Balance of Justice

Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18
Ephesians 1:11-23
Luke 6:20-31


I’m currently reading a book by Elaine Pagels entitled Reading Judas in which the author discusses the Gospel of Judas which is obviously not a part of the orthodox canon but can still be traced back to the 3rd century. Its author is unknown, but scholars at least know for sure that Judas himself is not the author.

Judas is controversial enough due to its premise: Judas was not the “enemy” he is portrayed to be in the canonical Gospel accounts but is, rather, the most favored of Jesus’ disciples. Of course this is hard to swallow because tradition alone prohibits such notions due to the “authoritative” texts we’ve had for centuries. Still, I sometimes wonder what the Christian church might look like today if certain writings had made the Final Cut.

Beyond this, however, there was a particular portion of the text I was reading the other night in which Ms. Pagels points out that Judas is, according to this “gospel”, the first recorded martyr in Christianity because it maintains he did not kill himself; he was stoned to death by the other apostles. Essentially it is that this “gospel” claims that Jesus and Judas had a lot of “secret” conversations in which Jesus revealed ALL the secrets and mysteries of the Kingdom to Judas alone because Judas was the “most trusted”. It is suggested that Judas’ status with Jesus caused more than a little consternation and conflict between him and the others so that Judas’ fulfilling his calling by turning Jesus over to the authorities was reason enough to stone him to death.

Needless to say, my mind was already reeling from this perspective until I came across this portion: “Although the “Gospel of Judas” does not encourage martyrdom, ironically it portrays Judas as the first martyr. This gospel reveals that when Judas hands Jesus over, he seals his own fate. But he knows, too, that when the other disciples stone him, they kill only his mortal self. His spirit-filled soul has already found its home in the light world above. Although Christians may suffer and die when they oppose the powers of evil, the hope Christ brings will sustain them. These revelations offer courage and comfort to anyone who anticipates suffering and death – and so to everyone.”

My question is this: do we all “anticipate” our death? In the backs of our rational minds, we know that we will not live on this earth forever. I don’t think, however, that we really give it much thought otherwise except maybe when we attend the funeral of a contemporary or a friend who was our own age, or when we purchase life insurance. Other than perhaps these two instances, I think it is safe to say that we don’t put a lot of thought into our own demise. Yet it seems to me that if we are to have genuine hope in our resurrection and the PATIENCE required to await that time, we would need to be cognizant of our end more often and more intentionally than we are now.

Pretty depressing thoughts. It would not seem to be useful to encourage everyone to be constantly mindful of the fact that we will all one day pass from life on this earth, yet it is a reality we should not ignore. And I would suggest to you that the Beatitudes as recorded in Luke 6 run along this very thought unless we believe in the Buddhist “Karma” which, oversimplified, states that ‘what goes around comes around’. If we do good, good will come to us but if we do evil, evil will visit us. And if my understanding of Karma is correct, this balance of justice can come to us just as easily in this life – or there is that reincarnation thing that suggests we keep getting sent back to life until we get it right, to “balance our Karma”.

The Beatitudes begin well enough as a message of hope: if we are poor, we will one day be rich. If we are hungry, we will one day be fed. If we are persecuted, we are blessed beyond measure. In verse 24, however, the “hope” that was once evident takes an ominous turn. Now it suddenly seems in a very general sense that if we are content with the life we now have – if we have enough to eat and if we are happy and if we are well-regarded in the community – then another “balance of justice” is in order. Jesus seems to be saying that if all is well with us now, something is out of balance and bad things are just over the horizon for us.

“Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.” Luke 6:24-26

Looking around us, we can easily see that there is a huge disparity between the so-called “have’s” and the so-called “have not’s”. However, it is not so easy to determine how much “have” is too much to have. If this sounds like a lot of double-talk, I suppose it is because of the constant messages we get from politicians who suggest that there are too many who have too much and that it is the role of government to take the excess and spread it out among those who don’t have so much. The question always goes back to the definition, though: how much is considered “excess”? How much is “enough”?

For those of us who live within the so-called “middle class”, it is easy to feel caught in the middle even though the politicians would tell us that they are trying to “protect” us and our way of life. We are told that we are safely within an acceptable range of income. In fact, it may well be that they would like to see everyone safely within the “middle class” and are prepared to accomplish this with a little social engineering.

Jesus, however, does not seem to be so lenient because “rich” is not defined, at least not in terms of dollars or assets. In fact, it might be suggested that if we have ever been in a position to throw out food at the end of a meal, then we obviously have too much. And if we regularly throw out food such as leftovers that got overlooked for WEEKS to the point of uselessness, that is “excess”.

We got our eyes opened yesterday at Heifer International’s Global Village. We saw the types of housing and conditions some people in various parts of the world, including the United States, are forced to endure. In that context, many of us walked away feeling like some of the wealthiest people in the world. We have running water and can drink and bathe virtually anytime we desire. In many parts of the world, children cannot even get a drink of clean water, let alone have enough food to eat or a clean, safe, comfortable place to lay their head at the end of the day. Then we packed up the excess food we had, jumped in our vans and SUV’s, and drove safely home on paved roads.

Luke’s version of the Beatitudes is tricky because beginning in verse 27 it appears as though the balance of justice and hope has shifted when we are advised to “bless” and “pray for” those who mistreat us. We are reminded that in spite of everything, there is always hope even in the face of injustice, that somehow and at some time of the Lord’s choosing, everything wrong will be made right. And Jesus may well have been referring to the Gates and the Buffets and the Waltons of the world, but don’t think for one minute that He does not see us shoveling food down the garbage disposal or tossing it in the dog dish or hording our money around this time of year so that we can buy a lot of crap we don’t really need so that our children can have a “proper” Christmas.

It seems to me, though, that Jesus is talking to the true poor and the genuinely oppressed – those forced into circumstances beyond their control - when He admonishes them to pray for those who mistreat them. “Do good to those who hate you” could well be a statement of their mercy directed at those of us who have more than we need but only share a minor portion of our excess – AFTER we have made sure we are taken care of first.

It’s a tough balance for all of us because we have grown accustomed to a certain standard of living; giving it all up does not seem quite fair or even practical, and having it taken from us for the purpose of redistribution also does not seem to hit the mark of what Jesus is talking about.

If there is to be a balance of justice, then we must be prepared to seriously consider justice not only as it pertains to us – JUST US - but to everyone. If we are content but our neighbor is struggling due to circumstances beyond his control, does justice exist? It cannot because justice is not one-dimensional. Justice either IS or it ISN’T. It cannot exist for one but not for another. And Justice, as least according to Jesus, extends far beyond simple “law and order”.

Justice is a big word with big implications. The Lord believes in it; in fact, He requires it. Shall we, as His disciples, offer to the world anything less than HIS best?