"Judging"

(The following is a 'homilette' given on Monday, June 23rd, 2014)

GOSPEL MT 7:1-5

 

Jesus said to his disciples: “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, ‘Let me remove that 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.”


I have found that, very often, when I hear this Gospel, I add the word “others” to the Scripture. “Stop judging [others], that you may not be judged.” This isn’t a bad practice; we live, or at least ought to live with an understanding of others, as a community of believers and as fellow brothers and sisters of the human race.
 
But I wonder how often we think of this passage in terms of the interiority of the soul. Instead of inserting the word “others” every time, I wonder how our perception would change if we inserted the word “yourself.” – “Stop judging [yourself], that you may not be judged.”
  
For me, It changes the way in which I approach this passage: it reminds me that we as a Christian people, cannot bring the love and forgiveness of Christ to the World – as is our charge – unless we have received that same love and forgiveness in our own lives, in our own hearts.

Our Gospel today tells us that “the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.” It presents us with the idea of choice: God’s Will is to bring us to Him, but we must choose it. He will accept our choice to forgive, or do not forgive.
 
So my question for us today is this: “Have we forgiven ourselves, in whatever way we need to forgive, so that God may forgive us?” Have we not only accepted but embraced the Cross of this life’s physical, emotional, and spiritual infirmities, so that the God of Justice and Mercy can heal our souls? Have we relinquished our personal judgment; our personal shame -- that we cling to so hard, so that we may repeat the words of our Blessed Mother Mary: “Behold; the servant of the LORD; be it done to me according to YOUR WILL,” O LORD.