Justice, legalism, harmony, grace? | James Henley

Sep200806

Biblical Studies, Reflection & Contemplation

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Justice, legalism, harmony, grace?

I was watching Batman Begins a couple of weeks ago (in preparation for the Dark Knight), and was hit by a weird quote. When Bruce talks to Rachel about his desire to avenge his parents' killing, she says something like "Justice is about harmony. Revenge is about you making yourself feel better."

But when we think about justice in this day and age, definitely in a secular sense and usually in a religious sense, we don't think about harmony, but instead about people getting what they deserve. People who do bad things deserve to have bad things happen to them to achieve justice. To balance the scales.

Even in a biblical sense, when we think about justice (or God's justice) a lot of people think about people getting what they deserve for sin. Jesus and grace are the way out of justice.

But what if the biblical concept of justice is actually something much deeper. What if when God speaks about justice it is much more closely related to harmony – to everything being in it's rightful place in relation to God (shalom)? Is justice the process of God achieving Shalom in His world? And how does this alter our understanding of what justice should be?

Was justice what the Jews were trying to achieve by stoning the woman caught in adultery, or was it achieved when Jesus set her free?

Another idea I've been thinking about a lot is the Old Testament idea of the Jubilee – when every fifty years debts are forgotten, land is given back, and a giant reset button is pressed for Israel. Surely the point of the Jubilee year is justice, harmony, peace? The rich would give up some in order to bring the poor back into the right place – and bring themselves back into that place as well.

And what if we look at the cross through the lens of justice? The law could never truly achieve justice – it could only give people what they deserved, but not bring them into a right place – and so Jesus sacrifices. He sacrifices of himself to restore relationships. And this is also how the community of faith achieves peace – we sacrifice of ourselves for each other. Especially the early church (Acts 2:42ish), who devote themselves and their possessions to becoming a community of peace together.

Think I'm about spent – it's been a long day. So…

Justice is about harmony/peace, achieved best through self-sacrifice.

How does that sit with you?

Jonathan Brink

Be careful brother. You just may change some minds and hearts when you write stuff like this. ;-P

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