Memorial of Saint Martin of Tours, Bishop

Lectionary: 491

Love justice, you who judge the earth;

think of the Lord in goodness,

and seek him in integrity of heart;

Because he is found by those who test him not,

and he manifests himself to those who do not disbelieve him.

I ask a lawyer recently if there is anywhere in American jurisprudence "a catechism definition" of justice. Late in the evening, in the middle of a loud, family gathering, he could not think of any. Wikipedia has an extensive article about jurisprudence and the principle of justice appears often under that heading. There I found the following paragraph:

John Rawls was an American philosopher; a professor of political philosophy at Harvard University; and author of A Theory of Justice (1971), Political Liberalism, Justice as Fairness: A Restatement, and The Law of Peoples. He is widely considered one of the most important English-language political philosophers of the 20th century. His theory of justice uses a method called "original position" to ask us which principles of justice we would choose to regulate the basic institutions of our society if we were behind a "veil of ignorance".

Imagine we do not know who we are—our race, sex, wealth, status, class, or any distinguishing feature—so that we would not be biased in our own favor. Rawls argued from this "original position" that we would choose exactly the same political liberties for everyone, like freedom of speech, the right to vote, and so on. Also, we would choose a system where there is only inequality because that produces incentives enough for the economic well-being of all society, especially the poorest. This is Rawls's famous "difference principle". Justice is fairness, in the sense that the fairness of the original position of choice guarantees the fairness of the principles chosen in that position.

Almost fifty years later, many people would challenge Rawls's idea of "original position." Because there is simply no such place in the human universe, it's absurd to posit either the idea of one, or the ideal person to take that imaginary position. Everyone has a position defined by their own experience, education, biases, fears, and desires. While one's position can change, it is always limited by one's own horizons. Try as I might, there is some unfairness I cannot see. And if this original position is not remotely practicable, can its pursuit be a good thing? Would ascending that ivory tower not blind one to one's own shortcomings?

Some people might declare justice should restore what was lost, as in "Make America Great Again." Others, remembering a different past, hope that justice might yet be established, if certain original evils can be uprooted and cast into the sea.

As I read it, our Jewish/Christian scriptures describe a God whose will is justice, who determines justice by his decisions. One of the most intriguing parables describes the landowner who refused to negotiate with his workers when he doled out equal pay for unequal work. "Am I not free do as i want with my money?" he asked.

God's justice sounds arbitrary to our way of thinking, and there is a clear preference in the scriptures for the poor: the orphans, widows, and aliens. When justice is restored in God's plan, there will still be massive inequity; fairness will be restored by humiliating the powerful and wealthy. Justice will come not with equality but with retribution.

The Book of Wisdom, which we open today, urges "the judges of the earth" to love justice, and to "think of the Lord in goodness." There is no theory in scripture of an ideal person in an ivory tower dispensing judgments to dazzled denizens of our chaotic world. Justice is a personal relationship with God; justice is the person of God, as is "righteousness." The just judge knows the mind and spirit of God and rules accordingly.

Neither Jesus nor Saint Paul set out to found a nation or establish a just society. If their religion would dictate the terms of justice to kings and governors, it would be as doomed martyrs from the criminal docket. Their God stands with the poor and is arraigned, accused, judged and condemned with them.

Citizens of a democratic society determine how justice is administered. Christian citizens will be wary of powerful lobbies, PACs, and ideologies which would dictate how they vote. (And they will vote for they cannot escape into irresponsibility.) They must study the current scene, pay attention to political developments, care about issues, recognize the necessity of compromise, and ask for the Holy Spirit's guidance when they approach the ballot box and close the curtain.

God bless our Veterans on this Armistice Day