JESUS, THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE

This Advent, the Diocese of Brooklyn offered a collegiate retreat which featured the theme: At the Name of Jesus. Students, faculty, and staff members shared their reflections on different names and titles of Jesus. One of these reflections is included below.

The name of Jesus that I selected was Righteous Judge. It resonated a lot with me because this name is part of a prayer that was passed down from my great grandfather. Also, growing up as a daughter of immigrants, being a criminal justice major, living in this world that is filled with so much injustice, doing the best that we can to fight against injustice and trying to get our idea of justice out there - all of these factors contribute to the resonance of this name. We might have good intentions - or we may not even know what our intentions are - but something think I always think about is that there is nobody better to judge or to know or to provide justice than God or Jesus Himself because they are the only ones who know our faith. They know what is good and what is bad. We can justify ourselves sometimes, but its not the same. Yes, there are people point out the sins of others and court judges can declare people to be guilty, but what if its an innocent person and that innocent person is wrongfully convicted?

So, the name Righteous Judge resonated with me because, especially with the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe in this season, there is much to be said about the immigrant population fighting for justice and human rights. Moreover, that name is something that never leaves my mind because it really speaks to my mentality. I can say this, and you can say that, and I won't judge you. You have the right to say whatever you want. But, at the end of the day, I'm not going to say that I'm correct because it is really about what God said and what Jesus said. Jesus said, "Whoever is free of sin can throw the first stone." I think no one is really prepared to judge, no matter the level of education you have - only God and Jesus are the ones who are wise enough and prepared to judge us in the end, on judgement day.

Nieves Martinez
Class of 2024
St. Francis College