Not open to suspicion

A reflection and prayer to start the day with Canon Simon Doogan.

Good morning.
Walking away from ‘the law’
to follow a call to Christian ministry nearly 30 years ago,
it simply never occurred to me that from time to time I would end up in court, speaking for people as a character witness.
The gravity and sheer intensity of those occasions is probably as close as I’ll ever come to appreciating the daily burden borne by members of the judiciary.

Over and above the procedural oversight and what’s at stake for the parties, lie a judge’s moral and arguably spiritual responsibilities,
some of which owe their provenance directly to Christianity.
From the twelfth century and developed directly from Canon Law, came an expectation in the Laws of Henry the First
that judges be “irreproachable, not open to suspicion”.
To mitigate against sharp courtroom practice, they were also required to ensure both sides had the opportunity to present their respective cases as fully and clearly as possible.

However, a judge’s gravest obligation was widely seen to grow out of Jesus’ words in Matthew chapter 7: With the judgement you make, you will be judged; the measure you give will be the measure you get.
Justice must be tempered with mercy is the legal shorthand.
That tension, between doing right by victims and society, and meting out punishment proportionally and compassionately, must be the heaviest of all the duties of judicial office.

Then again, might the fact that it takes Jesus Christ to identify that tension, point us to the only authority by which any mortal being can make such seismic calls?

Lord grant to the judges of our land, the humility of Moses, the courage of Joshua,mthe patience of Deborah, the caution of Gideon, the wisdom of Solomon, and the forgiveness of Christ, our Redeemer and our Judge. Amen