Divine Justice and Mercy

When the season of Lent comes around, I love to have the opportunity to read the stories of Susanna (Daniel 13) and the adulterous woman (John 8:1-11). Even though they are totally different, but share the powerful message of truth and forgiveness, revealing and reminding us that God is BOTH just and merciful. In a world that is becoming more politically correct, where words are just becoming catchphrases, slogans, or to be used as propaganda, especially one that wants to build everything according to humanistic standards but to eliminate God, we are being reminded that we need divine justice and mercy.

Why?

For even with our best intentions and efforts, we are being reminded every single day that original sin is alive and well. All human intentions, thoughts, and institutions will fail to provide us what is real, true, life-giving, and eternally endure. As with political and typical human factors. It is too easy to be manipulated, controlled, persuaded, or simply to be resentful of those who are able to be in control or vocal enough when it comes to the political and social realms. Everyone tend to speak, expect things from others, point fingers at failures, but no one is wiling to actually seek, live, and allow true justice and mercy to be enlivened. In such a world, we are, more than ever, in need of God and His loving truth so we can truly live our lives according to what gives us life and sets us free from ever-changing, noisy, and self-centered goods.

First, we have to recognize that we tend to overly-simplified God with identifying Him in our typical “either/or” mentality. We tend to think of Him as a boogeyman that is out there to get us because we tend to overemphasize His justice. Those who tend to think of the Almighty in this particular way tend to be very hard on themselves and others because they do not want mess up. They hold themselves to a very high set of standards and easily get frustrated when no one can meet them — including their very own selves. The first type of people tend to be scrupulous or struggle with perfectionism, and it is very hard for them to willingly accept the messy and imperfect reality of this world. Those who are too tough on themselves and others often missed the subtle, providential, and patient ways that God and His grace tend to work in each and every individual. Nonetheless, we also have people to tend to downplay on the necessity of doing what is right and just because they overly-emphasized His mercy. They think that God is only there to confirm and allow them to do whatever they want because He is merciful and loving. Nonetheless, they tend to forget that mercy is to be appreciated, embraced, and lived with love, not to be abused, taken advantaged, or be used to justify our particular humanistic lifestyles. Therefore, it is important for us to remember the two stories as a great reminder of His justice and mercy.

God is BOTH just and merciful. He sees and understands our true intentions and desires of the heart! In the story of Susanna, we see His justice at work when the two sleazy old men wanted her but could not have her, so they ended up making lies to destroy her. Through a very unexpected way and person, He used the young Daniel to bring justice to the innocent woman and punishment to the two wicked men. God is just, and His justice extends even to those who seem to be able to lie, manipulate, or control people’s perceptions, opinions, or thoughts. We can lie and influent others but we cannot lie to Him and our very own self!

We can see from our very own world and human histories that those who seemed to have it all, especially being able to control, instill fear, and manipulate others all met their own just deaths by the hand of the very own crowd, populace, or people that once drank their initial lies. Evil and its intents can seem to have a its own way for a short while, but divine justice will always have the last say! The most unfortunate fate for anyone is that even they can lie to everyone else, and they can buy our words and ideologies, but they cannot lie to God who created and formed our beings, who truly sees and knows our very inner intentions. Those who cannot be honest with themselves can win others but have to pay for their lies and deceits in front of the just Judge. The most despicable punishment for us is in the very egocentric deception is the cowardice in being scared of living in the truth. May we, then, do not live by or for the favor and judgment of others but truly be honest in front of the One who knows our very inner beings and all our intentions, desires, and thoughts.

That was why when the adulterous woman was caught and readied to be stone to death by her captors, the Lord came to her defense. He saw through the self-righteousness of Pharisees and Scribes, who perhaps with good intentions, lived a life of righteousness according to the letters of the Law but lacked the compassion and mercy for those who have failed. Even though she was caught, the man who committed the crime with her was not held up to the same judgment. If she was a prostitute, her customers, those who frequented or knew her, was hypocritical in condemning her to death while hiding behind their deceptive righteousness. If she was truly known by others, those who did not condemn other participants of the same sin were cowards. They imposed punishment upon one person as a scapegoat but ignored those who were involved. Jesus saw through the injustice and gave her a second chance!

