Word to the Wise
Monday, June 21, 2021 - Monday in the 12th Week in Ordinary Time
[Gen 12:1-9 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 perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Le remove the splinter from your eye' while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother's eye." [Matthew]
JUNE 21 ST. ALOYSIUS GONZAGA, SJ
I think I can say that Jesus' teaching about judging other folks is one of the best known of his teachings, if the number of times I hear about it in confession is any standard! One could get the impression that we are all born with a gavel in our hands (or at least in our heads) to render a verdict on anyone we meet! On occasion, when preaching a parish mission or retreat, I have tried to find a large piece of wood with lots of splinters in it to be passed around in the audience while I'm speaking! Of course, the splinter may come from the very gavel that we wield!
Does this teaching apply only to negative judgment? Or is it directed to the process itself? I think both may be involved, but the process requires a great deal of self-examination because a beam is a lot bigger than a splinter. What is it inside of us that "colors" our judgment? What are our biases and prejudices that inevitably lead us to a consistent verdict about certain other people or groups? How often do we ask ourselves if we would want to be judged in the way we judge others? Is the basis of our judgment about others a certain trait that we dislike in ourselves?
The power of Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount lies in the way it goes beyond external behavior to reach our innermost motives and thoughts. We can hide our judgments from others/ We can even hide our judgments from ourselves. But we cannot hide them from the Lord! AMEN