Double Justice

“Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue, so that you may live and occupy the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” Deuteronomy 16:20, NRSV

Outside of my church circles, when people talk about justice, they often mean vengeance, punishment, pain for pain, and an eye for an eye. Actually, justice-as-vengeance is in the church, too. Some Christians have a theological rationale for revenge: Since God is holy and perfect, God cannot tolerate sin. If God has any contact with sin, God must destroy it immediately. Because of this holiness, God is not free to act with unconditional mercy and compassion toward rebellious human beings.

Compassion without vengeance is not likely with this image of God.

Part of what makes us human is that we are not above taking revenge and bearing a grudge. In a more forgiving world, we would realize that the people who hurt us have often been hurt themselves. We would remember that those against whom we struggle are actually “us,” not some impersonal “them.” Justice, in this framework, requires payment for wrong-doing. Let’s call it the dance of double exclusion. In the first move of the dance of double exclusion, victims cry for justice. The second step in the dance happens when the victim’s sense of justice seeks revenge. In this dance, both the perpetrator and the victim are locked in footsteps of mutual exclusion, united in a knot of mutual hate.

The counter-move to double exclusion is double justice. The idea comes from the Hebrew Scriptures. Deuteronomy 16 summons Israel to appoint judges and officials who will govern the tribes with due justice. The Law of Moses insists that justice is an eternal religious obligation. We hear it in the words of Deuteronomy 16:20: “Justice, Justice, shall you pursue.” Jewish scholars have long wondered why the word “justice” is repeated twice.

Sages believe the repetition is intentional. The God of Israel expects people to work for double justice instead of double exclusion. Double justice means both victims and victimizers get treated fairly. If we want to stop rounds of revenge and reprisal, if we wish for political marginalization and exploitation to end, if we seek to stop perpetrators from claiming victimhood, then activists must offer double justice. Yes, victims get compassionate justice, but not at the expense of dehumanizing the foe. Our spiritual traditions are quite clear: our enemies get compassionate justice, too.

Double exclusion means that I only get justice when my enemies are obliterated. Double justice means that my enemies get fair and humane treatment under the law. Double exclusion means that when I wish harm on my enemy, I sacrifice part of my own humanity. Double justice means that I seek fairness for the oppressor and the oppressed.

“Justice, Justice, shall you pursue.” Only double justice will save humanity from itself. We protect the humanity of all people, even our enemies, even those we’ve been taught to fear, even those we’ve been taught to hate. No activist can be comfortable as long as there is a demon of vengeance in our communities of faith. No activist can be content as long as there is emptiness of spirit or bare-ness of soul among us. No activist can be satisfied as long as there is injustice and inequality in our world. No activist can be a worker for justice as long as one’s enemies are treated unfairly. The work of justice can be achieved. But true justice is double justice; a power for life, a power for salvation, a power for love, a power for peace.

Matt Braddock is the Senior Minister of Christ Congregational Church (UCC) in Silver Spring, MD and current president of The Academy of Parish Clergy. He can be contacted at matt@cccsilverspring.org

#equality #fairness #fait #justice