expectation of justice and have begun to engage charity.  Charity is greater than justice, but justice is better than its lack. This is why charity should not be turned into a tool to counter justice, to deny the expectations of justice, for it is not charity which does this, but its simulacrum. “Vice mimics virtue and cockle works to pass for wheat, which it resembles, though a discriminating palate is not thereby deceived.”[1]

Caritas, love, is patient and kind, always giving freely what it possess to the beloved. If we think we have given so much to others, but we can stop because we have given only the bare minimum expected by justice, we have yet to embrace charity. Or, if we have been charitable in the past, if we stop being charitable thinking we have done enough, we have abandoned the expectations of charity, which is why St. Symeon the New Theologian could say:

Even though we may have been charitable to a hundred people, if there were others from whom we turned away when they asked for food and drink and we could have given it to them, we will be judged by Christ as having refused Him nourishment. For Christ, whom we nourish in the humblest of people, is in all those to whom we refused our charity. [2]

Every day is another day for us to engage love, to celebrate it, and in doing so, experience the peace and joy which it can give. The more we love, the more we will experience the fruit of that love, and our hearts will be so full of joy our day will reflect that joy, while those who deny such love, will hinder that joy and will feel as if the only thing to expect in life is misery “All the days of the afflicted are evil, but a cheerful heart has a continual feast” (Prov. 15:15 RSV). When we abandon love, when we think we have loved enough, we begin to close ourselves off to others, and to God. Indeed, we especially cut ourselves off from God because God is love and to reject love is to reject God.

Of course, we should understand that we are limited in our potential, making us limited in what we have to offer; no one is saying we should do the impossible. What is important is that we embrace love and what it tells us to do, which will be dependent upon the situation we find ourselves in and what we have to offer. We should likewise act with love to those who come to us and embrace us with love, showing us hospitality, for love also recognizes and accepts the gifts of love given by others. It will not have us deny others the opportunity to show us their love. To make this point, St. Symeon says, even if we are fasting, and we normally should not eat meat, if we find ourselves in a situation where we are being offered it, we should not be rude and inconsiderate to our hosts, letting legalistic rules override our charity:

You should eat what is put in front of you, no matter what it is; and take wine with uncomplaining self-restraint. If because of sickness you are having your meals by yourself, eat raw vegetables with olives. But if one of the brethren should send you something to eat, receive it with humility and thanks, as if you were a guest, and eat some of it, whatever it may be, sending what is left over to another brother, poor and pious. Should someone invite you to a meal, partake of all that is put in front of you, but eat only a little, maintaining your self-control in accordance with the commandment. Then, having stood up and bowed before him as though you were destitute and a stranger, thank him. Saying, ‘May God give you your reward, holy father.’ Be careful to say nothing else, even though it might possibly be of help. [3]

He does point out that if we do not get a dispensation beforehand, and we are expected not to eat meat, such as in the middle of a day of fasting, we should consider the act of love the greater obligation. We should accept what is being offered in the spirit of love, but then, if our conscience complains, we should take what happened to our spiritual director (or priest in confession), explain the situation, and let it be:

 If you are having a meal with your brethren, eat unhesitatingly of what is presented to you, whatever it may be. If, however, you have been told not to eat fish or some other food, and it is offered to you, should the person who gave you the order be close at hand, go to him and request him to let you partake; but should he not be present, or if you know that he would not give his permission, and at the same time you do not wish to offend your hosts, tell him what you have done after you have eaten, and ask his forgiveness. If you are unwilling to do either of these things, it is better for you not to visit your brethren. For in this way you will be the gainer in two respects: you will escape the demon of self-esteem, and at the same time spare them offence and distress. If the foods offered to you are on the rich side, keep to your rule; yet even in this case it is better to take a little of everything. In short, when you are invited somewhere, apply the principle laid down by St Paul: ‘Eat all that is set before you without raising questions of conscience’ (cf. i Cor. 10:25). [4]

Charity is more important than simple rules and regulations, but it is also not meant to be use to reject the basic expectations of justice. We should not pit charity against justice, but rather, we should see that justice is the starting point, while charity is what comes next, and has no end, even as God, who is love, has no end. Justice should not be treated as charity, because then, charity and its expectations will be denied. Charity has its own expectations which transcend the simple expectations of justice. Charity will seek to fulfill its greater obligations, and in doing so, the intentions of justice itself.

[1] St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Procatechesis and Catechesis 1-12. Trans. Leo P. McCauley, SJ and Anthony A Stephenson (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 1969), 119 [Catechesis IV].

[2] St. Symeon the New Theologian, “Practical and Theological Texts” The Philokalia: Volume IV. Trans. and ed. G.E. H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard, Kallistos Ware, et. al. (London: Faber and Faber, 1995),49 [112].

[3] St. Symeon the New Theologian, “Practical and Theological Texts,”  59 [145].

[4] St. Symeon the New Theologian, “Practical and Theological Texts,”  60 [148].

 

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2023-12-28T03:43:44-05:00

Last updated on: December 28, 2023 at 3:43 am   By
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Global Justice Now: Migrants Welcome Here / Wikimedia Commons

One of the worst forms of Christianity is Christian Nationalism. To follow its principles, Christians must deny many aspects of Scripture and the Christian tradition. It is a form of idolatry, as it idolizes nations, or particular races, perhaps even genders, viewing some as superior to all others, and in doing so, grant them more rights than everyone else. Those who are not of the favored class, whatever it is, are not only denied help when it is needed, they are actively oppressed, pushed down, so that they cannot challenge those whom Christian Nationalists believe should be favored with riches and power.  In the United States, this is often seen coming from those who proclaim “America First.” To make sure “real Americans” have all the benefits they believe such Americans should receive, they make all kind of laws to reinforce the distinctions they have made, saying anyone who opposes such laws are evil because they deny law and order. No unjust law has the legitimate force of law; those who try to create and enforce them are themselves the ones who deny justice, that is, they are the ones who deny true law and order.

