Friday of Week 22 in Ordinary Time
1 Cor 4:1-5
Lk 5:33-39
There must be no passing of premature judgement. Leave that until the Lord comes…
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; because the judgements you give are the judgements you will get, and the standard you use will be the standard used for you.” (Matthew 7:1-2) This statement by Jesus is a constant reminder for me to stop judging others and to stop being a hypocrite. But the problem is that we often judge others without even realising it. Judgement of another person often comes from our own pride, uncertainty, insecurity and fear.
Once, I saw a woman reading the Catholic News while the priest was giving his homily. I felt indignant and thought how rude and disrespectful of her. Regrettably, I learnt later that she’s a China national and a non-believer, who accompanied her family to church. See how quick and easy it was for me to judge someone? I felt so ashamed of myself after that and quickly apologised to Jesus.
Haven’t we been told not to judge a book by its cover? Yet, when we first meet a person, we are so quick to judge them by their physical appearance, the way they speak or act, and measure our preference according to what we see on the surface and with our own limited knowledge and perspective. If they dress and look fancy, we think they must be rich and glamorous. If they are dressed sloppily, we think they are poor or can’t be bothered. When someone behaves differently from the crowd, we single them out as weird or ‘something wrong’. The truth is that we can’t see past the outside and into the heart.
Recently, I’ve become a victim of some people’s ill judgement of me. I learnt, through a friend, that a few members in the church community have been gossiping and passed judgement about me. It hurts terribly because I wasn’t there to defend myself. What had I done (or not done) to deserve their critical judgement of me? I now understand why some people leave the church because of the toxicity of being judged and gossip. It is often said that the church is a hospital for sinners and the broken, who are in need of healing. When I have learnt to forgive them, I am also freed from the hurt. I have decided that the love of Jesus is enough, so I am staying put.
A small simple act of judging someone can so quickly take our pride to a whole new level of high. When I was judging that mother in the church, I felt so self-righteous in thinking how it was wrong of her to behave that way in front of God. I had already judged her negatively and almost felt resentment towards her. This is the ‘premature judgement’ that was mentioned in today’s scripture reading. Although I am thankful that I was able to quickly learn the errors of my judgement, many often may not know the error of their ways, and that is how our own misguided judgement can lead to greater sins further down the road.
How can we help ourselves from judging others? Maintaining or keeping faithful to our spiritual life is important. Be serious about following Jesus and always ask this question in any ‘to-do’ or ‘not-to-do’ situation: What will Jesus do? If he wouldn’t do it, we should not either. Will Jesus have frowned upon her for not paying attention to his preaching? Probably not. He will probably do something radical like go up to her after mass and have a chat with her. We should also work on renewing our faith (such as attending retreats) and growing our relationship with God. A one-time, life-changing retreat is not enough to sustain our holiness. We need to encounter the Lord every day. Do our daily examen or reflection, at the end of each day, as a way to practice good spiritual living.
Meanwhile, let us hold our tongue and our thoughts the next time we’re tempted to say or think badly of someone. Even if they are in the wrong, let’s leave the judgement to our heavenly Father.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Cynthia Chew)
Prayer: Dear Jesus, we are sorry for the many times we judge someone based on our own limited understanding and experiences. You know how quick our minds run and they often are misguided by perceptions. Help us hold our thoughts and words before we hurt others unknowingly. Amen
Thanksgiving: Thank you, Jesus, for showering us with the many graces to follow you faithfully — in prayer and in the way we live. Grant us a heart after yours. In your most precious name, Amen.
OXYGEN 
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