Message of Abbot Paul - Monday 21st June
Message from Fr Paul for Monday, 21st June 2021
Just three days to go before Midsummer’s Day and today, being the summer solstice, is the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, yet we’ve had two rather cold days at Belmont in comparison to the previous week. I believe the warm weather is about to return, The one thing certain is that, at this time of year, everything is growing at breakneck speed, including our waterlilies and the goldfish and koi who nestle underneath their ever-growing leaves. Yesterday, as we were returning from our second walk, Toby discovered a dead fox, a juvenile by the look of him, on the lawn between the rose beds. It looked as though he’d been attacked by some birds of prey or another wild animal. In the midst of so much life, there is death. A good neighbour, who was walking with us, kindly offered to bury him.
In today’s Gospel we continue our reading of the Sermon on the Mount, (Mt 7: 1-5). Although I’m an easy-going sort of person, who readily forgives others and tries to see the best in people, nevertheless I’m more than aware of the fact that I can be highly critical and judgemental of others, even without wanting to be. In this section of the Sermon, Jesus is addressing me and others like me. This is what he has to say, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; because the judgements you give are the judgements you will get, and the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given. Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the plank in your own? How dare you say to your brother, “Let me take the splinter out of your eye,” when all the time there is a plank in your own? Hypocrite! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take the splinter out of your brother’s eye.”
What Jesus says doesn’t make for easy reading, does it, even if we know that others are as judgemental of us as we are of them? The easy way out would be for us to say that Jesus had the scribes and Pharisees in mind. Perhaps he did, but is not my behaviour at times like that of the much-maligned enemies of Jesus? Only God is a just judge, because he alone can see what is in people’s hearts. He alone knows what they’re going through and what their motives must be. We often misjudge people and situations, because we don’t know the whole story. There are times when we act in a presumptuous or prejudiced way, motivated by pride, envy or jealousy. “Judge not,” like all of Jesus’ commandments, is summed up in love. Paul writes to the Romans, “Love does no harm to your neighbour. Therefore, love is the fulfilment of the law,” (Rm 13: 10). Lord, help me to love and respect others as you do. Amen.