The rhetoric concerning the borders of the United States coming from those who claim to be Christian, saying the borders should be “closed” and all those who come in need not only rejected, but sent back to the places they have come from, no matter the harm they will suffer, represents the way Christian nationalism has had Christians reject basic principles of the Christian faith. Christian Scripture would have Christians look to Jesus and see how he assumed humanity, making all humanity one in him. In him,  the divisions which sin has created in humanity are overcome. One of the functions of Christian history should be the realization of such unity. Christianity teaches us to relativize nationalistic or gender related differences, while Christian Nationalists want to absolutize them, and so keep humanity divided, reinforcing the division which sin has created.

The true Christian message, the message of hope and good will towards one’s neighbor, is exemplified in and with the migrants, those whom the Christian Nationalists undermine. For those migrants are following the example of the children of Israel, and later, Jesus and the Holy Family, by seeking, with hope, for a place not only of refuge, but a place which they can call home. Many such migrants, more than the so-called Christians promoting “America First” or a similar kind of Christian Nationalism, place their hope and trust in God, as Pope Benedect XVI, reflecting upon the life of such migrants, said:

Faith and hope are inseparable in the hearts of many migrants, who deeply desire a better life and not infrequently try to leave behind the “hopelessness” of an unpromising future. During their journey many of them are sustained by the deep trust that God never abandons his children; this certainty makes the pain of their uprooting and separation more tolerable and even gives them the hope of eventually returning to their country of origin. Faith and hope are often among the possessions which emigrants carry with them, knowing that with them, “we can face our present: the present, even if it is arduous, can be lived and accepted if it leads towards a goal, if we can be sure of this goal, and if this goal is great enough to justify the effort of the journey.”[1]

Christians, far from undermining the hope of migrants, far from demeaning them because of their needs, should heed Scripture and welcome them. Christians are called to be the salt of the earth, to be a force for good. If they are not, they risk facing the same kind of judgment which Moses warned the people of Israel would face if they did not help those in need: “Cursed be he who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow” (Deut. 27:19a RSV). The judgment of God, revealed by the prophets, were upon the people of Israel when they abandoned the justice expected of them:

And the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy each to his brother,  do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart.”  But they refused to hearken, and turned a stubborn shoulder, and stopped their ears that they might not hear.  They made their hearts like adamant lest they should hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great wrath came from the LORD of hosts. (Zech 7:8-12 RSV).

Christian Nationalists, like those following the America First ideology, far from promoting the good of their own nation, undermine it.  The more they hinder the greater good, the more particular goods will be affected and undermined, so that all will suffer, not just those Christian Nationalists actively oppress. That means, things will get worse, but because they do not want to acknowledge the real causes of the problems they face, they will try to make everyone else their scapegoat, and in doing so, double down on the injustices they promote, and so, things will continue to become worse and worse. The more Christians look down upon migrants, the more they deny mercy and grace to them, the more they will be denied mercy and grace themselves and will experience a reflection of the injustice they have others experience. But there is hope for all. If they repent and change their ways, if they start to show mercy to those in need, such as migrants and especially refugees at their border, the more they will find they will receive mercy and grace, and the common good which they destroyed can slowly be restored.

Today, Christians must realize they are being tried and tested; will they live up to the expectations of the Gospels, showing mercy and grace to everyone, especially the migrant and the refugee at their border of the country they live in, or will they be told by Jesus he never knew them, because they denied Jesus when he was at the border?

You who say you are Christian, when you see that Christ is in need, do you leave your wealth to those who are not in need? Christ is poor, and do you further increase the wealth of the rich? Christ is hungry, and do you prepare delicacies for those who are surfeited? Christ complains that He even lacks water, and do you fill the storehouses of the drunken with wine? Christ is weakened by the want of everything, and do you gather an abundance for those who are in luxury? Christ promised you eternal rewards for the gifts given by you, and do you bestow everything on those who will give you nothing? [2]

Christian Nationalists like to suggest the decline of their country lies with those who are merciful and kind to strangers. But the reverse is true. The decline comes from the sinful attitude of Christian Nationalists. They strangle the work of grace in the world. They deny the humanity of the other. They embrace the way of sin, the way of division, instead of the way of love which works to unite all humanity and make them one. Scripture constantly warns them they will bring judgment and destruction upon themselves, though it also tells them that until that destruction takes place, it is not necessary — they have been given a warning, and what it says will happen if they do not change their ways, will happen. However, if they repent like the people of Nineveh, then their destruction will be put off and hopefully never come. Thus, what God had Jeremiah say in his day is true for us in ours:

For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly execute justice one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers for ever.  (Jer. 12:5-7 RSV).

Let us not deny those in need. Let us see Jesus at the border. Let us welcome and help refugees, even as we show hospitality to migrants. Let us look at migrants as an opportunity for us to live out the Gospel, for by doing so, we will evangelize by our actions.

[1] Pope Benedict  XVI, “Message For The World Day Of Migrants and Refugees (2013).” Vatican translation (10-12-2012).

[2] Salvian the Presbyter, “The Four Books of Timothy to the Church” in The Writings of Salvian the Presbyter. Trans. Jeremiah F. O’Sullivan (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 1962), 361-2.

