Word to the Wise
Monday, June 23, 2014 - Monday in the 12th Week in Ordinary Time
[2 Kgs 17:5-8, 13-15a, 18 and Matt 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 perceived the wooden beam in your own eye?
I've mentioned it here any number of times, but I occasionally go looking for a piece of wood that has a lot of splinters in it when I am preaching this text! Nothing can demonstrate the practical power of Jesus' words better than holding a physical object mentioned in a parable! The "beam" and "splinter" contrast is wonderful.
In sheer number of times mentioned, "being judgmental" has to be one of the all time most-committed sins! The first part of Jesus' statement, "Stop judging..." seems to be well understood, but I don't think the second part gets the attention it deserves: "that you may not BE judged." It takes a lot of time to come to a knowledge of WHY one judges another. We don't always know why we react the way we do to someone else. But this is where the Sermon on the Mount does its best work - getting at the human heart! How will we ever stop "judging" if we fail to learn why we do it. Furthermore, we may not be aware of the next line, or else we are afraid of it. Once we learn why we judge, then we are confronted by Jesus with the challenge that we will be judged by our own standards! These may very well NOT be the standards by which we evaluate ourselves!
Yes, we do have to make practical evaluative "judgments" or 'assessments" of an individual on occasion in order to determine whether or not he or she is the best candidate for a particular task. But I think we know the difference between this and the negative feelings that lead us to dislike a person because of our own prejudices and tastes. We must "judge" ourselves honestly and fairly as well. Failures in love of neighbor are rooted in a false self-knowledge. Looking at the beam of wood and all its splinters can help us make the first step! AMEN