Stop judging and you will not be judged
Dn 9,4-10; Ps 78; Lk 6,36-38
18 MARCH
The judgment is a proper deed of the judge, called to determine or establish the degree of guilt or innocence for an act performed by a man, with a relative sentence of conviction or acquittal. In the Old Covenant this act of God had been assigned to particular men, called judges. For the judge to be impartial in his judgment he had to abstain from receiving gifts and favours from men. The gift blinds the eyes and the course of justice could prove to be distorted. It could be of acquittal rather than condemnation or of condemnation instead of acquittal.
“You shall not deny one of your needy fellow men his rights in his lawsuit. You shall keep away from anything dishonest. The innocent and the just you shall not put to death, nor shall you acquit the guilty. Never take a bribe, for a bribe blinds even the most clear-sighted and twists the words even of the just (Ex 23,6-8). “You shall not act dishonestly in rendering judgment. Show neither partiality to the weak nor deference to the mighty, but judge your fellow men justly. You shall not go about spreading slander among your kinsmen; nor shall you stand by idly when your neighbour’s life is at stake. I am the Lord (Lev 19,15-16). Jehoshaphat dwelt in Jerusalem; but he went out again among the people from Beer-sheba to the highlands of Ephraim and brought them back to the Lord, the God of their fathers. He appointed judges in the land, in all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, and he said to them: “Take care what you do, for you are judging, not on behalf of man, but on behalf of the Lord; he judges with you. And now, let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Act carefully, for with the Lord, our God there is no injustice, no partiality, no bribe-taking.” In Jerusalem also, Jehoshaphat appointed some Levites and priests and some of the family heads of Israel to judge in the name of the Lord and to settle quarrels among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. He gave them this command: “You shall act faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of the Lord. And in every dispute that your brethren living in their cities bring to you, whether it concerns bloodguilt or questions of law, command, statutes, or judgments, warn them lest they become guilty before the Lord and his wrath come upon you and your brethren. Do that and you shall be guiltless (2Cro 19,4-10).
In the New Covenant St. Paul tells Christians that for them it is a shame to appeal to the judgment of the pagans. He entrust judgment to wise people in the community.
How can any one of you with a case against another dare to bring it to the unjust for judgment instead of to the holy ones? Do you not know that the holy ones will judge the world? If the world is to be judged by you, are you unqualified for the lowest law courts? Do you not know that we will judge angels? Then why not everyday matters? If, therefore, you have courts for everyday matters, do you seat as judges people of no standing in the church? I say this to shame you. Can it be that there is not one among you wise enough to be able to settle a case between brothers? But rather brother goes to court against brother, and that before unbelievers? Now indeed (then) it is, in any case, a failure on your part that you have lawsuits against one another. Why not rather put up with injustice? Why not rather let yourselves be cheated? Instead, you inflict injustice and cheat, and this to brothers. Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor boy prostitutes nor practicing homosexuals nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God. That is what some of you used to be; but now you have had yourselves washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God (1Cor 6,1-11).
Jesus asks his disciples to renounce everything and even life to avoid resisting an evil person. He asks for forgiveness for every offense suffered. He asks to always give without fear or trepidation. The Father will be generous with them beyond measure.
Be merciful, just as (also) your Father is merciful. “Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”
Instead, another thing is the discernment on truth and falsity, on good and evil, on what is the will of God and what is thought of the world. Discernment is not only mandatory. It must be done on the foundation of the Word of God and in the light of the Spirit.
Mother of God, Angels and Saints free us from any confusion between judgment and discernment.