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2023-11-26T03:41:50-05:00

Last updated on: November 26, 2023 at 3:41 am   By
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Lawrence OP: The Harrowing Of Hell — ” He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.’” / flickr

Christianity is meant to be a religion of enlightenment; we are meant to awaken from our sinful stupor through the light of Christ. The incarnate God-man, Jesus, eschatologically overturns the darkness of sin and injustice and brings the fruit of that work into time. The already-not-yet aspect of the eschaton brings grace into the world in order to overturn and heal the harm caused by temporal injustices; nonetheless, we should not expect the fullness of justice except in the transcendent eschaton itself (to which all time and space is being drawn). Christians are called to be incorporated into the mystical body of Christ and participate in his eschatological struggle against injustice. The light of Christ should help us see the structures of sin as they have developed in the world so that we can then take the grace we have been given and confront them. Thus, by our incorporation into Christ, Christians should represent what it means to be “woke,” which is to fight against systematic (and systemic) injustices in the world. Christians should confront the systems of sin, and the powers that be which created them, bringing to them the justice established by Christ. Likewise, Christians should work with all those of good will, no matter their religious faith (or lack of it), understanding that Jesus acknowledged that “whoever is not against us is for us.” In this way, they will by following the admonitions of St Paul, who said in his letter to the Ephesians:

Therefore it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light.”  Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil (Eph. 5;14-16 RSV).

Having been awakened by Christ, having been enlightened by him, we are to use what we have been given for the good of all. We must not be lulled back into slumber. We must put on Christ and walk in the world resisting the injustices found within it. To do this properly, we must embrace wisdom, and not just any wisdom, that is, not mere human wisdom, but the wisdom of God. If we do so, we will learn that the true way of justice is not found in the path of vengeance and retribution, but rather, with restorative justice. Paying back evil for evil only promotes further injustice, while healing the harm caused by sin, the harm caused by injustice, will dismantle the structures of sin and allow the grace of Christ to bring the world to its proper and final end. We are to embrace wisdom, the wisdom of God, given to us by the Word (Logos) and the Spirit, so that we will not be rash and imitate the evil which we fight against. “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:17 RSV).

The Wisdom of God shows us the true path. We must not support injustices in the world. We cannot embrace and accept avarice or any system founded upon it having power over society. We must be awakened to the evil of greed. We must discern how greed would have us act and find ways to counter its suggestions. That way, we will be able to begin dismantling the structure of sin it has placed over the world. Greed promotes an unnatural division of resources, piling up riches so that only a few can have them, circumventing the universal destination of goods. The system which greed puts in place absolutizes the way the goods have been divided, telling us if a few people attain more than they ever can need or use at the expense of others, it would be wrong for us to deny them what they have accumulated and those who do not have them are not worthy of our help. In truth, such a division of goods is unjust, and it must be rejected. We must not idolize material wealth or those who possess it. We must not assume those who possess more than what they need at the expense of others have really earned what they have. They have not. No one can justly earn what is unjustly taken from others. This is why, as Jesus indicates, those who possess wealth in this fashion will find what they have gained is ephemeral. No matter how much material wealth one accumulates, they are not the ones who really possesses it, God is; they are at best its stewards, and if they have not properly shared what they have received they will find it will be taken away from them, either at some point in their life, or at death. Their deeds, however, will follow them, so that those who have collected material wealth at the expense of others will find that they have impoverished themselves spiritually, and that spiritual impoverishment will follow them into the eschaton:

 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man brought forth plentifully; and he thought to himself, `What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, `I will do this: I will pull down my barns, and build larger ones; and there I will store all my grain and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, `Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’  So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (Lk. 12:12-21 RSV).

The rich man in that parable built structures to hold his wealth at the expense of others, and in doing so, impeded the universal destination of goods; he stored food for himself alone (unlike, say, Joseph in Egypt, who collected and stored grain so that it could be shared with others in a time of famine). The power of sin and the injustices which it created put him spiritually to sleep. It was, as it were, an opiate, giving him pleasure while making him unable to see or care about the suffering of others. Jesus, in relating this parable, was telling us that there will always be an accounting for what we do with our lives. Injustice, systematic injustice, can only last so long before it is confronted and overturned. Those who have embraced it will find they will have to pay back and make restitution for the injustices they have permitted or committed themselves. If they have not stored up treasures in heaven through acts of charity and love, they will be spiritually impoverished, and it will be difficult for them to pay back the last penny of the debt they have incurred for their injustices. However, those who have been enlightened by Christ, those awakened by the wisdom he has shared to the world, and act upon it, will that the spiritual wealth they helped accrued will be more than enough to help pay back that debt. Indeed, they will learn, contrary to the injustices of avarice and the zero-sum game it suggests for the goods of the earth, spiritual wealth exponentially increases the more it is shared, so that the more they give, especially to those in need, the more they will receive in kind, and in doing so, they will find themselves going from glory to glory, as at each advance they follow the example of Christ and give what they have received to those in need.

 

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2023-11-16T03:43:01-05:00

Last updated on: November 16, 2023 at 3:43 am   By
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Ron Mader: Word Cloud Representing Pope Francis’ Speech To Congress On Sept 24, 2015 / flickr

Abusing foreigners, denying healthcare to the poor, engaging racism, and even destroying the environment thanks to the health hazards which ensue, all flow from or promote the denial of the dignity of the human person, that is, each represents a denial of the value of human life. Ignoring the conditions for life to flourish, or worse, promoting injustices which not only hinder human survival, but human dignity, are both sins which must be confronted even as the structures of sin which develop from them must be deconstructed and removed.

Human life has value. Acting against that value tarnishes the soul. Sin, and the structures it creates, tends to suggest we can pit social justice and the common good against the “salvation of souls.” By doing so, sin tries to hide the way engaging such injustices corrupts the soul. The salvation of souls must include justice, and that means, social justice. Those who would deny the value and expectations of social justice, indeed, those who would work against it, corrupt themselves and will have to come face to face with that corruption and cast it off from themselves if they want to be saved.

