Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets

"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

"Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

"Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."

- Matthew 7:1-12

We have been reading through the Sermon on the Mount, starting last Monday with The Beatitudes, in which Jesus taught the blessings of the disciple's life. Next He taught, You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world - the necessity of discipleship to the world. Then He taught His vision of the Law, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." He then expanded His teaching on several statutes; the first against murder: "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder;'" then against adultery: "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery;'" and finally regarding vengeance: "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'" His expansion includes the inner life, not merely outward acts. Next He began to discuss spiritual practice (in almsgiving, prayer and fasting) - forbidding hypocrisy and again emphasizing the inner life, in "Do not be like the hypocrites." During the discussion of prayer, Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, teaching in Our Father in heaven. He then taught that we cannot serve both God and mammon, that we need to make a clear choice in "No man can serve two masters. In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught against unnecessary worry and anxiety over the material things we need in life. He said to observe the birds, and the wild lilies -- none of these work slavishly, endlessly worrying about the future, yet they are cared for by the Father. The Father knows what we have need of, we are to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." He said, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you." Here we return to a teaching of reciprocity. Jesus will so often teach us that we receive is dependent also upon what we give. In this case, He's speaking about judgment. It is related to His earlier teachings on mercy and forgiveness. It's also related to how we look, how we see. Furthermore, in the sense in which this teaching is given, we have to seek the kingdom first, seek God's judgment (as discernment), rather than our own. So, keeping all of this in mind, we have a picture of how we relate to neighbor: righteousness is governed by the judgment of God, our willingness to give all things to God (for this is what forgiveness is). It's not a teaching against discernment or even forming an opinion, but about our attitudes, where we take our discernment and how, and especially our disposition towards others. I also believe we can connect condemning and controlling behavior here, seeking always to lay down one's own law to others. Ultimately it is also a teaching against hypocrisy, going back to the emphasis throughout the Sermon on the inner life: how we look, how we judge, will also be the way in which we are judged. We have all had the experience of gossip or false judgment and accusation. Taken in the context of teaching to His disciples, we can understand this statement relating to how we conduct ourselves in His church, amongst ourselves. There are proper ways to resolve conflict which Jesus will teach later on.

"And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." The context here sharpens our understanding of "judge not" when we think of the commonly experienced idea of projection. That is, seeing in others the faults that are really in ourselves -- perhaps the things we don't like to look at. A shady or dishonest character may also always suspect the same in others, a controlling or bullying character may try accusing others. It is a commonly observed phenomenon. Therefore we are counseled here to be aware of our own flaws. This is the value of confession, self-examination, talking with a trusted spiritual director, pastor or compassionate friend or relative who will tell us the truth and really has our best interest in mind. Any good counselor must always be aware of his or her own weaknesses, a well-known concept in modern psychology. Here, Jesus puts it quite simply for us! And we note, this teaching is meant for those who seek to help others - brothers and sisters - by observing conduct and instructing. Anyone who does so must have an attitude of awareness about their own flaws and experience of personal change first; without this experience and understanding, one is not in a position to help others go through the same process. It is ultimately another teaching against hypocrisy.

"Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces." Here is a teaching juxtaposed to the teaching against "judgment" and it is a teaching about discernment. People who are not ready to hear what we have to offer should be avoided. Again, we go to the context, and it is in the context of correction or teaching. The framework of what Jesus says here sees teaching, correction as a good thing. But there are ways in which it must be done (self-aware of one's own sins, without hypocrisy) and times in which it is good to refrain from so doing -- especially with those who are not going to be receptive, who in fact do not value what is offered. We have at least a couple of references to dogs and swine in Scripture that give us an idea of the context; often they are used for heathen peoples -- but here, my study bible points out, "Jesus' own Jewish contemporaries are clearly not excluded." And, I think, the Scriptural references above will not be lost to our own contemporary ears either. My study bible also notes, "According to the Church Fathers, dogs are those so deeply immersed in godlessness that they show no hope of change, while swine are those who habitually live an unchaste and immoral life-style. The pearls are Christ's teachings or the 'inner mysteries' of the Christian faith." I think that we need to make our own discernment in light of this teaching. There is no sense offering something of beauty to someone who cannot appreciate it, and may despise what we are offering. Again, Jesus' words quite simply and vividly give us a clear idea that stands up to experience. It is also another wise teaching of human nature; those who are deeply undesirous of receiving may in fact respond with hatred and violence and contempt.

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!" Here is a teaching for those who do, indeed, desire the good things of God, the things that Jesus is offering through the Sermon, through discipleship, to those who truly want to know. We have but to ask and seek and knock. As opposed to those who don't value or want the pearls of wisdom, good conduct, growth in God's mysteries and with God's help, those who sincerely desire have but to be persistent in coming to God. My study bible points out: "The verbs are present progressives: be asking, be seeking, be knocking. Note the synergy: our effort is commanded, but never apart from the help of God. We ask in prayer; seek by learning God's truth; and knock by doing God's will." This is the great promise of the Paraklete, the one who will be by our side when we call, the one who will come and make His life with us: our help is always available when we truly want what He is offering. We understand, this will also include correction, where we fail to see the plank in our own eye! This is always a loving gift. We are His sheep, and He is the Good Shepherd who shows us His Way. This is real discipleship.

"Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." Here is another reciprocal teaching, in which Jesus sums up the Law and the Prophets in the teachings of today's reading. So much depends upon our own attitude. Right discernment is part and parcel of righteousness, right conduct or right-relatedness. Today's teachings can be summed up in the understanding of how we conduct ourselves especially among brothers and sisters, an awareness of our own flaws, of how we go about truly helping others, where that help is not wanted -- and especially how we must be continually seeking the same for ourselves and our own state in life. These are the things that matter, the keys to a righteous life, the Law and the Prophets. Do we desire good correction from others? Let us offer it with the compassion we would like for ourselves. Do we want to know truth? Let us offer it to others -- but remain aware that there are those who desire none of it. For our own good, we must also make that discernment and stay away as well.

In his book, Have a Little Faith, Mitch Albom reports a story told to him by "the reb" -- Albom's beloved rabbi. The reb says, “I remember once, as a boy, I was so hungry, and there was a fruit and vegetable truck parked by our building. I tried to bump against it, so an apple would fall into my hands. That way it wouldn’t feel like stealing. Suddenly, I heard a voice from above yelling at me in Yiddish, ‘Albert, it is forbidden!’ I jumped. I thought it was God." ”Who was it?" I asked. “A lady who lived upstairs.” I laughed. Not quite God. “No. But, Mitch, we were part of each other’s lives. If someone was about to slip, someone else could catch him. That’s the critical idea behind a congregation." In Jesus' teachings for today, we can hear the reflected idea of congregation, and we have to keep this in mind -- Albom's story illustrates it very well! -- when we think about Jesus' words. Correction, in this context, is a positive thing, helping one another. But we have to be prepared to see it that way, and as disciples we have to be especially prepared to be aware of our own judgments, our own flaws and sins, and how we conduct ourselves in relatedness to others. Jesus' teachings about hypocrisy always apply. Above all we remember we ultimately have the One to rely on to teach us, so that our growth continues. We always have help, we continue to ask and seek and knock! This promise of help also includes teachings of compassion, of mercy, and how to forgive even when reconciliation is not possible. If we look at the rabbi's story, he remained forever grateful to the lady who helped him through correction, valuing the pearl she was offering. He understood her compassion for him. Let us remember this attitude as well! And heed Jesus' words about those do not value the same.