22 Jun 2015
When Jesus says, “Stop judging, that you may not be judged,”
he’s not saying: “Don’t try to correct other people.” That would go against his mandate to proclaim
the gospel, which certainly involves bringing people to honest conversion. Instead, he seems to say: “Don’t be so quick to judge—before correcting others,
let yourself be corrected.” And then we’ll be able to be a real help to
someone else.
As a priest I see this all the time in the confessional. There I sit with my purple stole on, being
the face and voice of Christ to others.
And yet, I’m also a sinner, like everybody else. It would be a terrible experience if I
responded to others out of self-righteousness.
In that case, I’d be a barrier and not at all a reconciling presence. And you don’t have to be the priest in the
confessional to understand that.
Whenever we try to correct other people without a dose of
humility, relationships break down and the gospel message of unity and peace is
stopped dead in its tracks. Instead,
Jesus asks us to be humble—not self-deprecating, but humble; that is, honest
with ourselves about who we are: our strengths and our faults. And in being humble, we can have more
patience with others. And with that
patience we’ll be able to see more clearly and respond more mercifully to the
faults of others.
Christ himself is all about getting people on the right track
in life. And we’re called to help him in
that mission. But before we can really
be Christ to others, Jesus needs to be Christ to us. Jesus, who is kind and gentle, slow to anger
and of great mercy. As he judges us with
mercy, so may we judge others with the same mercy.
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