Where is the Justice?

I'm angry as hell! I'm also saddened beyond words. Last night a friend of my family, a legal Korean immigrant, was murdered during an armed robbery at his restaurant. Here was a man who came to America to make a better life for his family and worked hard to do so. He was an honest man who cared deeply for his family, friends and customers. And now he is dead because some thug thought his life was worth less than a few dollars.

Last Sunday I preached on the Gospel lesson from St. Matthew's Gospel where Jesus told the disciples to "turn the other cheek." Kind of ironic since it is hard to turn the other cheek to a bullet fired at you point blank. Did Jesus really mean what He said? Was He out of touch with reality?

In that same Gospel Jesus quoted the Old Testament law of "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." Many of my brethren have construed this passage as a repudiation of that law. But I told my parishioners that this law is still in effect. Jesus told us not to take revenge for personal injuries, but that the law of "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" was not meant for us to enforce. That law was given to the judges of Israel as a restraint against unjust punishment of those brought before the court. "Vengeance is Mine," says God and justice is in the hands of the goverment according to Saint Paul. If an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth are equitable, then so is a life for a life.

As I read the online newspaper article about my friend's death people were already leaving comments about the injustice of the death penalty. I must confess to you that I am sick and tired of hearing mamby-pamby wusses whining about the injustices of the death penalty. I'm almost certain that if they had a gun shoved in their faces or had a close loved one murdered they would change their opinions. It is wonderful to be so idealistic about life when you live in a bubble. But in the nitty-gritty world of real life things are a little different.

Now I realize that I'm probably not sounding very "pious" or priest-like for some of your sensibilities, but, quite frankly, I don't care! I've been a cop for twenty-five years and a minister for twenty. I think I have a perspective on life that most people will never have the opportunity to have. I haven't had the luxury of living with my head in the clouds. I've had to live my life in the muck and mire of the trenches. But I think some of my Christian friends would be shocked to hear that this is where Jesus lived His life as well. Jesus didn't hang out studying theology at the Temple, synagogue, or rabbinical school. He walked the mean streets and went to hostile cities. He was a "dead man walking." He knew He was going to be murdered and yet He kept on walking headlong into danger.

So when Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek He understood full well the realities of this world. He knew that we live in a harsh, hateful and cruel world. He also knew that if we tried to avenge all the wrongs done to us we would destroy ourselves by becoming the evil that we seek to destroy. So He tells us to forgive the wrongs that are done to us, but He never said that we should not seek and expect justice to be done. As a matter of fact the Bible commands us to do justice. So how do we reconcile the two? By turning matters of justice over to the government. By allowing the government to fulfill their biblical mandate to execute justice at the edge of a sword. That means that Jesus not only believed in the death penalty, He mandated it!

The thug that murdered my friend had better be thankful that I am a Christian. If I weren't I can assure that vengeance would be mine! But I will leave that to God and the government. I have my biblical duty and so does the government. As a proponent of justice I expect them to find the person who did this, put them in jail, prosecute them, and then place a needle in their arm, and watch them die. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life.

I pray for the soul of my friend. I pray for the soul of the person who commited this heinous act. And I pray that justice will be done according to the Word of the Lord. When the murderer is dead, then justice will have been done.

Forgive me, Lord, for the anger I feel. Only You can take away the anger and the hurt. Be with the family of the victim. Be with the police who seek to stop this person from harming anyone else. And Lord, be with the judges who will deal with this person. May they seek Your wisdom and may they do Your will. Amen.

"For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery..." (Isaiah 61:8)

Fr. Rick