20151014 HOW TO AVOID BEING JUDGEMENTAL
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Romans 2:1-11 ©
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No matter who you
are, if you pass judgement you have no excuse. In judging others you condemn
yourself, since you behave no differently from those you judge. We know that
God condemns that sort of behaviour impartially: and when you judge those who
behave like this while you are doing exactly the same, do you think you will
escape God’s judgement? Or are you abusing his abundant goodness, patience and
toleration, not realising that this goodness of God is meant to lead you to
repentance? Your stubborn refusal to repent is only adding to the anger God
will have towards you on that day of anger when his just judgements will be
made known. He will repay each one as his works deserve. For those who
sought renown and honour and immortality by always doing good there will be
eternal life; for the unsubmissive who refused to take truth for their guide
and took depravity instead, there will be anger and fury. Pain and suffering
will come to every human being who employs himself in evil – Jews first,
but Greeks as well; renown, honour and peace will come to everyone who does
good – Jews first, but Greeks as well. God has no favourites.
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Psalm
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Psalm
61:2-3,6-7,9 ©
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Lord, you repay
each man according to his deeds.
In God alone is my
soul at rest;
my help
comes from him.
He alone is my rock,
my stronghold,
my
fortress: I stand firm.
Lord, you repay
each man according to his deeds.
In God alone be at
rest, my soul;
for my
hope comes from him.
He alone is my rock,
my stronghold,
my
fortress: I stand firm.
Lord, you repay
each man according to his deeds.
Take refuge in God,
all you people.
Trust him
at all times.
Pour out your hearts
before him
for God
is our refuge.
Lord, you repay
each man according to his deeds.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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cf.Ps26:11
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Instruct me, Lord, in
your way;
on an even path lead
me.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Jn10:27
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong
to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they
follow me.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 11:42-46 ©
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The Lord said to the
Pharisees:
‘Alas for
you Pharisees! You who pay your tithe of mint and rue and all sorts of garden
herbs and overlook justice and the love of God! These you should have
practised, without leaving the others undone. Alas for you Pharisees who like
taking the seats of honour in the synagogues and being greeted obsequiously in
the market squares! Alas for you, because you are like the unmarked tombs that
men walk on without knowing it!
A lawyer
then spoke up. ‘Master,’ he said ‘when you speak like this you insult us too.’
‘Alas
for you lawyers also,’ he replied ‘because you load on men burdens that are
unendurable, burdens that you yourselves do not move a finger to lift.’
HOW TO
AVOID BEING JUDGEMENTAL
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SCRIPTURE
READINGS: ROM 2:1-11;
LK 11:42-46
There
is this innate tendency in us to pass judgment on others. We are
self-appointed judges with respect to people’s actions and intentions.
Not only do we condemn them but we also marginalize them. This precisely
was the attitude of the so called pious Jews that St Paul sought to enlighten.
The irony of it all is that the very mistakes that we see in others are also in
us. We commit not just the sins we condemn in others but more often than
not, our sins are even more grievous than theirs. St Paul himself also
warns us, “No matter who you are, if you pass judgment you have no
excuse. In judging others you condemn yourself, since you behave no differently
from those you judge. We know that God condemns that sort of behaviour
impartially: and when you judge those who behave like this while you are doing
exactly the same, do you think you will escape God’s judgment?” Why, then, are
we so blind to our own faults and so quick to pass judgment on others’ actions
and even suggest the motives for what they do?
The
truth is that we suffer from the sin of pride. A proud person cannot see
his mistakes clearly. He is too absorbed in looking at the faults of
others that he has no time to examine his own. He takes it upon himself
to scrutinize what others are saying and doing. When we are only looking
outward but not inward, we will not know our true selves or even our
motives. This was the same attitude that Jesus condemned in the
gospel. The Jewish religious leaders prided themselves for observing the
Law. Since they considered themselves to be impeccable in their
observance, their pride led them to find fault with those who did not, so they
felt that they were better than the rest.
We must
also realize that often our own faults colour our judgment of others.
Jesus warns us that we should examine ourselves first before we judge
others. More often than not, we are living in sin whilst seeking to
correct others. We allow our fears and desires to blind us to the sins in
our lives. As Jesus warned the Pharisees, “who like taking the seats of
honour in the synagogues and being greeted obsequiously in the market squares!
Alas for you, because you are like the unmarked tombs that men walk on without
knowing it!” In saying that they are unmarked tombs, Jesus was saying
that religious leaders who seem to know all that is right and wrong often
themselves do not live according to what they know and teach. The lay
people unknowingly get contaminated by their sins, just like those Jews who
walked on the unmarked tombs and got contaminated. This warning applies
to us all, whether we are religious leaders or otherwise. So long as we
fail to live a holy life, our sins will affect the people whom we come into
contact with. It is not enough to know or teach the right things, but we
must be true to ourselves and live accordingly.
