A hermit said, "Do not judge an adulterer if you are chaste or you will break the law of God just as much as he does. For he who said, 'Do not commit adultery' also said 'Do not judge'". - Sayings of the Desert Fathers
The Lord says it in the Gospel: “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not and you will not be condemned; forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap”. This is the “generosity of heart” that the Lord presents through “the image of those going to collect grain who enlarged their aprons in order to received more”. In fact, Pope Francis said, “you can receive far more if you have a big heart!”. And he added: “a big heart doesn't get entangled in other peoples lives, it doesn't condemn but forgives and forgets” as “God has forgiven and forgotten my sins”. - Pope Francis
Isn't it funny, that this is a sin we all have, no matter who we are, what our stage in life, what our beliefs are or what our other sins are, this is the one we all seem to share. Its insidious too, as you can participate in this and not even realize it (as in every time I make fun of Voris for being a judgemental oddball I am being judgemental...but gosh, making fun of Voris is so much fun ...)
ReplyDeleteI'm really enjoying the book you recommended. We should have a Sayings of the Bloggers to compare against to show how terrible we(I) am....
ReplyDeleteMack, that's the funny thing about sin; so much of it is enjoyable in the moment.
ReplyDeleteOh Nan, ain't that the truth!!! In the words of noted theologian Mae West, "I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it!"
DeleteAre mercy and truth meeting?
ReplyDeletehttp://orthosphere.org/2014/03/14/a-plea-for-mercy/