20180518
GOAL OF JUSTICE IS RESTORATION
18 MAY, 2018, Friday, 7th Week of Easter
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
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First reading
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Acts 25:13-21 ©
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'I ordered Paul to be remanded until I could send him to Caesar'
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King Agrippa and Bernice arrived in Caesarea and paid their
respects to Festus. Their visit lasted several days, and Festus put Paul’s case
before the king. ‘There is a man here’ he said ‘whom Felix left behind in
custody, and while I was in Jerusalem the chief priests and elders of the Jews
laid information against him, demanding his condemnation. But I told them that
Romans are not in the habit of surrendering any man, until the accused
confronts his accusers and is given an opportunity to defend himself against
the charge. So they came here with me, and I wasted no time but took my seat on
the tribunal the very next day and had the man brought in. When confronted with
him, his accusers did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected; but
they had some argument or other with him about their own religion and about a
dead man called Jesus whom Paul alleged to be alive. Not feeling qualified to
deal with questions of this sort, I asked him if he would be willing to go to
Jerusalem to be tried there on this issue. But Paul put in an appeal for his
case to be reserved for the judgement of the august emperor, so I ordered him
to be remanded until I could send him to Caesar.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 102(103):1-2,11-12,19-20 ©
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The Lord has set his sway in heaven.
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Alleluia!
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
and never forget all his blessings.
The Lord has set his sway in heaven.
or
Alleluia!
For as the heavens are high above the earth
so strong is his love for those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west
so far does he remove our sins.
The Lord has set his sway in heaven.
or
Alleluia!
The Lord has set his sway in heaven
and his kingdom is ruling over all.
Give thanks to the Lord, all his angels,
mighty in power, fulfilling his word.
The Lord has set his sway in heaven.
or
Alleluia!
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Gospel Acclamation
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Jn14:26
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The Holy Spirit will teach you everything
and remind you of all I have said to you.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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John 21:15-19 ©
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Feed my lambs, feed my sheep
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Jesus showed himself to his disciples, and after they had eaten he
said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others
do?’ He answered, ‘Yes Lord, you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my
lambs.’ A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He
replied, ‘Yes, Lord, you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Look after my
sheep.’ Then he said to him a third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’
Peter was upset that he asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ and said,
‘Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my
sheep.
‘I tell you most solemnly,
when you were young
you put on your own belt
and walked where you liked;
but when you grow old
you will stretch out your hands,
and somebody else will put a belt round you
and take you where you would rather not go.’
In these words he indicated the kind of death by which Peter would
give glory to God. After this he said, ‘Follow me.’
GOAL OF JUSTICE IS RESTORATION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 25:13-21; PS 103:1-2,11-12,19-20; JN 21:15-19 ]
Every man
seeks truth and justice. This desire is implanted in the heart of every
person. We cannot rest till truth and justice is served. So it is
natural that when one feels aggrieved by another party, the person will seek
justice. We seek justice when our rights are violated, whether personal,
physical or material, or when our dignity is not respected. Recourse to
justice is normally made through higher authorities.
However,
justice is not just for the plaintiff but justice must also be done for the
accused.
This means that both sides must be heard. And the proper way, as today’s
first reading recommends, is that both the accused and the accuser must meet
before the authorities so that they can clarify the truth and decide what
should be done. Thus the governor, Festus was an impartial judge.
He did not take sides or listen to one side even when “the chief priests and
elders of the Jews laid information against him (Paul), demanding his
condemnation.” Instead, he was firm with them, saying that “Romans are
not in the habit of surrendering any man, until the accused confronts his
accusers and is given an opportunity to defend himself against the charge.”
Unfortunately,
today, we have many who would lodge complaints against others but are not ready
to face the accused. They would write long emails but such emails do not help to
resolve the issue speedily as there will be accusations and
counter-accusations. Without meeting both parties together, the process
will take a very long time and often result in greater misunderstanding and
enmity. Worse still, there are many who would write anonymous letters or use
fake names to disguise their identity. A judge who just listens to one
side of the story would cause greater injustice. That is the reason why
Jesus advised His disciples thus, “If another member of the church sins against
you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member
listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened
to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed
by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to
listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen
even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”
(Mt 18:15-17)
The truth is
that many Christians do not take heed of the advice of Jesus. They make wild
allegations and spread rumours of what they apparently heard or saw, without
proper verification. Instead of clarifying with those whom they are
accusing, they choose to continue carrying tales, which itself is a grave act
of injustice. If we are so sure of the truth, then like Paul, we would be
able to defend ourselves without fear or intimidation before others, even in
front of authorities, as Paul did before the Sanhedrin and the officials.
