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"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
In the Lectionary, we are reading through the Sermon on the Mount. We have read The Beatitudes; Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven; Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven; I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment; Let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect; Do not be like the hypocrites; Our Father in heaven, and Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Yesterday, we read: "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 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." My study bible says of this verse: "We will be judged with our own judgment because we, the judges, are doing the very same things that we condemn in others (Rom. 2:1). We ourselves have failed to unceasingly remember our own sins and lay them aside. Condemnation of others and forgiveness do not mix (see Luke 6:27-38). It is the evil one, the slanderer of all, who urges us to pass judgment on others. To pass judgment on another is to usurp a prerogative of God, who knows all things and alone is able to judge (James 4:12). The second part of this verse is found in Mark 4:24 and Luke 6:38, each in a different context. Jesus no doubt used these words many times."
"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." My study bible says that "we ought to know our own sins better than those of others. The hypocrite sees the errors of others, ignoring his own, because he loves himself above all else." It makes sense to understand that going through one's own refinement or purification process, looking to things that need changing in oneself, would be a way whereby one could actually help others to do the same, rather than simply accusing for the sake of accusing. Jesus is speaking of what is commonly known as "projection" in psychological terms. My study bible hits the nail on the head when it points out that it all depends on what our purpose is.
"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." My study bible says, "Jesus warns His disciples to turn away from opponents and those incapable of receiving His message (1 Cor. 2:14), and to turn toward those who are receptive (10:13-14). Dogs and swine refer to heathen peoples, but here Jesus' own Jewish contemporaries are obviously not excluded. 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 (13:46), or the 'inner mysteries' of the Christian faith, particularly the Eucharist." It seems to me that "swine" here, being animals considered unclean to the Jews, would be those who care nothing for the commands of Christ, such as "love one another as I have loved you."
"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!" My study bible tells us: "The threefold exhortation, ask -- be given, seek -- find, knock -- be opened, promises the availability of God's help. 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." Of the final sentence in this section, it adds: "Men are called evil not to condemn the whole race, but to contrast the goodness that is in men -- which is from God but mixed with sin -- with the goodness of God, which is perfect. If imperfect and even wicked people can do good, how much more can God, in whom there is no evil." This thought is a continuation from what we read in yesterday's reading, about the love of God for us. Jesus is encouraging us to deepen relationship and dialogue with God.
"Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." My study bible says, "The Golden Rule fulfills the demands of the Law and the Prophets and is another version of the commandment to love one's neighbor as oneself (22:39-40). The negative form of the Golden Rule ('Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you') is well known in Judaism. Jesus' form, however, is positive: this is the action which brings us to the God who forgives."
Over and over again, Jesus begins to tell us about how we must treat others as we would be treated. Let's note that hidden here in this teaching is the idea that correction for our own good isn't something to be avoided or even to avoid practicing -- if we have already had practice in successful self-examination and personal change for the good. Jesus will place an emphasis on what is good for the community -- a thread that runs all through Scripture and particularly the Epistles. Therefore this kind of judgment doesn't exclude correction. This judgment is rather about condemnation. And let us note that Jesus puts it into context: before we think about correcting others, we must have the experience of putting our own successful changes into place, and a good idea of the far greater plank that is in our own eye as opposed to the speck we might see in another's. So there is a kind of equilibrium here that goes much deeper (as we frequently go "deeper" in this Sermon) than a simple exchange. Jesus also reminds us that what we wish for others to practice, we must practice ourselves. The awareness (or self-awareness) we wish others might have, we must first practice ourselves. And note the warning about casting pearls: those who don't care at all for the teachings of Christ or for personal change shouldn't be those upon whom we do share such pearls of help or helpful correction at all. So there's an additional step here about reciprocal behavior: this isn't to be pushed onto those who don't want it. In every way, Jesus takes us more firmly into community, into the ramifications of His teachings and commandments. When He speaks of a continual asking, seeking and knocking, He takes us once again back to the central relationship of all community: our relationship to God. This is an active relationship, and a continually active one. We are to be engaged with God; and let us note that asking and seeking and knocking can also be about bringing all our questions to God, all our problems and struggles, and our doubts as well. The important point of a relationship of love is just that: dialogue and openness and trust. When a child stops bringing questions to his parents, a kind of trust has been broken. Our Father in heaven is one that constantly wants to hear from us, and so should this be an illustration of the love that shapes a community. It is an active and growing love, not a static and passive one. Let us remember that we share behavior with one another that we want for ourselves. Do we desire inclusion? Let us practice that. Patience? Let us practice patience. Help to solve personal problems or even to see our own errors in a loving way? Let us remember what that is like, too! It's God's love that sets the standard for us to aim at, right in the center of today's readings, and at the heart of Jesus' community, His Body.
