Monday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
Jesus develops the theme of yesterday’s Gospel in the light of “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” He insists we see every person as a brother or sister.
I am saved only because I am forgiven. Still, I feel the need to judge others, while at the same time giving lip service to the belief that God alone can judge, and that he does so in truth and love. So why can’t I see that it is an exercise in futility for me to judge the motives of another? Here’s a help: I shall be judged as I judge others! What a fearsome thought! But I shall be treated as a child of God if I comport myself as a brother to all. What a consoling assurance!
I am inclined to regard the evil in another because sin has distorted the lens through which I see him. To see better, I have to wipe clean the lens. To pray means to show myself to the Lord as I am and to tell him I am in great need of a hourly lens cleaner. In his loving gaze he’ll provide it and with a generous spray of pardon as well.