Morning Devotion for Eastertide
May 20, 2022
The Invitatory
Alleluia. The Lord is risen indeed: Come Let us adore him.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.
Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ..
Reading: Matthew 7:1-12
‘Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgement you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbour, “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 neighbour’s eye.
‘Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.
‘Ask, and it will be given to 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.
Meditation: Jo Ann B. Jones
Is the question “Do not judge” helpful? We make judgments everyday despite these disclaimers, “it’s not for me to judge” or “to each to his/her own.” We would be in deep trouble and frequent danger if we did not make judgments about people, situations, and actions. In the face of this daily experience, the command “Do not judge” perpetuates a sense that the Bible is out of touch with everyday life and remote from daily living. It suggests Matthew in his Sermon on the Mount offers an impossible ethic.
Is it not patently ironic to command people not to judge? Doing so violates the command! Much of Jesus’ Sermon calls people to judge or discern about how they live in relation to God’s purposes. It clearly recognizes we make judgments daily by excluding a certain kind of judgment. What is of concern here is condemning someone to hell, particularly if one makes a continual practice of this. What is to be avoided is that we do not repeatedly condemn someone to hell. We are to rethink our approach to various situations involving other people: conflict, fear of outsiders, intolerance of difference, prejudice, disdain, anger, etc. In such situations, we are all too ready to write others off as beyond redemption, outside God’s grace, and consign them to hell. The command forbids our arrogance of denying mercy, even dignity, to another. We lose sight of that plea in that well know spiritual, “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me” For remember, that God’s love is distinct and unique in that it is spontaneous and unmotivated and intended for all, even those who are sinners and perhaps unworthy of love. While we often view ourselves as exceptions a more honest self-evaluation would prove otherwise. If we deny mercy to another, mercy will be denied to us. The more prudent and generous approach is to practice self-awareness and self-correction and self-discipline in our relationships with one another. We are called upon to be humble and more considerate in how we suggest correction of another and in how we address the responses of others in this exchange. As we know from workplace evaluations, for example, giving and receiving feedback can be perilous. Self-examination and self-correction cannot guarantee that another will receive correction. The feedback or correction can be rejected and trampled underfoot. swine). Counter-attacks can result.
Treating others as one would wish to be treated summarizes the human interactions envisioned throughout the Sermon. Those interactions are to be characterized and animated by mutuality, love and justice, not domination and enforced deference typical of many interactions in a hierarchical, competitive society. It’s generally fairly easy for us to identify the ways in which we need love to be expressed to us. But one’s menu is not one size fits all. To avoid the impulse to be self-serving, our attention must shift to the individual. This is paramount, for it is in that attention and response that we find our way to love that very person in front of us. That is truly the gift of love: to absent oneself from the expression in favor of the person we wish to love. We can only reach for what God can definitely provide.
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