In addition,
when authorities feel that the case is beyond their competency, they should
delegate to someone else who can deal with it fairly and justly. This was what Festus
did. He felt inadequate to deal with the question of resurrection. He
said, “When confronted with him, his accusers did not charge him with any of
the crimes I had expected; but they had some argument or other with him about their
own religion and about a dead man called Jesus whom Paul alleged to be alive.
Not feeling qualified to deal with questions of this sort, I asked him if he
would be willing to go to Jerusalem, to be tried there on this issue. But Paul
put in an appeal for his case to be reserved for the judgement of the august
emperor, so I ordered him to be remanded until I could send him to
Caesar.” At the end of the day, the judge’s or the authorities’ task is
to ensure that justice is carried out fairly. We need to refer to
higher authorities or experts in areas we feel uncomfortable to deal with.
But justice
is not simply a matter of restoring the rights of the complainant. It is
also concerned with bringing about restoration of the offender as well. The purpose of justice is
restoration, not punishment or revenge, or to inflict more wounds on either
party. Justice is to bring about reconciliation among peoples, with God,
and to help the offender to find integrity. For this reason, Jesus
restored justice not so much by fighting for His rights before man. He
died an innocent death. “For to this you have been called, because Christ
also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his
steps. ‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.’
When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not
threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. He himself
bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live
for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Pt 2:21-24)
This explains
why Jesus took the step to restore Peter’s disgrace. The Lord had already
forgiven the apostles when He appeared to them after His resurrection. He
did not reprimand them for abandoning Him. Instead, He said to them
twice, “Peace be with you.” (Jn 20:19-21)
But knowing that Peter was still ashamed of his sin and failure, and unable to
forgive himself, the Lord took another step to heal his shame. He
gave Peter the opportunity to redeem himself by replacing the threefold denial
with the threefold affirmation of faith and love. It was a most humbling
and touching experience for Peter. For the Lord knew that unless Peter
was healed and forgiven, he would not be able to do the same. The Lord
had said to Peter earlier, “Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all
of you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not
fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
(Lk 22:31f)
It was not
enough that Peter professed his love for Jesus, but to help Peter to be sincere
in his repentance, he had to be sent out to proclaim the mercy and compassion
of God. Indeed,
we must not reduce Christian compassion to tolerance for evil, and ignore the
reality of sin. Whilst exercising compassion for the sinner, true compassion
requires real repentance of the sinner, otherwise he or she will repeat the
same offence. This explains why in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the
priest is bound to give penance to the penitent, not so much as a punishment,
but as a means for him or her to rectify his or her life and the particular
weaknesses. So too, Jesus gave an opportunity for Peter to show his
sincerity in repentance by inviting Peter to feed His lamb and sheep. If
Peter were truly grateful to the Lord, he would surely take upon himself the
responsibility to help others to grow out of their sins and find redemption and
transformation in Christ.
Even in the
process of restoration, Jesus was realistic and patient with Peter. The truth is that we do not
change radically overnight unless we are given special graces, as Paul was with
a special miraculous encounter with the Risen Lord. Our character,
personality and values need gradual change. We cannot expect people to change
their bad habits and weaknesses instantly. We must be patient with the
growth and change in the person. Hence, when Jesus asked Peter the first
two times, do you love me with an unselfish, self-sacrificial and unconditional
love, that is “agape” in Greek, Peter, no longer impetuous and overly
self-confident, replied with a love given to a friend, “phileo” in
Greek. It is a love based on affinity, attraction, a brotherly
friendship. Peter was still not ready to love without conditions or freely.
He loved the Lord the way he loved his family. So the third time,
the Lord used the word, “phileo”, when He asked Peter the question, “Do you
love me?” He said, “Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”
Indeed, the
Lord is not only forgiving in love, but He renders justice by not taking
revenge on His enemies and even reaching out to restore His enemies and
betrayers to fullness of faith and love. He was patient. He
takes us as we are. For Peter, the Lord waited for him. Indeed, at
that point of time, Peter could not profess his love for Jesus unconditionally,
but later in his life, he did. He followed Jesus completely unto death on
the cross.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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