Reading 1
Gn 12:1-9
The LORD said to Abram:
“Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk
and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you.
“I will make of you a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
so that you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you
and curse those who curse you.
All the communities of the earth
shall find blessing in you.”
Abram went as the LORD directed him, and Lot went with him.
Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
Abram took his wife, Sarai, his brother’s son Lot,
all the possessions that they had accumulated,
and the persons they had acquired in Haran,
and they set out for the land of Canaan.
When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land
as far as the sacred place at Shechem,
by the terebinth of Moreh.
(The Canaanites were then in the land.)
The LORD appeared to Abram and said,
“To your descendants I will give this land.”
So Abram built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him.
From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel,
pitching his tent with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east.
He built an altar there to the LORD and invoked the LORD by name.
Then Abram journeyed on by stages to the Negeb.
33:12-13, 18-19, 20 and 22
Responsorial PsalmR. (12)
Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people he has chosen for his own inheritance.
From heaven the LORD looks down;
he sees all mankind.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Gospel
Mt 7:1-5
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Stop judging, that you may not be judged.
For as you judge, so will you be judged,
and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye,
but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?
How can you say to your brother,
‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’
while the wooden beam is in your eye?
You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.”
Meditation: Matthew 7:1-5
“Stop judging, that you may not be judged.” (Matthew 7:1)
Even a superficial review of history can remind us that people have done some really evil things. Think of names like Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, or Charles Manson. Is Jesus saying that we shouldn’t judge their crimes as evil? Is he telling us to ignore what they have done and practice an extreme form of tolerance instead?
Of course not. We need to make moral judgments. We need to stand up and say that certain actions are wrong. What Jesus challenges us about in this verse is whether we are passing personal judgments against individual people—judgments that tear them down or puff us up, judgments that are based on selfrighteousness and not love. So, let’s ask today: How do I view the people who I am in contact with on a regular basis? Is it with a personal rating scale based on how they treat me, or is it with love and their best interest at heart?
Jesus judged people and situations every day, but he never held hatred or resentment; he never tried to get revenge. Instead, he measured each situation based on the way his Father wanted him to act.
But there is more than a command in these verses. There is a promise as well: If we put an end to self-centered and self-righteous judgments, we ourselves will not be judged. God will not judge us because he will see in us a heart like his own, a heart of mercy, compassion, and understanding. Such a disposition shows that we have mastered our pride and self-centered ways of thinking. So there is nothing left for God to judge! Neither will other people judge us, for the witness of our kindness will melt their hearts. Even those of a suspicious nature will gradually come to trust and respect us, for we will have become living witnesses to the kingdom of God.
Of course, none of us will get this command completely right—at least not in this life! But isn’t it good to know that the more we try, the closer to the Lord we will become? And the closer God himself will draw to us!
“Lord, today I renounce my judgments of others. Please help me to see everyone through your merciful eyes.”
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