To support the value of life, we must seek for and do what we can to establish justice in the world. To willfully ignore or support injustices is to deny the value of life. While there can be, and are, complementary reasons for this, for the Christian, the primary reason has been revealed to them as the law of love, the law which says they are to love God and our neighbor as themselves. “The one guardian of life is love, but to be loved you must love.”[1] Any disregard for our neighbor and their ultimate good is a violation of the law of love. It is a sin. And like all sin, will lead to the corruption of our being, a corruption which, if left unopposed, would lead us to follow the rationale promoted by sin, that is, the parasitic destruction of being which ultimately leads to its elimination (that is, death):

Our response with regard to sin is that we should not harm our neighbor. Scripture says “You shall not commit adultery. You shall not kill” and so forth [Ex 20.13-14]. Here the Law is general and the final word on such these matters. It further says that we should love our neighbor as ourselves [Lev 19.18; Mt 22.39], precepts which are carried out each day as well as violated. No one who judges something as evil today, whether murder or anything else forbidden, should regard it as good the following day. Since an evil of this kind always transpires in time, indeed no harmful action would be becoming with respect to time. [2]

Jesus showed us the way of love. He did not render evil for evil, but rather, he shared his love, mercy, and grace to all so that the good which he saw in all could be freed from the bondage of sin and attain its proper potential. Christians, members of his mystical body, are to go and do likewise:

We encourage you to “abstain” in love, “from every wicked deed” and to pursue chastity and justice. Children of light ought “to cast off the works of darkness.” So turn aside hatred, deflect lies, dispel pride with humility, wipe out avarice through generosity. It becomes the members [of a body] to be compatible with their head, so that we may deserve to share in the blessedness he has promised, through the Lord. [3]

Sadly, so many Christians have turned away from God and the way of love. They give all kinds of excuses to justify the unjustifiable. They tend to follow Cain in saying they are not to be their “brother’s keeper,” indeed, they say they are not meant to be. They say they are not to be too concerned with what happens in the world because Christians should only be concerned about the salvation of souls. Such a response does not follow Christianity, but rather, the false perspective of the so-called Gnostics, for it would have us ignore or reject the good of material creation, suggesting it has no place in in the eschaton. Christian ethics must be holistic, understanding that what is done either in their material or the spiritual realm existence has an effect on the other. The human person is both material and spiritual and the two are integrated as one. Christians who try to use their faith to deny justice converts Christianity to an ideology which undermines the true teaching of Christ:

Without the transfiguration of the material world into a fact of relationship and the starting-point for a relationship, the Christian ethic no longer looks towards the existential “changing” of man, the salvation of life from corruption and death. It turns into an idealistic system which, like all idealism, is inevitably conventional and essentially irrelevant to real life and its problems. [4]

Christian history shows how Christians have failed to promote and live out the social justice found in their Scripture and tradition. What Christians have ignored others have embraced. Many non-Christians are doing what Christians should be doing, putting Christians to shame, as they explore and promote the implications of social justice. Since they have done which Christians have not done, Christians can and should listen to them, finding out what they have ignored, so that they can then work with non-Christians in the promotion of the common good. In this fashion, Christians can even learn from non-Christians what is necessary for the dignity of life to be authentically promoted. They can learn from others, even those who do not call themselves pro-life, what it means to support the dignity of life. This is why St. John Paul II was encouraged by the way the world was coming together to deal with the environment, as he saw in it a sign of humanity coming to recognize the value of life:

Another welcome sign is the growing attention being paid to the quality of life and to ecology, especially in more developed societies, where people’s expectations are no longer concentrated so much on problems of survival as on the search for an overall improvement of living conditions. Especially significant is the reawakening of an ethical reflection on issues affecting life. The emergence and ever more widespread development of bioethics is promoting more reflection and dialogue-between believers and non-believers, as well as between followers of different religions- on ethical problems, including fundamental issues pertaining to human life. [5]

Those who would suggest human superiority or dominion over world means humanity can and should use the goods of the earth as they wish without concern, that is, selfishly, undermine what such superiority is meant to entail. The more one is given, the more responsibility they hold. Being given stewardship over the earth means humans have the greatest responsibility to it. They are meant to render loving service to it, helping to protect it from those who would cause it harm:

As one called to till and look after the garden of the world (cf. Gen 2:15), man has a specific responsibility towards the environment in which he lives, towards the creation which God has put at the service of his personal dignity, of his life, not only for the present but also for future generations. It is the ecological question-ranging from the preservation of the natural habitats of the different species of animals and of other forms of life to “human ecology” properly speaking – which finds in the Bible clear and strong ethical direction, leading to a solution which respects the great good of life, of every life. In fact, “the dominion granted to man by the Creator is not an absolute power, nor can one speak of a freedom to ‘use and misuse’, or to dispose of things as one pleases. The limitation imposed from the beginning by the Creator himself and expressed symbolically by the prohibition not to ‘eat of the fruit of the tree’ (cf. Gen 2:16-17) shows clearly enough that, when it comes to the natural world, we are subject not only to biological laws but also to moral ones, which cannot be violated with impunity”.[6]

Ignoring the environment, ignoring our stewardship over the earth, can lead to drastic consequences, such as climate change. Sin creates its own consequences, consequences which can be understood as a kind of punishment. Communal sin which ignores the good of the earth and all that is on it, indeed, communal sin which seeks to exploit the earth instead of serve as its stewards, creates hazardous conditions for life on earth, conditions which demonstrate the destructive nature of communal sin. Those who think we can ignore, or not be concerned, with the environment, and what we are doing to it, ultimately show they do not value the dignity of life, because they are not concerned about the mass destruction which the destruction of the environment will produce.

