Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Catholic Hermit: Seeing Clearly

The Living Word of God always stirs the mind, heart and soul--and often, as well, the body in some reaction or action both interior and exterior, as a result.

The other day, the Gospel reading at Mass was from Matthew 7:1-6.  The usual thought emphasis I have when reading this Scripture is that of judging, of course.  Do not judge others.  

"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.'"

This judging has to do with criticizing others, or making a determination or decision in which our feelings, opinions, and sometimes or often times, facts as well.

There are degrees of judging others that seem to be the worst--and those have to do with judging based on our opinions, likes, dislikes and emotions.  Even when facts are involved when we judge others, Jesus suggests in this Scripture that we should simply stop judging.

Elsewhere in teaching us, Jesus points out that if we offer our peace to someone and it is returned to us--rejected--we are to not tarry but take back our peace and move on.  We are not required to immerse ourselves in the company of those who range from evil to rejective of our presence or way of being.  

Discernment of spirits is different than judging. But in a simple consideration, I've been coming to a point that there is not much need to "judge".  Even if there are proven facts--and not "facts" that are actually our perception or our interpretation in which we consider such as "facts" when they may not be at all--we do not need to judge.  

We can free ourselves from judging others by stopping it, as Jesus commands.  Yet we can act; we can move on from those who do not accept the peace, the friendship, the love, we offer.  

I think Jesus provides the antidote to judging others.  Perceive our own situations, selves, flaws, purposes, vocations, missions, thoughts.  He asks us to perceive what is in us--in our temporal selves and spiritual selves.  Perceive, examine, and make changes accordingly.  At minimum, though--knowing ourselves as we truly are, as best a person can do so without self-bias and pride as far from the perceiving as possible will occupy us for it is a present moment effort.

We each have more than enough splinters that make up more than enough beams in our own selves--plenty to keep us busy and not with the time or energy to be judging others.

Nonetheless, what really clicked with me when sipping the purity and truth of this particular teaching of Jesus is the point He makes of a benefit in letting go of judging others.  (After all, judging others soon becomes, as Jesus points out with the splinter-beam metaphor, a willing to take action on the other as a result of our judgment/s of the other/s)

The judging can turn into an unhealthy obsession with trying to "fix" the other, change in them what we judge as not right.  Judging can include, then, drawing attention to what we deem not right about the person, or what is the flaw, or what we perceive is wrong about them.  The judging can then become more public, for people tend to share their judgments of others.  It can become detraction or worse if the person/s who is or are judged does not conform to our perceived view based upon our judgment.

It gets complicated!  Rather than simple beauty, truth, and goodness, when we judge we enter into an unrealistic realm in which we think we can see quite clearly what needs to be altered in others.  We place ourselves in a power position; pride surges with the self-appointed judge we have become.

Jesus tells us that when we stop judging others and go to work on removing our flaws, our vices--especially the kingpin of pride--and when we have cast out all our flaws and vices, then we will be able to see clearly enough to remove the flaws we have judged others have....

Of course, how many of us will in this lifetime remove the massive amount of flaws we carry with us daily and nightly?  How many of us will not be tempted to have some new or different flaw or old flaw come back in under a disguised form?  How many of us can always and fully and honestly perceive our own flaws so that we will be perfect enough to go to work on those we judge? 

Most of us will humbly admit that we are not likely to ever come to that vantage point in which we are that clear-sighted and perfect that we can be as God and go to work on others' lives and souls.

Yes, remove our own flaws fully, totally, first--perfection!--and then we will see clearly to remove those flaws in others.

Time for this nothing consecrated Catholic hermit to simply stop judging and to pray for clarity of my vices and flaws, and then the strength, grace, and will infused by Christ to rid them, and be perfected.

I kind of think I will in this life and for some portion for however long God deems in eternity (beyond my ability to fathom that infinity), be quite occupied with the task of  1) stop judging others, and 2) removing my flaws and vices--in other words, be free of sin....

To simply make myself stop judging others seems the easier of the two adjurations of Christ.

I suppose recognizing and admitting when we are judging others is a grace to pray for.  We can so easily call it something other--analyzing, apply "facts" (often tainted by our biased or blurred personal vision), discerning (not really if we are honest with ourselves).  

Remember, if we are in a situation or involved with or affected by people who do not accept nor return the peace of God we offer, or if not of God--evil--we can retain our peace and move on, remove ourselves (and our minds, often enough) from that situation or person/s.

Let God be the Judge.  We don't need that burden; and in fact, Jesus tells us to stop being a judge!  We can receive that honor when we are perfect, when we see clearly and have removed all our flaws and vices....

That will be a day in paradise, surely!

"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.'"


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