A Divine Justice Mystery

Not Peace, but a Sword


We are certainly not surprised to discover that the mystery of the Divine contains many paradoxes. The unraveling of these eternal puzzles may be within our ability but the thousands of years that we have evidence of human civilization would indicate that the mysteries have always challenged human analysis and understanding. One such dilemma is the concept of the justice of the Divine. The unconditional love and mercy of the Divine is a state which most humans concede is at most times beyond our practice. We have through time cried out for justice from God. This practice continues. What is the nature of the Just God? The Hebrew Scriptures and the passage in the Roman Catholic Lectionary for today from Isaiah describe a just relationship which is not about words of locality and faithfulness but is about care for the marginalized, “widow and orphan”. The Just God, as we understand it, demands that we care for the least. The psalmist adds that we have discipline and put the words we know from the Divine into action. In many ways, our most likely path to bringing Divine justice to our environments is to act according to the motivation of the indwelling Spirit which is not bound by laws, policies and common sense. So often these constraints seem to pacify our passion for justice by attempting to control our doing with procedure and human protocols. Matthew’s Gospel for today outlines Jesus advice that seeking the justice of God will divide those who hear and act from those who prefer not to hear the cry of the Lord for justice.