HOMILY, MONDAY 12TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A
2 kings 17:5-8.13-15a.18, Matthew 7:1-5
No man is fit to judge others. Judgement belongs to God.
Our sense of judgement is measured by our level of responsibilities and experiences in life. People with more responsibilities and experiences are often more balance in the way they look at things.
No human being can be completely impartial in judgement. God is the only perfect judge.
It takes a flawless or spotless person to judge rightly.
It is better not to judge at all.
At times, we judge based on our expectations from other persons. Since it is difficult to be completely selfless in our desires, there is no way our sense of judgment will be totally free from bias.
However, it is very funny at times to realize that those who are the experts in judging others are the busy-bodies, passive individuals, who play nominal roles, but always have their lips sharpened. In the church, they love dodging responsibilities, but criticised those who are ready to work.
The spectators outside a wrestling ring will always think that they have all it takes to win a wrestling bout. Likewise, all football fans want their team to win, they throw blames when a member of their team miss a point, but those who are in the football pitch know what they are into. No one is out to loose.
The rule of right judgment [Recta Sapere] demands that we dig deep into why someone should be going the opposite direction when there is a clear pointer to the right direction.
The taste of a pudding is in the eating. You don’t judge things by taste unless you taste it yourself.
It is dangerous judging someone in whose shoe we have never entered.
The 16th century essayist, Montaigne once told a tale of a Persian judge who having received a bribe, gave a biased verdict. This was later discovered by Cambysses, the king, who ordered that he should be executed and his skin flayed from his body and preserved. The skin was used to cover the seat on which judges sat anytime they are giving judgement. This was done as deterrent to other judges to remind them the consequence of wrong judgement.
The measure we give will be the measure we get. Matthew 7:2
Dear beloved, let us refrain from judging others.
PRAYER
O Lord! I have severally judged others without knowing the circumstances around them. Several times, I have locked the door of mercy against myself by not been compassionate towards others. I’m human. You are God. Forgive me that I may not suffer the consequences of poor judgment. I want to face my business and stop ruminating over the flaws of others. Thy kingdom come.
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