The Mercy of the Court

Like many Americans, I was both intrigued and disgusted with what happened in Florida regarding the presidential election. At times it was somber, at others a circus. I alternated between refusing to watch the news reports, and then sneaking around to cut on the television set, grumbling all the while. I am glad our eternal destiny did not hinge on court proceedings! Yet I could not help seeing theological overtones in what was going on. Take, for example, the famous Monday afternoon decision of the Honorable H. Sanders Saul, Circuit Court judge of Leon County, Florida.

"The evidence does not establish any illegality, dishonesty, gross negligence, improper influence, coercion or fraud in the balloting and counting processes." "Plaintiffs shall take nothing by this action, and the defendants may go hence without delay" Reported in the Tuesday, December 5, New York Times.

The plaintiffs "shall take nothing" and the defendants "may go hence without delay." Quite apart from the political meaning of those words, I saw in them in a fresh way the mercy of God toward us all. St. Paul, in the Book of Romans, talks of our relationship with God in juridical terms. We stand before God in His courtroom. (It is more than interesting that we find this same kind of language in Revelation 20, where the court of God holds forth against massive evil.) Only the Apostle says, using Old Testament imagery, that in God's court we are all guilty. The words there are "the evidence establishes beyond any doubt illegality, dishonesty, gross negligence, and every other kind of sinful thought and practice in the lives of those standing before me." Then we hear: "The Plaintiff shall take nothing by this action and the defendant may go hence without delay." The guilty go free! How can that be? The evidence is against us, yet the doors of the courtroom open wide and we go "without prejudice!" Moreover, we may go, "without delay!"

This is the meaning of "the mercy of the court" when it comes to our confession before God. As a criminology student at the University of Houston I visited a night court and watched the "mercy of the court" at work. The judge was tired and grumpy; the people standing before him were uncertain, guilty, and a bit scared. Unless it were a repeat offender on a misdemeanor charge the judge would tell them to get out of his courtroom, that the next time the appeared before him they would pay a heavy price. It was cold and indifferent. But God, rich in mercy and loving sinners, acknowledges our transgressions, forgives them on our confession, and, as in the parable of the repentant son in Luke 15, throws a party for us, welcoming us back home.

The justice of God's court can be mercy; it can also be terrible. The image of God as Judge is found many times in both Testaments. To Christians it is a wonderful thing to know that the Almighty God has sent his Son to set us free from the downward pull of our sins. It is also comforting to know that evil does not have the last word. Praise the Lord, who opens both the doors of his courtroom and the doors of his kingdom!

Jerry Mercer