The Venerable Bede: The Meeting of Mercy and Justice

February 08, 2011 by Daniel Harrell

Continued from Page 2

"Justice, hearing this strife, contention, and quarreling and pleading, and summoned by the outcry, began to inquire of the cause from Truth. And Truth, who could only speak that which was true, said, 'This sister of ours, Mercy, if she ought to be called our sister, desires that our Father should have pity on that proud transgressor.' Then Justice, with an angry countenance, and meditating on the grief which she had not expected, said to her Father, 'Am not I thy daughter Justice? Art thou not called just? If thou art just, thou wilt exercise justice on the transgressor! If thou doest not exercise that justice, thou canst not be just, and if thou art not just, thou canst have me Justice as thy daughter.

"So here were Truth and Justice on one side, and Mercy on the other. Peace had fled into a far distant country, for where there is strife and contention, there is no Peace, and by how much greater the contention, by so much further Peace is driven away. Peace therefore being lost, and his three daughters in warm discussion, the king found it an extremely difficult matter to determine what he should do, to which side he should lean. If he gave ear to Mercy, he would offend Truth and Justice; if he gave ear to Truth and Justice, he would not have Mercy for his daughter. There was great need then of good advice.

"The Father the King therefore called his wise Son and consulted him about the affair. Said the Son, 'Give me my Father this present business to manage and I will both punish the transgressor for thee and bring back to thee in peace thy four daughters.' 'These are great promises,' replied the King, 'if the deed only agrees with the word. If thou canst do that which thou sayest, I will act as thou shalt exhort me.'

"Having therefore received the royal mandate, the Son took his sister Mercy along with him, leaping upon the mountains passing over the hills, they came to the prison where he beheld the imprisoned servant, shut out from the present life, devoured of affliction, and from the sole of his feet even to the crown of his head there was no soundness in him. The Son saw in his servant the power of death. . . . Beholding his servant given over to torment, the Son could not but have mercy upon him because his sister Mercy was his companion, and bursting into the prison of death, conquered death, bound the strong man and took his goods and distributed the spoils. And ascending up on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts for men."

Bede inserts here portions of the Song of Solomon, Psalm 38, the Gospel of Mark, and also that enigmatic passage from Ephesians 4:8 wherein Paul identifies Christ as the Lord who "when he ascended on high led captivity captive and gave gifts to his people." Paul goes on to parenthetically explain this by asking, "What does 'he ascended' mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe." Though this Ephesians passage has been debated for centuries (and is often cited as evidence for Christ's descent into hell), it can at minimum be understood to allude to that central, symphonic crucifixion-resurrection-ascension movement of God at Easter. The Word of God cast in stone, story, song, and flesh who was born, killed, and buried; but then got up and went up, sat down and cast down the Spirit, the greatest gift, on all his people. God exchanged Christ for sinners thus releasing sinners from their captivity to death and filled them with new life through his Spirit. It's perfect justice—the wages for sin were paid. It's perfect mercy—the guilty got what they didn't deserve. It's perfect Gospel.

"Thus," Bede concludes, "the Son brought back the servant into his country now crowned with double honor (created in the image of God now redeemed in the likeness of Christ) and endued with a garment of immortality [new life in the Spirit]. When Mercy beheld this, she had no grounds for complaint. Truth found no cause for discontent, because her Father was found true. The servant had all his penalties paid. Justice in like manner complained not, because justice had been executed on the transgressor: and thus he who had been lost was found. Peace, therefore, when she saw her sisters in concord, came back and united them. And now behold, mercy and truth are met together, justice and peace have kissed each other. Thus therefore, by the mediator of men and angels, humanity was purified and reconciled and the hundredth sheep was brought back into the fold. Into that same fold may Jesus Christ bring you. To Him be honor and power everlasting. Amen."

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2/8/2011 5:00:00 AM

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About Daniel Harrell

Daniel M. Harrell is Senior Minister of The Colonial Church, Edina, MN and author of How To Be Perfect: One Church's Audacious Experiment in Living the Old Testament Book of Leviticus (FaithWords, 2011). Follow him via Twitter, Facebook, or at his blog and website.

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