Doin' time for the crime...

Our criminal justice system is far more broken than we would perhaps like to admit. I don’t doubt for a moment the tremendous talent of the many people who work within the esteemed institutions of our country that uphold the important democratic principle of the rule of law. Yet justice seems to becoming all the more decoupled from any sense of public morality or, it seems, public safety. Many will applaud the demise of the former, but the latter, which is the purpose of this brief reflection, situates justice, or at least the criminal justice system, as either naïve or willfully reckless.

Or maybe it is society that is both naïve and willfully reckless for it clings to some silly notion which reduces justice to “doing the time for the crime.” Perhaps society needs to understand that 98% of citizens who are incarcerated do get out of prison so it is up to other aspects of society to absorb the formerly incarcerated.

Today I listened to lawyers argue over the details of a joint submission to Judge William Digby of the Provincial Court in Nova Scotia. With the admission of guilt the Crown and defence agreed that the equivalent of 541 days served met the legal threshold, a DNA sample was ordered, forfeiture of a laptop upon which over 4400 child porn images were found, Sex Offender registry and a s.161 imposed “Until you are dead,” to quote Judge Digby. The use of “for life” could have worked for sure but “until you are dead” certainly underscored the seriousness of the criminal history of the offender. After court the Sheriffs escorted the offender through the release process.

Shortly thereafter he is a free man (with court ordered conditions), although he described himself as terrified as we walked down Spring Garden Road in hopes of securing a bed at the Out of the Cold Shelter. He received no programming in jail to help him with his child porn addiction.

Some may delight that a penniless man, a convicted sex offender, has no home thus potentially hastening the finality of the judge’s darkly prophetic “until you are dead” statement. Today, however, as he battled the bitterly cold wind, wearing only a thin shirt, jeans and sneakers justice was imposed and a cold, terrified man left the courthouse.

I am left underwhelmed by my sense of justice in all of this.

I don’t blame the judge, the Crown, the defence or the police. This problem is far bigger and one we – community – must take seriously unless we retreat into the naïve, reckless mediocrity of justice as simply being doing time for the crime.

Moral Imagination

“But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; ⁴²there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:41-42

As I prayed with this text the question that entered my mind was, “What is moral imagination?” How do I form as a moral actor in this world? Clearly acts of charity (caritas) are a good but how do I know this? With all there is to do, how do I understand my role, vocation, priorities?

As I see Mary at the feet of Jesus and I listen to Jesus’ gentle rebuke of Martha, there is clearly a focus on simply sitting on the feet of Jesus. There is a call to be taught by Jesus, to listen to Jesus, to be in dialogue with Jesus which has a place of primacy over the work of the day, even the work of hospitality which was so honoured in the culture of the time. Mary simply sits at the feet of Jesus, as we all can in prayer. This is the seat of our formation as disciples, as servants, as leaders, as moral actors in our world.

The contemplative life of sitting at the feet of Jesus is not rather than the active life of doing, but the source and summit, the beginning, the calling and the deep well of refreshment. It must come first and it must be the priority. “Mary has chosen the better part.” It is part of the whole. I don’t think it is possible for me to authentically argue that Mary’s is the only part for this would stand in contrast to the very witness of Jesus. He prayed and acted.

There is a time for praying wherein we learn what and how to do.

Contemplation is a call to action.

Likewise, in our works-based mania, genuine faithfulness is not a matter of service alone. Our works must be informed by our reception of the teachings of Jesus. Our moral imagination must be informed by tried-tested-and-true theology which comes from sitting at the feet of Jesus and learning.

I read online yesterday that the lead actor in the movie Silence was deeply, personally impacted by having taken the Ignatian Exercises in preparation for his role as a Jesuit priest.  I would say, in the context of my reflection today, his moral imagination was informed by prayer at the feet of Jesus. His time in contemplation set deeps seeds of moral, spiritual, theological thought in his mind. He was formed through the Exercises, by learning an ancient method of prayer, meditation and contemplation.

Finally, back to context for a moment, this parable is Lukan. Luke’s meta-narrative is one of grace, mercy and reconciliation as the Kingdom of God is formed in a way that reaches out to the poor, lepers, tax collectors, sinners, outsiders, Samaritans…etc… I don’t think it would be must of a stretch to suggest that sitting at the feet of Jesus in prayer is an act of defiance against the dominant, myopic powers of the world. As such, contemplation is not only action but resistance. A resistance that has no fear for it is informed by authentic, self-giving love - the seat of moral imagination. What a blessing to sit at the feet of Jesus in anticipation of the work ahead. It is all gift.