Word to the Wise
Monday, June 23, 2008 - Monday in the Twelfth Week of Ordinary Time
[2 Kings 17:5-8, 13-15A, 18 and Matthew 7:1-5]Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye.
Next to an inability to forgive, most folks find the fault of being judgmental one of the hardest to root out. "Rash judgment" is one of the most common things I hear in confession. I sometimes advise penitents to take the gavel they use to declare judgment and bury it somewhere so that it becomes extremely inconvenient to go and find. Avoiding negative judgments about other persons, even those whom we love the most, can be very challenging, especially since it is habit-forming. Jesus uses a strong image to teach us about this problem: the beam and the splinter! On several occasions I have hunted down an old piece of wood with lots of loose splinters in it to bring with me to the pulpit when preaching on this text. I pass the beam around while speaking. It seems to me that the beam often represents our own obvious failings in the subject about which we are ready to render judgment against another. We look for a scapegoat for our own failings because we cannot admit to them. By seeking the problem in others, we execute a kind of "substituted judgment." There will be times when we will, as a matter of charity, have to warn someone about a harmful pattern of conduct. Making sure that our eyesight is not blocked by the beam of our own failings is the surest way to be effective in that duty. A daily honest self-examination with a view to loving God, neighbor AND self, along with a grateful willingness to accept correction when we need it, will lead to a grateful acceptance of help by others who suffer from splinters. AMEN
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