On Judging Others
11 16 , 13:24 Filed in: Theology
We have been told, “Judge not and you shall not be judged,”-Luke 6:37 and rightly so, we must obey this as it was our Lord Himself that instructed us to do so. However, does Jesus mean this unilaterally in all situations for all people or was there a context that we may have missed? If we are diligent in studying the Apostolic faith, we may yet have our answer. With St. Paul, the concept of judging others was clearly within the framework of the Church and not those outside of it. As we read, “For what have I to do to judge them that are without? Do not you judge them that are within? For them that are without, God will judge. Put away the evil one from among yourselves.”- 1 Cor. 5:12-13. St. Paul is making a distinction here. In this context, he was making a righteous judgment against an incestuous adulterer and admonishes the Corinthians to purge this offender so that sin may not linger among them. Even going as far as saying, “deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ,” but recall that St. Paul was “judging” the matter within the Church as he said those outside the Church, God will judge. In this context, we have to recognize that judgment against someone IS wrong but to make distinction and call out what is evil in the Church is necessary even at the point of naming the offenders within the Church.
But what of those that are outside of the Church that are causing terrible harm to the Church? Shall we sit idly by and allow them to bombard the Mystical Body of Christ because they are not in the Church? Of course not! We have a duty, as St. Paul said, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove (expose) them. For the things that are done by them in secret, it is a shame even to speak of.” - Eph. 5:11-12. As Catholics, we have a duty to oppose and expose unfruitful works of wickedness regardless of the offenders faith. This is not to say that we judge the evil doers but rather to bring out to light the facts and strategies so that the innocent may not fall victim and possibly justice may prevail over the wicked. All the while, as Catholics, it is our duty to pray for these evil doers as they may be given graces to repent and work for the common welfare of others. We know this is possible from St. Paul when he was known as Saul on his way to Damascus to persecute the Mystical Body of Christ. Christ made it abundantly clear, we must love and pray for those that harm us and don't think for one minute that this was easy news to hear even among His disciples. In fact, their response to this was, “Lord, increase our faith!” They were able to accept all His miracles but when He said to forgive those who hurt you and pray for them, this was almost too much. We even say as much when we pray the Our Father, “...Forgive us our trespasses, AS we forgive those who trespass against us...”. We cannot hope for the resurrection of our souls if we do not come to terms with this objective truth. But make no mistake about it, you cannot do this by your own strength! For this, you need graces in order to do so. Pray therefore for the graces necessary to soften your heart to forgive even the most hardened criminal. This does not mean to tolerate their evil as to befriend them in some sickening display of false compassion. No, this means to recognize that they too have an immortal soul that was never meant to suffer the fires of hell with Satan and his apostate host. In Jesus' prayer to the Father in the Gospel of John, He revealed that no one is lost, except the Son of Perdition (the Antichrist), meaning we all have a chance for salvation and not one of us is predestined for hell...we choose that. Therefore, pray fervently so that the worst thing does not come upon you and you lose your charity in the pursuit to uphold righteousness. Pray without ceasing that those who commit evil may stop, repent, and do reparations for the damage done. And finally, pray for one another so that we may all stop our evil ways and to take up fully God's will to be accomplished in us and by us. Amen.