He, out of His true justice and mercy, saw through the ill-willed crowd and their hypocritical condemnation. He gave her what she really needed. In His compassion, He gave her a second chance to repent and sin no more! He felt her shame, sufferings, and pains beyond the crowd’s humanistic reactions. His heart was able to see through the people’s own blindness and condemnation. In the Lord‘s response to the crowd’s reaction, He manifested and taught us true compassion and mercy, as well as justice. Instead of condemning a person to death just because it was the right and lawful thing to do, He gave her a chance to let go of her old lifestyle and live a new life that is both just and moral. He did not simply dismissed her completely, as if she did nothing wrong, but told her to go and sin no more! Our Lord expressed both mercy and justice in a real, personal, and true fashion so that the sinner might be converted and be saved, so that she can have a new life that is full of God‘s merciful and loving grace.

Compassion comes from the Latin words, “cum passio,” which challenges us to truly care as to will and to know the other person in order to have the desire to love, even if it means to suffer with him or her. Talk is cheap if we are not willing to invest and give ourselves generously, genuinely, and wholeheartedly as to care and will their goods. Words become nonsubstantial if we are only willing to do things as long as they are beneficial for us instead of denying, giving, and offering ourselves for the common goods of society and the greater good of all. Hence, in order to do all of these things, we have to learn to be merciful to others.

Mercy comes from the Latin word “misericordia” which means to have the heart to feel the miseries, pains, and sufferings of the other. Both compassion and mercy demand that we go outside of ourselves and its preconceptions, prejudices, and reservations in order to know the person as he or she is. Only when we have that basic human connection (preferably personal) can we truly treat him or her as he or she is, a child of God — a brother and sister, with proper respect and dignity. Only when we know the person who we are talking about and making decisions for can we truly be able to will their greater good and desire the common good for all. Only when we know and love the other in our common bond of charity and humanity can we be moved to tcare and love them with the heart, even if it means to suffer with them.

Our Savior saw the adulterous woman’s shame and suffering, and He gave her a chance to live a new life by asking her to go and sin no more! He did not tell her to go back to her old way and continue to do whatever she was doing. In His just mercy, He gave her pardon and told her to live a new life that is pleasing to God, no longer pleasing or popular to men but full of justice and truth. He freed and lifted her up from people’s condemnation to death and gave her a new life that is truly right and just. He saw her real intentions and desires beyond her captors’ quick sentence to death and gave her a second chance to live detached, free, and truly liberated from typical human and social standards as a daughter of God. He forgave and empowered her with the opportunity to truly be free which none of her captors or people from the crowd were willing to afford her. She was no longer enslaved or held back by legalistic or human laws but to fully belonging to God.

Through the stories of Susanna and the adulterous woman, we can see that God is BOTH just and merciful, for these two qualities are personal, life-giving, important, real parts of who He is deep from within! His justice and mercy complements each other because He is a just and merciful Judge who sees our true intentions and desires of the heart. He knows us because He formed us out of love. And even though people might misjudged or condemned us, they might scapegoated or wrongly blamed us, but He knows and will justify us. No none on this earth can ever really understanding us but He does! Therefore, we should live and be honest with God than trying to win the hearts and favors of people.

Even if we have failed or have sinned greatly, and at times when others will not forgive us, God will if we are genuine, sincere, repentant and willing to do our best to change our life as to avoid and sin no more. He truly cares for us and our eternal salvation instead of temporary justification from others. People can be wrong, and their minds can change or be confused at times, but God sees and knows our true intentions. Therefore, let us be honest to Him and ask Him for His mercy and justice as to truly repent, amend our lives, avoid the near occasions of sins, and to truly be free as to live in His loving grace. Unlike humanity who likes to condemn for the sake of condemnation and legalistic justice, the Almighty sees our true desires and repentance, willing to forgive and give us the necessary strength to be free in Him. Therefore, let us try our best to be right and just, in keeping His commandments, but also be humble, genuine, and repentant when we have failed. God is indeed just and merciful, and so should we, so we can all judge and afford one another a second chance according to His standards of grace. Without a doubt, everyone can have the loving opportunities of forgiveness and newness of life for all eternity.