The Just Judge

A Reflection on the Second Reading for May 3rd, 2020:
Fourth Sunday of Easter

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1 PETER 2

20For what credit is it, if when you do wrong and are beaten for it you take it patiently? But if when you do right and suffer for it you take it patiently, you have God's approval. 21For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 22He committed no sin; no guile was found on his lips. 23When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he trusted to him who judges justly. 24He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.
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Pause. Pray.

And then read more...

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God, the Just Judge. I love that image. The Just Judge, not simply a just judge. There is only one judge whose justice is perfect.
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This way of describing God resonates in my bones. For most of my career, I have worked side-by-side with judges. I have watched them weigh evidence, assess testimony, grapple with fact and law, and struggle to mete out justice in difficult situations.

It is the duty — not only of judges and lawmakers but of every mature human being — to create and nurture justice in the world.


Despite our best efforts, however, injustice happens. When it does, we respond with a remedy — compensation for the innocent party, changes that render the wrong less likely to happen in the future — with punishment for the wrongdoer, or with both. Still, injustice leaves its mark; we are left feeling angry, vengeful, frustrated, helpless.


The second reading for Sunday delivers a hard truth: when you do right and suffer nonetheless, you must suffer patiently, for that is what God wants. And why should you do this? Because God has called you to it. Just as Christ, who was sinless, endured an unjust punishment for your sins so that you might live to righteousness, so should you follow His example when you are unjustly punished. 


This teaching is very challenging for me. I’d venture to say that nearly every time I’m wronged, I mount some kind of defence. Sometimes I’m successful in that, and sometimes I’m not. In those latter cases, when I do nothing wrong and suffer anyway, I find some comfort in knowing that Christ has been there before me. We can always look to His example and pray that God will give us the strength to follow it.


Did you ever have a time in your life when someone told a lie about you? I recall a time when that happened to me. There was so little I could do about it, and I found that frustrating. All I could think was, “People who don’t know me may believe this lie. This person wants to ruin my reputation and she is getting away with it.” I felt helpless.


By the grace of God, I encountered Deuteronomy 32:4, which says the Lord is my defender. I felt quite short on defenders at the time, so I recited that phrase over and again, and eventually I found comfort in it. I allowed myself to step back from the hottest of my emotions. I began to trust that God would see me through this in the best way possible.


“Vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord” (Romans 12:19). I am glad God is the one to judge. God’s judgment is proportional — never too much, never too little — always ideal for the situation and the people involved, always measured out with perfect love. God’s justice does what the justice of this world cannot: erase the marks and make us whole again. Only God, the Just Judge, can do this.




Donna Davis

Photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash

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