Meditation for October 2, 2007

From The Rev. Peter A. Munson

Matthew 7:1-12

 

[Jesus said], "Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.  For with the judgment you make will you be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.  Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your neighbor, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' while the log is in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye..."

 

"Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.  For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.  Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone?  Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake?  If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!"

 

"In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets."

 

From Judging to Asking and Loving

 

In this portion of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus begins by talking about the human tendency to judge others.  It is so much easier to identify the faults of others instead of wrestling with our own faults or weaknesses.  It is so much easier to pre-judge someone than to take the time to really get to know him or her.  Someone on the parish retreat this past weekend made a comment about leaving behind her preconceptions of others who were attending the retreat.  We can focus so much on the way we think another person is different from us, and if we dwell on the differences (or perceived differences) long enough, we soon see that a wall has been erected between us.  Who has put the wall there?  I have, of course, through my judging, my criticizing, or my pre-judging.  All the while, Jesus says, there is a log in our own eye!  (And that "big thing" we find fault with in the other person, by comparison, is only a speck.)  On the other hand, if we are willing to put aside our preconceptions, we may suddenly discover that we have a new friend!

 

Jesus then goes on to talk about asking God for what we need.  You know how to give good gifts to your children, Jesus says.  Whatever you are capable of doing, however much you gladly give to your children, out of your love for them, multiply that by some huge number - a factor of a hundred, or a million, perhaps? - and you might begin to be in the ballpark of how much God, the Generous One, wants to give to us.

 

The implication, I think, coming on the heels of these verses about our tendency to judge, is that we should ask for the things that will transform our lives and our relationships.  "Lord, help me have the courage to look at my own stuff - my own wounds, my own anger, my own critical spirit, my fears and anxieties - whatever it is that keeps me from connecting more fully with you, and with others.  Help me to understand why I do the things I do that aren't productive, and transform me so that I am more courageous, more faithful, more loving, more grateful."

 

If we ask to be transformed in this way... if we seek to understand, so that our understanding will lead to new insights and new, more life-giving behaviors... if we knock on Jesus' door, and say, "Lord, I really need your help, your wisdom, your guidance," then, Jesus says, you will receive, you will find, the door will be opened.  Let me quote verse 8 again, because it is powerful:

 

"For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened."  EVERYONE.  Not, "Some of the people who ask will receive."  No.  Everyone.  God is waiting to give us what we need.  God is waiting to bless us.  God is gracious and generous and overflowing with love for his beloved people.

 

Make the shift from judging and criticizing and fault-finding to asking and searching and knocking, Jesus says.  And your life will be transformed.

 

And then he concludes this section with what we call the Golden Rule.  "In everything do to others as you would have them do to you."  Do you want to learn how to be more loving?  I want that.  Jesus says to you and to me, "Shift your focus away from what is wrong with everyone else.  Ask your heavenly Father to transform you, to transform your heart, to make you new - from the inside out.  God will answer your prayers, and you will become more loving.  You will do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

 

From judging and criticizing to loving and serving.  That is quite a shift. The key to making this shift, Jesus says, is to ask for God's help.