Justice Vs. Mercy

From a large flock of sheep one sheep is lost. The shepherd leaves all his work and rest of the flock and goes in search. Finally he finds it, and there is great joy (Matthew 18: 12-14). So soothing for the ears to hear.

Someone is lost from among us. He refused to think as others thought; he did things that you opposed. He was full of himself and only himself. And naturally he drifted away to the furthest end of affairs. Do we leave all other works and concerns and go in search of him? Would finding him be a cause for great celebration?

Here is the great inner struggle between justice and kindness in play. Often the inner battle is bot between good and evil but between goodness in varied degrees. A just and fair person would be caught up with the rest of the flock, for justice can only give each one according to what they deserve and merit. Mercy is not earned but given. This would also be the reason why Jesus said, ‘do not judge’, for judging, even when it is done with fairness, stops with justice. A kind man would go after the lost one. This is the reason why the society seldom gives authority to people who are kind and compassionate, for they often do not cater to the majority. For Jesus nothing mattered than a lost person, a poor person, and an outcaste. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked Jesus’ disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners? On hearing this, Jesus said, it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick” (Matthew 9: 11-12).

Jesus faced rejection and opposition for his unconditional concern and generosity to people who needs to be restored back. He never counted the cost. Jesus once was in the region of Gerasenes, there he healed a demoniac, and sent the demon to a herd of pigs. People were not happy with a person healed and restored from the demon; rather “the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region” (Mark 5: 17). Or again in Gadara, where two demoniacs were restored, the people preferred their herd of pigs, thus “the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region” (Matthew 8: 34). John gives articulation to this predicament, saying, “The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed” (John 3: 19-20).

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