The true value of life is found in and promoted by the common good. Injustices not only deny the common good, but destroy it, trying to divide up the common good into parts or private goods which people fight to attain. To justify those who have over those who have not, some systemic explanation develops which suggests that some lives are worth more than others, which then reinforces the mistreatment of those who are deemed worthless:

Because the evil and absurdity of earthly life are due to the fact that every being asserts itself against everything else it does not follow that life’s true meaning is to be found in the affirmation of “the all” against the particular, in the sacrifice of the individual to the race: that is simply the reverse of the same evil, universal discord under another aspect; that each should be destroyed by the whole is no better than that each should try to destroy the others. [7]

It is impossible to be pro-life, to truly value life and its dignity, and be indifferent to or support social injustice. Social injustice lies behind the devaluation of life and it justifies the mistreatment of those who are in need, indeed, justifies the abuse of the oppressed. St. John Paul II was right in saying:

Today this proclamation is especially pressing because of the extraordinary increase and gravity of threats to the life of individuals and peoples, especially where life is weak and defenceless. In addition to the ancient scourges of poverty, hunger, endemic diseases, violence and war, new threats are emerging on an alarmingly vast scale.[8]

How many Christians, especially those who claim to be pro-life, understand this? Their actions say they do not. They might proclaim themselves pro-life, but their deeds tell us otherwise. Is it any wonder that others, upon seeing this, want nothing to do with them? The term “pro-life” has become a political label used by those who do not seek social justice and the dignity of the human person, but rather, by those who seek to promote the value of some humans over and above all others. It is important to truly be pro-life, to serve and defend life, but to do so requires the promotion of social justice, to be practical instead of ideological. If we do not engage social justice, we will find we are the ones who are guilty of indifference to life, and with it, the development and promotion of a “culture of death,” which is not other than the structure of sin which develops upon the denial of such justice.

[1] Marsilio Ficino, The Letters of Marsilio Ficino. Volume 2 {Liber III].  trans. by members of the Language Department of the School of Economic Science, London (London: Shepheard-Walwyn, 1978), 62 [Letter 50 to a man seeking power].

[2] St. Gregory of Nyssa, Homilies on Ecclesiastes. Trans. Richard McCambly. Ed. John Litteral (Ashland, KY: Litteral’s Christian Library Publications, 2014), 62 [Homily 7].

[3] St Leo the Great, Sermons. Trans. Jane Patricia Freeland CSJB and Agnes Josephine Conway SSJ (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 1996), 138 [Sermon 32].

[4] Christos Yannaras, The Freedom of Morality. Trans. Elizabeth Briere (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1984), 87.

[5] Pope St. John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae. Vatican translation. ¶19.

[6] Pope St. John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae,¶42.

[7] Vladimir Solovyey, God, Man & The Church. The Spiritual Foundations Of Life. Trans. Donald Attwater (Cambridge: James Clarke & Co., 2016), 58-9.

[8] Pope St. John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae, Vatican translation. ¶3.

 

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N.B.:  While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.

2023-10-31T02:41:08-05:00

Last updated on: October 31, 2023 at 2:41 am   By
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A. Davey: Dagfinn Werenskiold — They Who Hunger And Thirst / flickr

Jesus commends those who seek for justice (δῐκαιοσῠ́νη, often translated as righteousness), saying that they will be satisfied. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matt. 5:6 RSV). They hunger thirst for justice, that is, not for any sort of righteousness, but the righteousness associated with the justice of God. It is a righteous justice they desire, and they find it is satisfied in and through Jesus. Jesus embraces restorative justice and works to make sure all those who suffered injustice are healed and those who gained from injustice give back what they unjustly took. While we can and should wish for this to happen in time, we must realize the ultimate realization of justice will be in the eschatological kingdom of God. This does not mean we should ignore injustices as the present themselves before us today; if we did that, that would show we do not hunger or thirst for it.  Instead, we should pursue it throughout are entire lives, constantly doing what we can to make things better in the world:

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice.” It does not suffice for us to want justice, if we do not experience a hunger for justice. Thus from this example we should understand that we are never sufficiently just, but it is always necessary to hunger for works of justice. [1]

How can we pursue such justice in the world when we not know what such justice is? Our thirst for justice must make us act, but it must also make us desire to know what true justice is, as St. Caesarius of Arles indicated:

Among the other beatitudes which our Lord and Saviour deigned to mention in the Gospel He added this one, saying: ‘Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied.’ Blessed are those to whom God has been pleased to grant this remarkable hunger and desirable thirst. But how does one hunger after justice, brethren? We hunger after justice if we are willing to hear the word of God with patience and love, for of such food it has been said: ‘They that eat me yet hunger; and they that drink me yet thirst.” For, although action is better than the possession of knowledge, it is necessary to know before acting; one must know what he wishes to accomplish.[2]

When engaging justice, we must be patient and bear all things with love. Indeed, justice without love, without mercy, will not be true justice; instead, it is an unbearable legalistic similitude of it. This is why, for Christians, studying Scripture is important, because Scripture gives multiple examples of how such legalistic notions of justice are wrong. Scripture indicates true justice must be centered upon and connected with love (charity). Certainly, it is possible for someone to discern this without recourse to Scripture, but Scripture highlights it, and the more Christians engage Scripture, the more it will be reinforced in their mind that they have to avoid a legalistic understanding of justice and righteousness. They will understand that true justice entails love and all the expectations which come out of love, such as loving our neighbor, especially if their neighbor is someone who is unjustly marginalized and in great personal need. That is, the more Christians discern that love is the key, the more their thirst for justice should take them to work for the rights of everyone:

