Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. ‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.’ Luke 6:36-38: NRSV
In Luke, we are asked to do many loving things…have mercy, refrain from judgment, forgive when we are wronged, be generous of heart. To believe that we will be punished by God if we don’t follow this teaching, or that we will be treated in a like way on Earth just because we do, is to miss the greater truth. I think the meaning of the verses is much more personal, but to follow this admonition, we must first believe in the truth of God’s complete and irrevocable love.
Judgment, lack of mercy, condemnation, an unforgiving stance, and a lack of generosity stem from a belief that we ourselves are not enough. When we find it too difficult to really believe that we are fully and completely loved and accepted, we often try to rid ourselves of that withering feeling by passing it on to those around us. It is too painful for us to hold, like a hot potato. We feel judged; and so we get rid of the feeling by judging someone else. We feel unforgiven; so we choose to not forgive. Judgment is not so much an objective discernment of another’s being, choices, or performances as it is a feeling response to our own inner pain.
I think we are born knowing, that we are perfectly loved. We begin to forget that when we come into contact with the conditional message we are loved only if we behave in a certain way, if we agree with the other, if we excel, if we do not offend. We must then remind ourselves that the spirit that enlivens us is the same holy spirit that is part of the One who created us, in Its own image.
Then we can understand that when we truly accept that love, when we love ourselves in that way, we have a desire to share it with others. Then we feel connected to each other in a powerful way that leaves us feeling that our own life is filled to overflowing with goodness. When our own heart, our inner self, is filled with the calm sense of acceptance, we need no other gift. Just sit with Jesus’ accepting spirit for awhile, and feel your need to judge fade away; feel your heart fill up with mercy.
Laurie Locke
Prayer: Accepting and loving God: When we feel the need to withhold our love and acceptance from others, whisper in our ears that we are enough, and that we need not compete for your love. It is limitless. Amen.
