The following homily is based on Luke 6:36-38, the Gospel reading for March 17th, 2025:
Jesus said to his diciples:
"Be merciful, just as 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."
- Editor
In today’s Gospel, we are told to be compassionate by not sitting in judgment on others. That in no way means that we are to be blind to the genuine faults of others. But we are not in a position to take the higher moral ground so that we can sit in judgment on the supposed wrongdoer.
If we are honest, we know we judge others a lot and often with very little evidence and even less compassion. Our media, too, are full of judgment. We lack compassion for the weaknesses of our brothers and sisters.
At the same time, we do very little to help them correct their ways; in fact, they seldom hear the criticisms we make. It is most often done behind their backs.
“What do you want from the Lord? Mercy? ‘Give it, and is shall be given to you’. What do you want from the Lord? Forgiveness? ‘Forgive, and you will be forgiven’”
Reasons why we should not judge others:
- No one except God is good enough to judge others because only God sees the whole truth, and only He can read the human heart; hence, only He has the right and authority to judge us.
- We are often prejudiced in our judgment of others, and total fairness cannot be expected from us. (Parable of the hired workers - Matthew 20:1-16)
- We do not see all the facts, the circumstances, and the power of the temptations which have led a person to do something evil.
- We have no right to judge others because we have the same fault ourselves, and often to a more serious degree, than the one we are judging. (Remember Jesus’ funny example of a man with a wooden beam in his eye trying to remove the dust particle from another’s eye? Matthew 7:3-5) St. Philip Neri commented, watching the misbehaviour of a drunkard: “There goes Philip but for the grace of God”.
We should leave all judgment to God and practice mercy and forgiveness, remembering the advice of saints: “When you point one finger of accusation at another, three of your fingers point at you.” Let us pay attention to the Jewish rabbi’s advice: “He who judges others favorably will be judged favorably by God.”
Do you know and experience the mercy God has for you through the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed for you and for your sins upon the cross?
The Lord Jesus took our sins upon himself and nailed them to the cross so that we could receive pardon rather than condemnation, freedom rather than slavery to sin, and healing for the wounds caused by sin, injustice, and evil.
What makes true disciples of Jesus Christ different from those who do not know the Lord Jesus and what makes Christianity distinct from any other religion?
It is grace – treating others not as they deserve, but as God wishes them to be treated – with forbearance, mercy, and loving-kindness. God shows his goodness to the unjust as well as to the just. His love embraces saint and sinner alike. God always seeks what is best for each one of us and he teaches us to seek the greatest good for others, even those who hate and abuse us.
Our love for others, even those who are ungrateful and unkind towards us, must be marked by the same kindness and mercy which God has shown to us. It is easier to show kindness and mercy when we can expect to benefit from doing so. How much harder when we can expect nothing in return. Our prayer for those who do us ill both breaks the power of revenge and releases the power of love to do good in the face of evil.
Do you quickly forgive those who wrong you or cause you grief or pain, or do you allow ill-will and resentment to grow in your heart?
Do you will the good of the other, and pray for those who have lost sight of God’s mercy, pardon, truth, and justice?
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