12th Week in Ord. Time, Monday – 21st June 2021 — Gospel: Mt 7,1-5
Call for Responsibility
The Gospel presents Jesus’ admonition to His followers that they must not judge others. This command includes the following: we should not judge others motives; only God can read them. We should not judge by appearance (Jn 7,24; Jas 2,1-4). We should not judge those who are meticulously scrupulous about matters that are not in themselves right or wrong (Rom 14,1-5). We should not judge the service of another believer (1 Cor 4,1-5) and we should not judge a fellow believer by speaking evil about him (Jas 4,11-12). However, Jesus’ admonition does not teach that we are to be undiscerning Christians. He never intended that we abandon our critical faculty or discernment. Instead He exhorts His followers that they must be responsible – that is, they must be “able to respond” to the blessing which God has given them. Further Jesus points out that their blessings will depend on how they respond by extending their blessings to others. If they understand and graciously give to others, God will continue to understand them and will give more graciously to them. On the other hand, they must also be aware of their own faults and failures and be willing to improve themselves before they can criticize the faults of others. In a simple way, one can avoid judging others, if they realize that their personal blessings include responsibility towards others and to themselves.