It is sufficient for such a merely formal equity that each man defends his rights. But if I defend only my own it shows that I am not concerned for the rights as such but only because they are mine: that is, I am defending myself, my own interests. And if everyone stands up only for himself and what is his, common rights and social equity are nothing more than an abstract notion, justice becomes simply the theoretical balance of various, particular forces. Now in fact our idea of justice goes beyond this abstraction; we have a lively moral perception of it which radically modifies the principle and quality of our actions; it causes us to defend the person and rights of others as well as of ourself. And then it becomes clear that right and equity are in themselves worth something to us. [3]

Those who embrace some sort of injustice because of the immediate gain they feel it gives to them will find that it will not satisfy them forever; and, once it no longer satisfies, they will still have to face the consequences of their actions. Much of what they did to others will be reflected back upon them. And, due to their lack of mercy, their lack of love, until they change and embrace mercy and love, they will not have the grace which they need to help them overcome the consequences of their actions. “But you who love injustices, keep this admonition in mind, so that you may know that your avariciousness longing for wealth is idolatry, and that it separates you from the angelic orders, that is, from spiritual people, just as the idol of deceit is separated from the true God.”[4]

It is important for us to pursue justice, to desire it, to thirst for it, not just for ourselves, but for everyone. It is important we don’t merely ponder and reflect upon the notion of justice, that is, pursue an intellectual understanding of it, if we are not willing to engage it:

He seeks rightly who does not so do in mere words, but in deeds. For thus God is sought: through justice God is sought, so that through temperance, he is found; through courage and sound thinking God is sought, so that he may be comprehended; through wisdom God is sought so that God may be found by the one seeking with wisdom. [5]

The more we pursue justice in the world, making sure we do so with mercy and grace, the more we will find we will be satisfied in the eschatological kingdom of God. This does not mean there will be no justice in the world, that is, it does not mean we will not find any satisfaction in it in our lives. While the fullness of the eschatological kingdom of God, the eschaton, is not yet, nonetheless, the incarnation is the immanent eschaton: Jesus shares grace with the whole of creation, giving it the means to participate in an experience of the eschatological kingdom of God in an anticipatory way. The world can change and be made better, even if it will not become a utopia. We should embrace the eschatological graces brought into the world thanks to the incarnation. With our hunger and thirst for justice, we should pursue it to the end of our days, never giving up, even if it seems like it is far from us our fleeting. For then it will be a true hunger and thirst for justice, and Jesus’ blessing will be upon us.

[1] St. Jerome, Commentary on Matthew. Trans. Thomas P. Scheck (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 2008), 76.

[2] St. Caesarius of Arles, Sermons Volume I (1-80). Trans. Mary Magdeleine Mueller, OSF (New York: Fathers of the Church, 1956), 28 [Sermon 4].

[3] Vladimir Solovyey, God, Man & The Church. The Spiritual Foundations Of Life. Trans. Donald Attwater (Cambridge: James Clarke & Co., 2016), 38.

[4] St. Hildegard of Bingen, “Letter 220r” in The Letters of Hildegard of Bingen. Volume III. Trans. Joseph L Baird and Radd K Ehrman (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), 14.

[5] Origen, Homilies on the Psalms: Codex Monacensis Graecus 314. Trans. Joseph W. Trigg (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 2020), 243 [Homily 1 on Psalm 76].

 

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2023-09-21T02:45:40-05:00

Last updated on: September 21, 2023 at 2:45 am   By
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Michael Coghlan: Scales Of Justice / flickr

One of the great Christian hopes, a hope which is not uniquely Christian but something Christians inherited from the Jews, is that God’s justice will prevail in the eschaton. That is, we hope that God will somehow overcome and fix all the injustices people suffered in the world. We hope that those who suffered great oppression, those who suffered great pain and sorrow, will be able to discern how, in the midst of it, God was not only on their side, but was with them, sharing in solidarity with them their suffering. We hope that this realization will help find new meaning to the events of world history, helping to explain what is currently unexplainable, why the innocent suffers as evil seems to prevail in the world.  We rely upon hope because currently, no matter how much we try to understand it, we can’t. It is beyond our current comprehension. Every time we try to explain why God allows some things, while our solutions might include elements of truth in them, we will never be able to make for a satisfactory answer, and indeed, what we offer often ends up being used to promote evil. Theodicies tend to be subverted by tyrants as they use them to justify their existence. Many are led to believe that if they want to be rewarded by God, they must bear with their suffering instead of fighting to make things better.

Certainly, the hope of the restoration of all things is important, but connected with it is our role in its execution. We are not expected merely to sit around doing nothing while waiting for the eschaton. We are meant to work for the elimination of unjust pain and sorrow, of abuse, in the world. The eschaton has become immanent in the world, and as such, we are to join in the work of the eschaton, realizing of course, its final fulfillment is beyond our power. We cannot and will not create a perfect utopia, but we should do all we can to make the world as just as possible. Thus, we should confront the powers that be when they work and bring about injustices; we should not let them continue and have control over the lives of so many innocents. We must be prophetic, showing a zeal for justice, so that in and through us, people can get a hint of the justice of God.  And hope tells us that even if our work is unnoticed, and seems to have little to no effect, God takes notice and provide grace so as to multiply the value of our work, even as God will also take in all the good we do and give it its proper place it in the eschaton:

Do not bow down to power; do not despise poverty; but for those who are governed provide an exactness in your reckonings more exact than any scale. Thus your zeal for justice will become evident to those who have put their faith in you, and they will admire you beyond all others. Or, even if it does escape their notice, it will not escape the notice of our God, who sets before us great prizes for our good works. [1]

We are to engage God out of love, not concerned with the world and its praise. “The Lord is instructing us in every perfection of heavenly justice and faith. For he wants us to carry out every work out of divine religion without hypocrisy, without any pursuit of human praise.”[2] This does not mean we need reject all forms of praise, but we should not seek it out as for the reason we do what we do. We should act out of love for God, and through such love, love all that God wants, which includes justice. Establishing justice can bring its own reward, even as sin, or injustice, can be create its own punishment, causing us the pain and sorrow we do not want, which is poetically described as God’s vengeance:

