Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day firstly we heard about the story of the downfall of the northern kingdom of Israel, which was the breakaway state consisting of ten of the twelve tribes of Israel. That northern kingdom had had many kings who led them down the path of disobedience and rebellion against God, and they also refused to follow the house of David, who ruled the southern kingdom of Judah, whom God had appointed to rule over His people.

And as the Lord had repeatedly sent His many servants, including the prophets Elijah and Elisha to call them to repent from their sins, and yet they refused to budge and change their ways, therefore, God showed His anger on them and destroyed their whole nation. They were conquered by the Assyrians, who brought them into exile far away from the lands that once belonged to them. And they were scattered among the nations.

As we can see here, the wicked deeds of the people and the nation led the Lord to judge them for their sins and wickedness. And when God judged them, they were found wanting and unworthy, and thus for their punishment, they had to endure humiliation after humiliation, and suffering after sufferings. That is the just price they have paid for their lack of faith in God, their Lord and Master, Whom they have betrayed for the pagan idols.

And how does this relate to what we heard in the Gospel today? It is relevant because Jesus our Lord spoke to His disciples with regards to being judgmental and in the matter of judging one another. In the first place, all of us should understand that it is in our human nature that we tend to be judgmental. And even in matters as simple as our opinions of other people around us, all these are already filled with judgmental attitudes.

So, is it correct or wrong to judge another person? Then let us delve deep into the matter and understand fully what our Lord Jesus, our God wants to tell us about being judgmental. There is what is right and what is wrong in making judgments, and it is important that we should not get it wrong, or otherwise, what may be great help for other people will instead be a great bane and hindrance for us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, our Lord Jesus said that we should not judge. He said, “Do not judge, or you will be judged.” And many of us straight away jump to the conclusion that we should not judge no matter what. What is worse, some of us even said such statement such as, “Who am I to judge?” or “Why should I judge?” These people forgot that in another occasion, Jesus also said that we should judge with a good judgment.

It means that we must not judge when that judgment ends up becoming a prejudice and a bias against someone. It also means that we must not judge when we end up judging and thinking that we are superior than the one we judge. That is the attitude which we should not have, and indeed what our Lord Jesus has warned us against.

It was just like the Pharisees and the chief priests, the elders and the teachers of the Law, whose attitudes are always judgmental in nature. They were always proud of their supposedly pious ways and boasted of them to the people openly. And they were judgmental towards others, all those whom they deemed to be inferior to them because these people did not obey the Law in the way that they did.

This is not what the Lord wanted to happen to us as well. But at the same time, we should not be a people who does not know how to judge. In his Epistle, St. Paul spoke about the faithful people of God who will one day judge the whole world. Clearly it does not mean that we must not judge, but rather than our judgment must be done out of good will as well as with good intentions.

Let us ask ourselves this question. If we refuse to judge and made comments about someone who committed sin, and allow that person to continue living in sin, would it not be that we have abandoned our duties as Christians? As Christians we are bound to help others and show them the way to the Lord. What we do not do, is to judge the state of the person’s soul. To decide whether a person will end up in heaven or in hell, is God’s prerogative and right alone. But to judge our brethren for their wicked and sinful behaviours, is our right and duty as the people of God.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all from now on strive to help one another to reach out to the Lord, pointing out to our brethren when they make mistake or commit evil and sinful things, reminding or even if necessary, to chide them and rebuke them, so that they would realise the gravity of their own sins, and come to the realisation that a change of their life is necessary to save them from destruction and damnation.

May God help us all and bless us all in the endeavours and works we do for the sake of all the peoples, all the children of God. May we help one another to find our way together to the Great Judge of all, and be found worthy in Him. God be with us all, now and forever. Amen.