Journeys

To journey with Jesus means breaking down the barriers that divide us and accepting others without judgment. It means welcoming and mixing with the unclean, the profane, and the diseased.

In Matthew 7:1-4 we read, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, `Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?

Who am I to judge?' must rank as one the best known phrases of Pope Francis. Perhaps that is because it touches a very sensitive point in our pluralistic cultures. How can we ever judge the behaviour of others? This can sometimes degenerate into a passive, uncaring attitude towards others: I will not judge you, for you are responsible for your own choices; now do not expect me to help you in any way, for I am not responsible for you at all. Jesus is saying something quite different: be careful not to judge others more harshly than you judge yourself, try to be free of prejudice for this can cloud your judgement.

In his little book Illustrations of Bible Truth, H.A. Ironside pointed out the folly of judging others. He related an incident in the life of a man called Bishop Potter. "He was sailing for Europe on one of the great transatlantic ocean liners. When he went on board, he found that another passenger was to share the cabin with him. After going to see the accommodations, he came up to the purser's desk and inquired if he could leave his gold watch and other valuables in the ship's safe. He explained that ordinarily he never availed himself of that privilege, but he had been to his cabin and had met the man who was to occupy the other berth. Judging from his appearance, he was afraid that he might not be a very trustworthy person. The purser accepted the responsibility for the valuables and remarked, 'It's all right, bishop, I'll be very glad to take care of them for you. The other man has been up here and left his for the same reason!'"

Although this story may bring a smile to our faces, it still has a deeper significance.

Thomas a Kempis Says “In judging of others, a man labourers in vain, often errs and easily sins; but in judging and examining himself, he always labourers fruitfully.”

Thomas a Kempis also prayed; Grant me, O Lord, to know what I ought to know,To love what I ought to love,To praise what delights Thee most,To value what is precious in Thy sight,To hate what is offensive to Thee.Do not suffer me to judge according to the sight of my eyes,Nor to pass sentence according to the hearing of the ears of ignorant men;But to discern with a true judgment between things visible and spiritual,And above all, always to inquire what is the good pleasure of Thy will. Amen.