The Justice Of Mercy
One of the first virtues we learn as young children is the virtue of justice. We might not learn to practice it right away, but we certainly know at a very early age when we’re being treated unjustly. Children have a very strong sense of what’s fair and what isn’t, and they will be sure to let you know if they think you’re being unfair to them. The fact is, Justice is one of those most basic of human instincts, and has far more importance in our lives than we probably realize. Justice lies at the very heart of all our moral choices and is the motivation behind almost everything we do. That might sound like an exaggeration, but if you carefully analyze any given decision you make, you’ll find that your sense of justice has something to do with it somehow. Let’s take a look at a random example…
When we choose to take something that doesn’t belong to us, we’re acting out of a sense of justice. Misplaced justice, to be sure, but justice nonetheless. Maybe I feel that it’s unjust for the person I steal from to have something that I can’t have, or perhaps I feel entitled to take something I need more than they do. Whatever it is, I somehow must try to justify my theft, at least to myself. Note the word “justify”. I have to convince myself that my act of stealing is a morally just and therefore good and reasonable thing to do. The injustice we commit is seen as justice, and this, of course, is a perversion of justice, a lie we tell ourselves so we can feel “justified” in the bad actions we commit.
Such an example can be seen on many levels. Something as insignificant as taking the biggest slice of cake, it’s an injustice. When we choose to cheat on a test, or lie to our parents, it’s an injustice, taking something we don’t deserve or taking away from someone who is entitled to it. When we act aggressively or with violence, we’re taking away the peace and serenity of another, maybe even their good health.
We must always examine our choices carefully to see if they are morally justified or not. Every sin we commit is a sin against the virtue of justice. Take any of the Ten Commandments and within seconds we’ll see how breaking it goes against justice. It’s not just “thou shalt not steal” but any of the other of God’s laws. Sins against the Sixth Commandment, which are so prevalent in today’s world, are unjust acts. They may be unjust to our neighbor, by dragging someone else into mortal sin, or by denying fidelity to our spouse. Or if no one else is involved, such sins are still offensive to the God who forbids them. They are acts of infidelity to the God who loves us, whose Son died for us, who rightfully, justly, demands obedience. Any and all sins ultimately come down to their being an act of disobedience and disloyalty to our loving God. This is the chief reason that makes them unjust, whether or not they are also unfair to our neighbor. And let’s remember that God, who is infinitely just, will render perfect justice to each and everyone of us. There isn’t anybody in hell who doesn’t deserve to be there.
We have the obligation to be able to justify any moral choice we make. We need to know it’s okay, sometimes we need to be able to explain ourselves to our neighbor, and always we must remember that one day we’ll have to explain ourselves to God our Judge. He will place each of our actions before our eyes and show us whether they were based on true justice or some misplaced sense of justice. One or the other, justice will have played its part in each of the actions on which we are judged. And then, of course, we’ll have to deal with the consequences.
Fortunately for us, there’s another side to this coin. We have listened to the words of the Gospel, “At that time, Jesus spake this parable unto his disciples…” He tells them a story about a servant who owed the king a lot of money, about ten thousand talents. In justice, the king was well within his rights to demand that the servant repay him his debt. And the servant was obligated, out of justice, to give him restitution. It seems like a straightforward situation, all about justice. But then the servant starts begging the king for a stay in time so that he could earn the money to pay him back. The king then apparently acts contrary to justice and forgives him his debt. Here is the only time we are permitted to act against justice—when we act out of mercy. A merciful act is one where we waive our rights to justice and forgive them that trespass against us. Instead of demanding what is rightfully ours, whether it be restitution, or vengeance, we show mercy instead.
Mercy is in a way contrary to justice, and yet, strangely enough, is not in contradiction to it. We wonder how God can be both infinitely just and infinitely merciful at the same time, and it’s true that does force us to wrap our heads around an apparent contradiction. But we have to remember that to be merciful is actually the highest form of justice. It is an act freely given that is within our rights to give. When we show mercy, when we forgive others, when we waive our rights to justice, we are actually showing the highest form of justice. We have the right—in justice—to set aside our right to justice. And if we think about that, we’ll realize that nothing could be more just than that.
The servant in today’s Gospel failed, unfortunately, to learn that lesson. While he was forgiven, he went on to punish those who had done him an injustice. He was forgiven, but did not forgive others. It’s a humbling thought that we, who have been so often forgiven in the confessional, are so quick to judge others, so quick to want to see them punished for hurting us. We beg our Lord to forgive us our trespasses, and yet we do not forgive them that trespass against us. We harbor resentment, hatred, simmering bitterness for those who have injured us, and take care! Because God does not look kindly to our placing justice above mercy. Look at the Gospel again: “And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due to him.” In our case we know who the tormentors will be, and we know how we’re going to be forced to pay off our crimes. “So likewise shall my heavenly Father do, also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.”
We can’t stress enough the virtue of justice. To sum up, justice must be practiced in all our actions; the degree of justice with which we choose to act is what makes those actions morally good or bad. We must always be acutely aware whether our actions will or will not offend God. But when it comes to justice for ourselves, we have the latitude of showing mercy, which is the highest form of justice, coming as it does from our just right to forgive. The virtue of mercy takes us above our human frailty and into the domain of God himself, because “to err is human, to forgive—divine.”