However,
the worst thing about pride is that we become defensive, like the religious
leaders who told Jesus, “Master, when you speak like this you insult us
too.” Instead of searching our hearts in humility to see whether what
Jesus said is true, we become defensive. That is why the most difficult
people to correct or advise are those who think they know so much about their
faith and God, so much so they feel they have nothing more to learn from
others. Those of us who are active in Church or hold important positions
would feel insulted to have someone tell us that we do not know God or the
truth about ourselves. Instead of being open to the truth that others
might reveal about ourselves, we become defensive. St Paul has this to
say to such people, “Or are you abusing his abundant goodness, patience and
toleration, not realising that this goodness of God is meant to lead you to
repentance? Your stubborn refusal to repent is only adding to the anger God
will have towards you on that day of anger when his just judgments will be made
known.”
Does it
mean that we cannot judge at all? We cannot avoid making judgments in
life. But what we must avoid is falling into the mistake of the Jewish
leaders where the whole basis for their judgment was based on the
external. They were more concerned with the ‘what’, rather than the ‘why’
of what one does. Only when judgment is based on external performance,
can assessment be done and comparisons made. Yet, the value of an action
is not solely dependent on how it is carried out, but the motive for doing
it. We can do many things for the wrong reasons, even though externally
they are apparently good and noble deeds. God, however, does not look at
our external appearances but our heart. He looks for our intentions, not
simply our actions. At the end of the day, it is the heart that counts.
Consequently,
the judgment that one must seek is not the external works but the interior
heart. We must be concerned with the spirit of our actions. This is what
Jesus is saying in the gospel when He reprimanded the Jewish religious leaders.
He did not condemn them as persons, but for the wrong attitudes towards the
observance of the Law. Indeed, He confronted them saying, “Alas for you
Pharisees! You who pay your tithe of mint and rue and all sorts of garden herbs
and overlook justice and the love of God!”
Like
them, we are more concerned with the practices rather than a living
faith. Many Catholics are more worried whether they do penance on Fridays
or even fulfilling their Sunday obligation. But in performing such
rituals, they have merely complied with the letter of the law without
necessarily having observed the spirit of the law. By refraining from
eating meat, they still continue with a lavish meal instead of practicing self
denial. Although they fulfill their Sunday obligation, they are merely
“attending” mass with their bodily presence, but they do not take part in
worship. Worst of all, they go to church for worship, yet in their very
lives they have no respect for their fellowmen. They continue to cheat
and sin against charity. They treat their loved ones, friends and workers
and domestic helpers without respect and dignity. Even Church organizations are
more anxious about their members’ performance and attendance rather than
whether the organization is helping them grow in faith for the Lord, in charity
and living a fuller Christian life. Do we treat our members as functionaries to
perform a task rather than as our brothers and sisters in Christ?
This
does not mean that the laws are unimportant, but besides observing the customs
and rituals, we must not forget the bigger picture, which is the love of God
and of man. The customs and laws are means to protect us in our love for
God and man. They are guidelines and are important insofar as they are
necessary to achieve the ends. But they are secondary to the ultimate purpose.
So what we should be concerned with are the essentials and not be overly
slavish to the non-essentials. We must remember what Jesus said with
respect to such practices, “these you should have practised, without leaving
the others undone.”
In the
light of what has been said, it is therefore important that we do not pass rash
judgment on the intentions of people’s actions. The most we can do, like
Jesus, is to condemn attitudes and actions that are objectively wrong.
But with regard to the motives of people, we must leave the judgment to God,
since we cannot read their hearts and we are not fully aware of how much they
are struggling to be true to themselves and the gospel; neither are we aware of
the circumstances that compelled them to do or say certain things. St
Paul tells us that we must leave the judgment to God who alone can read the
intentions of our hearts. In being presumptuous, not only do we commit
the sin against charity but we condemn ourselves. Like the psalmist, we
must leave judgment to God. We join him praying thus, “Lord, you give
back to everyone according to his works. Only in God is my soul at rest; from
him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I
shall not be disturbed at all”. At any rate, St Paul says God “will repay
each one as his works deserve. For those who sought renown and honour and
immortality by always doing good there will be eternal life; for the
unsubmissive who refused to take truth for their guide and took depravity instead,
there will be anger and fury. Pain and suffering will come to every human
being who employs himself in evil – Jews first, but Greeks as well; renown,
honour and peace will come to everyone who does good – Jews first, but Greeks
as well.” Hence, we cannot think that just because we are Christians, we are
judged differently from the rest of humanity, since God has no favourites.
In the
final analysis, it behooves us who teach the law and the truth to ask ourselves
whether we are living what we teach. Otherwise we are placing burdens on
others, as Jesus remarked, “Alas for you lawyers also because you load on men
burdens that are unendurable, burdens that you yourselves do not move a finger
to lift.” By adding and multiplying laws and rules, they were making it
impossible for the people to observe all of them. It is important that we
do not impose more than is necessary for people to love God and humanity.
More so when we ourselves are not walking the talk, we cannot expect others to
do the same. Indeed, to be credible, we ourselves must be exemplars in
the love of God and neighbour. Parents, teachers and leaders must be living
examples of those who not only observe the laws but the spirit as well.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh
Roman
Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved
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