Reading 1
Rom 2:1-11
You, O man, are without excuse, every one of you who passes judgment.For by the standard by which you judge another you condemn yourself,since you, the judge, do the very same things.We know that the judgment of God on those who do such things is true.Do you suppose, then, you who judge those who engage in such thingsand yet do them yourself,that you will escape the judgment of God?Or do you hold his priceless kindness, forbearance, and patience in low esteem, unaware that the kindness of God would lead you to repentance?By your stubbornness and impenitent heart,you are storing up wrath for yourselffor the day of wrath and revelationof the just judgment of God,who will repay everyone according to his works,eternal life to those who seek glory, honor, and immortalitythrough perseverance in good works,but wrath and fury to those who selfishly disobey the truthand obey wickedness.Yes, affliction and distress will come upon everyonewho does evil, Jew first and then Greek.But there will be glory, honor, and peace for everyonewho does good, Jew first and then Greek.There is no partiality with God.
Gospel
Lk 11:42-46
The Lord said:“Woe to you Pharisees!You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb,but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God.These you should have done, without overlooking the others.Woe to you Pharisees!You love the seat of honor in synagoguesand greetings in marketplaces. Woe to you!You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk.”
Then one of the scholars of the law said to him in reply,“Teacher, by saying this you are insulting us too.”And he said, “Woe also to you scholars of the law!You impose on people burdens hard to carry,but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them.”
Meditation: Romans 2: 1-11
Admit it.
Aren’t you annoyed sometimes, when reading the lives of the saints, to find them deeply grieved over sins or weaknesses that appear incredibly minor? Teresa of Ávila begged God’s forgiveness for having been fond of parties and pretty dresses when she was young. Francis of Assisi repented publicly for having eaten chicken when he was sick. He had one of his followers tie a rope around his neck and lead him through the villages crying out: “Here is the great glutton who ate chicken in secret!” And then there is Augustine, who lamented a “deed of darkness”—stealing pears with some friends when he was sixteen.
If we could just dismiss such saints as obsessive, it might let us off the hook—but no such luck. These men and women were moved to repentance because they were able to recognize outwardly minor failings as shoots from deeply buried roots of serious issues like vanity and pride. In Augustine’s case, willful rebellion against God was behind that youthful theft: “The pleasure I got was not from the pears—it was in the crime itself.” And furthermore, he explained, it was only by the grace of God, “who illumines my heart and searches out its dark corners,” that he came to see his sin for what it really was.
The same is true for us. How easy it is to delude ourselves that it’s other people who commit the big sins and that we ourselves are pretty good followers of Jesus. Oh sure, I stumble every now and then—but nobody’s perfect. Or if we do happen to sin more grievously, how easy to justify ourselves or to consider the sin a “one off”—something not typical of our basically holy selves. As today’s two readings point out, this blindness to our own failings comes accompanied by an exquisite sensitivity to other people’s!
There is only one remedy for this tendency to misjudge our neighbors and ourselves. It requires bringing every thought and action to God, asking him for help to get on course and stay there. Challenging? Yes. But consider this: Your judge is also your healer, who wants you to know “his priceless kindness, forbearance, and patience” (Romans 2:4). How will you respond to his invitation today?
Meditation: Romans 2: 1-11
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Admit it.
Aren’t you annoyed sometimes, when reading the lives of the saints, to find them deeply grieved over sins or weaknesses that appear incredibly minor? Teresa of Ávila begged God’s forgiveness for having been fond of parties and pretty dresses when she was young. Francis of Assisi repented publicly for having eaten chicken when he was sick. He had one of his followers tie a rope around his neck and lead him through the villages crying out: “Here is the great glutton who ate chicken in secret!” And then there is Augustine, who lamented a “deed of darkness”—stealing pears with some friends when he was sixteen.
If we could just dismiss such saints as obsessive, it might let us off the hook—but no such luck. These men and women were moved to repentance because they were able to recognize outwardly minor failings as shoots from deeply buried roots of serious issues like vanity and pride. In Augustine’s case, willful rebellion against God was behind that youthful theft: “The pleasure I got was not from the pears—it was in the crime itself.” And furthermore, he explained, it was only by the grace of God, “who illumines my heart and searches out its dark corners,” that he came to see his sin for what it really was.
The same is true for us. How easy it is to delude ourselves that it’s other people who commit the big sins and that we ourselves are pretty good followers of Jesus. Oh sure, I stumble every now and then—but nobody’s perfect. Or if we do happen to sin more grievously, how easy to justify ourselves or to consider the sin a “one off”—something not typical of our basically holy selves. As today’s two readings point out, this blindness to our own failings comes accompanied by an exquisite sensitivity to other people’s!
There is only one remedy for this tendency to misjudge our neighbors and ourselves. It requires bringing every thought and action to God, asking him for help to get on course and stay there. Challenging? Yes. But consider this: Your judge is also your healer, who wants you to know “his priceless kindness, forbearance, and patience” (Romans 2:4). How will you respond to his invitation today?
“Probe me, God, and know my heart. Correct whatever is broken and crooked, so that I can walk in freedom and become the person you created me to be.”
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