The Challenge of Restorative Justice, Part 2

Scripture — Luke 19:8-10 (NRSV)

Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”

Devotion

In yesterday’s Life for Leaders devotion, we saw how Nehemiah sought restorative justice in the Jewish community for which he was the leader. The elites who had unjustly treated their economically disadvantaged Jewish brothers and sisters were required to make right what they had done wrong. It was a sterling example of restorative justice. After having been confronted by Nehemiah, those who had wronged others were actually eager to make things right.

The desire to do restorative justice comes as we grow in our relationship with God. Consider, for example, the New Testament case of Zacchaeus. We meet him in Luke 19, when Jesus was passing through Jericho. Zacchaeus is introduced as a “chief tax collector” who “was rich” (19:2). In that day, tax collectors enriched themselves by collecting taxes in excess of what they were legally required to assess. Thus, Zacchaeus’s wealth was evidence of his having taken advantage of his fellow Jews by taxing them excessively for his own gain.

For some reason, Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus as he passed through town. Because Zacchaeus was “short in stature,” he climbed a tree to look over the crowd. When Jesus saw him in the tree, he said, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today” (19:6). Something miraculous happened in Zacchaeus’s heart at that moment. Even before spending time with Jesus, Zacchaeus said, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much” (19:8). What a striking example of restorative justice! Zacchaeus did more than promise to act rightly in the future. He committed himself to restoring what he had done wrong in the past.

Often, conversations about restorative justice focus on large national or even global issues. It is certainly right for followers of Jesus to contribute to these crucial conversations as we seek to follow our Lord faithfully. But restorative justice is also relevant to smaller things, to how we treat people in our work or how we act with neighbors, family members, and others in our lives.

I think, for example, of an experience I had in high school. I was on the track team, coached by a former Olympian John Barnes. One day I was late to practice because I had been summoned to a student government meeting with the school’s principal. When I showed up ten minutes late, Mr. Barnes was furious. Without asking why I was late, he yelled at me, accused me of being irresponsible, and kicked me off the team. When I tried to explain my lateness, he told me to “get out of here.” I felt embarrassed and ashamed in front of my teammates. Surely, they believed that I had been irresponsible and deserved to be jettisoned from the team.

I was devastated. I knew Mr. Barnes had treated me unjustly, but I didn’t know what to do about it. The next evening, I received a call at home from Mr. Barnes. As my mother told me it was Mr. Barnes and handed me the phone. I dreaded what would come next. Another stern lecture? More trouble from Mr. Barnes? Who knows?

“Mark,” he began, “I am calling to apologize. What I did yesterday was wrong. I was angry about other things and took it out on you. I should not have done that. I ask you to forgive me. And if you’re willing, I’d like you back on the team.” I was stunned . . . and grateful . . . and more than willing to forgive him and be reinstated.

I thought that was the end of it. But at our next track practice, Mr. Barnes addressed the whole team. “You saw what happened with Roberts a couple of days ago when I yelled at him and kicked him off the team. Well, I want you to know that I was wrong. I acted in anger. I shouldn’t have done that. Roberts had a good reason for being late. I called him to apologize. He forgave me and I’m glad to have him back on the team. But I wanted to be sure that you all understand what happened.” I was surprised by Mr. Barnes’s humility and public confession. He could simply have put me back on the team without saying anything to the team. But he felt the need to restore my honor with my teammates, something for which I was very grateful.

I tell this story because it exemplifies the sort of thing that can happen in our workplaces, neighborhoods, churches, and families. When we treat people unjustly, we certainly need to repent and commit to doing better in the future. But sometimes we need also to take steps toward restorative justice. This is true, whether we have taken property from someone indebted to us, as we saw in Nehemiah 5, or whether we have taken more in taxes than we needed to, as in the case of Zacchaeus, or whether we have humiliated one of our students, as did Mr. Barnes. Restorative justice is surely a relational challenge, but one that followers of Jesus are moved to seek.

P.S. After my incident with Mr. Barnes, I learned that he was a committed follower of Jesus. Though he never said so, I have a feeling that his exercise of restorative justice in my situation was a reflection of his Christian faith.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here.