But, this is the object of Thy vengeance, the evil which men do against themselves, for, even when they sin against Thee, they do a work of impiety against their own souls, and iniquity lies to itself either by corrupting and perverting that nature which Thou hast made and ordered, either through immoderate use of things which are permitted or through a passionate desire for unpermitted things, for ‘that use which is against nature’ – or they are found guilty in mind and speech who turn their anger against Thee and ‘kick against the goad’ – or, when they have broken the confines of human society, they boldly rejoice in private associations and separate factions corresponding to their sympathies or animosities. [3]

In the incarnation, with the immanent eschaton, God entered the world, so that God can work from within the domain of creation for its own restoration. God began the process by which injustice will be rooted out. God set in motion the means by which all evil, all injustice, will expose itself and suffer the end which it brings upon itself. Similarly, God will let the good reveal itself so that it can be collected and brought together as one, and as one, receive healing grace (healing what it suffered as a result of sin) before being taken up and brought into the glorious, eternal kingdom of God. What is evil in each and every one of us will fall, that is, be cast away, so that the good given to us by our existence and our nature, as well with every good we developed in ourselves throughout out lives, will be free to show itself when the Lord reveals everything in the light of the eschatological judgment. “I think, therefore, that the Lord is ‘for the fall and for the rise,’ not because some fall and others rise, but because our lower nature falls and our better nature rises. The manifestation of the Lord is destructive of carnal passions, but stimulative of the spiritual qualities.”[4]

Our embrace of justice must follow what we know and understand of the eschaton, that is, letting evil reveal itself and set the conditions for its own self-made punishment. We must also let the good reveal itself, so that when it is revealed, we can affirm it, protect it, indeed, strengthen it so that evil truly does not have the final say. We must show how each particular good has a place in the greater good, and work to coordinate all such particular goods together so that together, they can participate in the greatest good possible. We must promote and serve justice, denouncing all grave injustice. We must do so with grace, making sure we are not contentious as we do so, for such contentiousness, far from promoting and supporting  the greater good and the way of justice, ends up attacking much which is good:

Contentious natures frequently reject even good ideas and judge as noble and useful not that which seems so to all others, even if it is advantageous, but that which is pleasing to them alone, even if it is hurtful. And the cause is folly and perversity of disposition, not heeding the advice of others, but trusting to their own opinions only and to whatever considerations enters their minds. Those things in which they take pleasure enter the mind, and they take pleasure in what they want. Now, he who thinks that which he desires is advantageous is not a safe judge of the right; he is like the blind who are led by the blind. [5]

Thus, while pursuing eschatological justice, and trying to bring its presence into the world, we must always do so with mercy and grace, knowing that just as in the eschatological judgment, God brings and offers grace with the judgment, so in our rejection of injustice, we must bring us grace with our promotion of greater justice. We should not ignore our life in the world, thinking we can go away in quietude and let injustice remain, even as, however, we cannot presume to be the ones who can and will establish the ultimate justice of the eschaton. We must work as signs of the eschatological glory, allowing elements of the eschaton to be experienced in time, which is why we must always serve justice instead of waiting for its fulfillment in the eschatological judgment.

[1] St. Basil, “Letter 299” in Saint Basil: Letter. Volume 2 (186-368). Trans. Agnes Clare Way, CDP (New York: Fathers of the Church, 1955), 290-1.

[2] St. Chromatius of Aquileia, Sermons and Tractates on Matthew. Trans. Thomas P. Scheck (New York: Newman Press, 2018), 211 [Tractate 27].

[3] St. Augustine, Confessions. Trans. Vernon J. Bourke (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 1953; repr. 1966), 65.

[4] St. Basil, “Letter 260” in Saint Basil: Letter. Volume 2 (186-368), 230.

[5] St. Basil, “Letter 307” in Saint Basil: Letter. Volume 2 (186-368), 300.

 

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2023-07-06T05:26:06-05:00

Last updated on: July 6, 2023 at 5:26 am   By
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Anonymous (no photographer listed): Justice / pxhere

James warns us not to take the divine “law” in any of its variations in a legalistic manner. He wanted us to realize it was established for us and our own good, not us, as he made clear in relation to the Sabbath (cf. Mk. 2:27). When we misunderstand the law and try to embrace it in the most legalistic fashion, establishing rules upon rules which all are expected to follow, any violation of it, however minor an infraction, is treated as a violation of the whole law (cf. Jas. 2:10). The divine law, in all its variations, is meant to instruct us and guide us, encouraging us to embrace the greater good. For the divine law comes to us as a revelation from God, no matter what form of it we are talking about (that is, the natural law comes to us as a form of natural revelation, even as the Law of Moses came as a particular form of revelation providing the people of Israel a special relationship with and insight about God).

All forms of revelation from God contains some element of grace. Legalism tends to cut revelation away from the grace given with it, leaving the people, therefore, with none of the means they need to fulfil the good expected of them. Similarly, without grace, there will be no mercy, which is why people will likely be treated harshly, if not cruelly, for any violation of the legalistic expectations placed upon them. Punished, in this fashion, those who sin, those who violate some form of the divine life, will be doubly wounded, as they will suffer the self-made infliction of sin as well as the punishment which will limit them and their potential further. For without grace, punishment is merely retributive.  Thus, legalism ends up further destroying justice in the world, as it has no means of restoring what was lost.

