Overview:

A Reflection for Thursday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time

A Reflection for Thursday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time

“Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.” (Lk 6:37)

Find today’s readings here.

When did we stop forgiving? And how do we start again?

Sometimes it feels like we live in a world where we are judged for our every move: how we act, what we wear. Sometimes it feels like we are judged for just existing. 

I find myself doing it: rolling my eyes at the person who blocks the entrance to the subway, growing frustrated when a friend cancels our plans at the last minute. And I’ve also felt that attitude directed toward me. 

It feels like we have collectively run out of patience. How do we get it back? 

We have to turn to an idea that we’ve heard so many times before: Stop judging, stop condemning and be forgiving. It’s one of the most important lessons from Scripture, and somehow it’s one that we have forgotten so easily. 

If we treat others the way we would like to be treated, they just might do the same. Still,  that is not a guarantee. Putting good out into the world and not knowing if you’ll get any back is hardly a safe investment. But what we get in return shouldn’t be the reason why we choose to be good to each other. 

I have found myself caught in this trap before, thinking about people who might not return the favor, asking: If they wouldn’t do this for me, why should I do it for them? But I think that’s the entire point. These actions shouldn’t be conditional. Maybe thinking, “What’s in this for me?” before we show kindness to someone else is what got us here in the first place. 

What if we took these words to heart without the guarantee that someone will be kind back to us? Maybe we would be doing good things without getting anything back. Maybe it would inspire those around us to do the same. Either way, we would be doing our part to create a kinder world. 

We shouldn’t have to know that we will get forgiveness back in order to forgive someone. We should withhold our judgement, but not only because we don’t want to be the ones who are judged next. We should do these things unconditionally, as Jesus did.

Alexandra Pfau is an O’Hare Fellow at America Media.