Don't judge

Good morning, happy Monday and blessings.

The Gospel for this morning is in San Juan (8,1-11) and confronts us with an interesting question: Are you one of those that still throwing stones at others? This is the story when they bring Jesus a woman they caught in adultery - but they didn't arrest the man they let him go - to authorize them to be stoned. Jesus tells her accusers, whoever is without sin, throw the first stone at her. All these people went home and Jesus, when he was alone with the woman, asked her: Woman, where are your accusers? Has none condemned you? She replied, "None, Lord." Jesus said: Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on sin no more.
 
Let me be clear, God requires us who are Christians to take care of each other. Not to pamper people in their wrongs, but to encourage them get back up when they do wrong or fall. This is what being a Christian is all about.
 
This Brings To Mind A Couple Of Questions. First, how did they catch these two in the very act? Did they follow them thru the night to try and catch them? Did they orchestrate the adultery simply as a means to destroy Jesus? If so, this would explain the lack of an accused male. The man could very well have been one of their numbers. Second, how were so many men able to witness such obscene situation? Three, where was their compassion? Was this merely a gossip believed by so many? It’s sad that they would use this woman to achieve their selfish ends with no regard for the condition of her soul. She needed help. They didn’t care. All they cared about was destroying Jesus and His ministry & they did not care who they destroyed in the process. People are evil. Some will destroy an entire church just to get back at one person.
 
Again, unfortunately for the accusers, they were guilty themselves of sins – sins unto death. Like this woman, people who are in bondage are looking for love and acceptance. That woman was betrayed by whatever man he was. The woman thought that she had found a man who truly loves her, but instead, he abandoned her. Many of us are like this woman. We look for love and acceptance but all we get is brokenness and rejection.
 
We expend much of our time and energy judging others. It seems that by judging others we feel a sense of superiority over them which makes us temporarily feel better about ourselves — it boosts our ego. If we want to feel united with our fellow humans again, we need to break our habit of judging them, so that we can start seeing them for who they are, without misconceptions.
 
The challenge for today is that we stop being judgmental and like Jesus we start exercising compassion. Compassion means someone else’s heartbreak becomes your heartbreak. Another’s suffering becomes your suffering. True compassion changes the way we live. That is what Jesus taught us.
 
Blessings
 
Fr. Luis+