Lent Week 4 - Judge & Justice
A quintessential element of our humanity is an understanding of self. The human preoccupation with self enables us to recognize not only our needs and desires but also develops individual identity — and yet in our quest for self there is a glaring oversight. We understand our physical and sometimes our emotional self, but we do not recognize our spiritual selves. While we often fail to recognize our spiritual selves and we actively ignore it in other people — God is fully intimate with all. God's clarity, omniscience, into humankind's physical, emotional, and spiritual selves coupled with his complete understanding of the human experience uniquely qualifies the Lord as the perfect magistrate.
In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus is telling a parable about the coming judgement. In the story he uses an example of sheep and goats being separated in a demonstration of God distinguishing the faithful from the unfaithful at the end of times. Only someone that has true insight into self must distinguish between the sheep and goat otherwise misidentification will inevitably occur — yet here we play God. We humans cannot recognize our limitations and decide to act as the magistrate. We make for very corrupt judges. At best, usurping God as the judge is wrong praxis and at worst it is broken theology. Anointing ourselves into the seat of justice should be abandoned to give God the rightful place in the story. It is clear in the parable that it is God, and only God, who can identify sheep and goats.
As Christians, followers of Jesus, we too often read this passage and, instead of honoring God's place in the story, we supplant the Lord with ourselves. Well intended or not, we become our own God with the power to judge and administer justice. It is human nature to look at others to determine if they measure up in comparison to whatever yardstick is in use and then compare ourselves. This is a misappropriation of power. A power that we humans cannot wield
I can’t help but recall Jesus’ conversation at the Temple with the scribes and Pharisees who were about to stone the unnamed women for adultery found in John 8:1-8. In the passage, Jesus speaks out on behalf of the women by cryptically writing something in the dirt. There is much speculation about what he draws into the sand, but whatever it is, the result is that when he says “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:8, NRSV) The authorities walk away without administering justice against her.
Our human hearts long for justice. As small children we scream out “that’s not fair” when we see injustice and as adults we condemn others in our quest for it - but it is only God who has the authority to dispense justice. God alone recognizes the sheep and God alone can identify the goat because our perspective is too linear to be a fair judge. Does this mean we give up the pursuit of justice on earth? No! We still must stand against evil, but our purpose is not to bring condemnation but to share the life abundance given to us by Jesus. The power of condemnation is not intended for our use and we must relinquish it to the One who knows our true identity and the true identity of all.
Written by Kylie Riley