Readings
I - Gen. 12: 1-9
II - Mt. 7: 1-5
JUDGE NOT AND YOU WILL NOT BE JUDGED
According to the teachings of the Jewish tradition the Jewish people believed that God used two measures to judge His people viz. measure of justice and measure of mercy. Whichever measure is used on people would be measure that God will use upon. This is what Jesus says in today’s Gospel: “For the judgment you make you will be judged”. All of us are imperfect with wrongdoings and shortcomings therefore unworthy to pass any judgment. As the Psalmist would say, “If you O Lord should mark our guilt, who will survive?” (Ps. 130:3). In the letter of St. James we read, “There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when He judges. The One who is all perfect and has the right to judge restrains his judgement as the scripture says,”The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in mercy”. (Ps. 145:8)
When we are prone to pass judgment on anybody, let us hold on reverse it upon ourselves and examine, if the judgment befits us we have no right to make judgment. This is the teaching par excellence of Jesus. Jesus said to the ravaging crowd that brought the woman caught in the very act of committing to kill her, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her”. While Jesus was hanging on the cross amidst the murderers said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Lk. 23:34). When we are pushed to pass judgment upon others we have two options: Either to examine ourselves or to forgive, modelled after the example of Jesus our Lord. As Jesus exhorts let us “be merciful even as the Heavenly Father is merciful”. (Lk.6:36)