Thus, the divine law, when understood merely as a legal prescription which must be followed without exception, leads to condemnation. The fault does not lie with the divine law, but with the wrong approach taken concerning it. On the other hand, when the law is understood, not legalistically, but as an aid which requires flexibility and grace for its fulfillment, then it can be used to help point to the greater good, encouraging people not only to embrace it, but to participate in it. They will be able to receive some form of healing grace, the kind necessary for violations of justice to be fixed. Again, it is important to note, this is true with all manifestations of the divine law, so that the Law of Moses, when it was given to the people of Israel, must be understood to have with it some element of grace which it gave to them:

The Law is a manifestation of God, a gift of grace – it is not juridical legislation serving a social purpose. It is a call to the people of Israel to receive and mediate the name of God, to be manifest as the “radiance” of that truth which is God Himself. [1]

Those who would pit the divine law against the mercy and grace of God do so because they have divided grace from the law. The more they do this, the more legalistic and cruel they become, until at last, they become tyrannical, taking away not only mercy, but freedom, from everyone who falls under their power. True justice, true engagement with the divine law, is one which allows for mercy, grace, healing, and conversion, for it is the way of love; we can discern this was true with the Law of Moses because so many within the Mosaic Covenant found grace in and through it, allowing them to become great saints (starting with Moses himself!). Similarly, all moral expositions, as they are engagements with and reflections upon divine law, should work for the greater good, but they can do this only if they contain within them elements of mercy and grace, as they are necessary for true justice. “Justice, whether through conversion or conscience, is not given without grace. So that when one is found to be guilty, through conversion suddenly and without works, he stands justified.”[2] Since many have misunderstood the law, as seen in the way the engage it with a legalistic mindset, the problem is not the divine law, but the way it is misunderstood. When we read various criticisms of the law which suggest it did not contain grace, we must see them, not as criticism of the divine law, but the legalism which tries to have us believe its presentation of the law is the law itself.

Justice, to be sure, certainly stands in opposition to injustice, to evil. But for it to be true to itself, it stands against the evil of legalism. This is especially true for God’s justice, for God uses it to judge in such a manner as provide grace to those who are being judged. God’s judgment is meant to be a vessel for grace so that  those who have been defiled by their actions can detach themselves from that defilement, that is, purified from it, so that they can then be healed from all the harm it caused them, rendering them ready to experience the glory of  the kingdom of God for themselves:

This is the grace which strengthens the righteous, preserving <them> by its being near and removing their faults. It is also near to those who have perished, reducing their torments and in this punishment deals with compassion. In the world to come, indeed grace will be the judge, not justice. <God> reduces the length of time of sufferings, and by means of His grace, makes all worthy of His kingdom. For there is no one <even> among the righteous who is able to conform his way of life to the Kingdom. [3]

Justice, true justice, gives way to grace. God uses justice to present us grace, so that through grace, we can find ourselves being given back what we lost through our own acts of injustice. God does not want to use the law to condemn us and make us suffer. Rather, the law is presented to us as wisdom so that we will be able to better engage the good in the situations which we find ourselves in, even as it is presented with grace, so that we do not end up despairing due to our sin. When we understand this, we should, therefore, treat others similar to the way God treats us, that is, since God engages us with restorative justice instead of mere retribution, we should embrace the way of charity instead of cruelty and revenge and offer others the means to have restorative justice help them in their lives:

Our response with regard to sin is that we should not harm our neighbor. Scripture says “You shall not commit adultery. You shall not kill” and so forth [Ex 20.13-14]. Here the Law is general and the final word on such these matters. It further says that we should love our neighbor as ourselves [Lev 19.18; Mt 22.39], precepts which are carried out each day as well as violated. No one who judges something as evil today, whether murder or anything else forbidden, should regard it as good the following day. Since an evil of this kind always transpires in time, indeed no harmful action would be becoming with respect to time. [4]

This is why the death penalty is fundamentally against greatest expression of the divine law, and as such, should not be embraced by Christians. It promotes a legalistic, retributive understanding of justice, one which knows no grace, no room for mercy. The one who embraces capital punishment, that is, the one who would strike at the supposed monster who stands before them, turns into a monster themselves. For they take on the mantle of the monster, killing without mercy. If they are to be consistent with their legalism, and so, with their retributive justice, they would have to conclude that they, having become the monster, must be next. Just as an eye for an eye will leave everyone blind, so a death for a death will leave no one alive. But once we understand justice is not retributive, but rather, restorative, even if we cannot restore all that is lost due to some violation of the divine law, we can hope that in the end, what was lost in time will be restored. That is, we are to hope God that will restore that which we cannot restore, so that restorative justice, not nihilistic destruction, will have the last say. This is why the resurrection of the dead must be seen as a sign of God’s justice, for it is a sign that true justice will prevail in the eschaton. But until then, we are to engage restorative justice, to embrace it and with it, do what we can in the world to help it spread, even if we know that until the end of time, there will be no complete restorative justice, that is no utopia on earth. For, even if cannot have perfection now, we should never make perfection the enemy of the good, which is exactly happens when legalism is viewed merely along the lines of retributive justice.

[1] Christos Yannaras, The Freedom of Morality. Trans. Elizabeth Briere (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1984), 54-5.

[2] St. Isaac the Syrian, “The Third Part.” Trans. Mary T. Hansbury in An Anthology of Syriac Writers From Qatar in the Seventh Century. Ed. Mario Kozah, Abdulrahim Abu-Husayn, Saif Shaeen Al-Murikhi and Haya Al Thani (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2015), 329 [VI.9].

[3] St. Isaac the Syrian, “The Third Part, 331 [VI.18].

[4] St. Gregory of Nyssa, Homilies on Ecclesiastes. Trans. Richard McCambly. Ed. John Litteral (Ashland, KY: Litteral’s Christian Library Publications, 2014), 62 [Homily 7].

 

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