Jesus today tells us not to judge, not to condemn, to be people of mercy, to forgive (Lk 6: 36-38). Talk about counter-cultural. This instruction is about as opposite to what our society teaches as it is possible to be. Just brouse around the internet and it seems like we live in a world of judgers and condemnors. Mercy and forgiveness are in short supply. Lots of harshness and hate. We saw some of that on display in New Zealand last week-- hatred and judgment towards folks regarded as different, as "other," as somehow the cause of society's problems. We've seen the same thing here and we see it, to a lesser extent and with less violence, almost every day. Maybe people have always been like this. After all, Jesus wasn't preaching to people with the internet, yet He still needed to tell them not to judge, condemn, hate. Perhaps this is just the human condition, and it seems worse now because it is so immediate to us. Watch the movie "The Green Book" and you can see that hatred based on race is nothing new. Why does Jesus teach these things? It is because if we live that way we will be headed more closely in the direction of the Divine, Who is love, mercy, forgiveness, compassion, the One who does not judge harshly or condemn. After all, we are the ones who choose division from God-- that's not God's choice. Yes, of course, that's part of it. But we might also remember that we will all need forgiveness, mercy and compassion. We will face times when we want not to be judged or condemned. On a very practical level if we live as Jesus teaches when we are on the other end of the judgment/condemnation equation, things will be better for us if we haven't been so quick to judge and condemn others. Don't you suppose that part of the reason the fall-out from the abuse situation has been as harsh and judgmental as it has been is a result of the Church's history of being so judgmental, so quick to condemn, so lacking in mercy-- particularly in the area of sexual morality? I am reminded of the expression "what goes around, comes around." As a lawyer I would sometimes see younger lawyers with whom I was working get all exercised when the folks on the other side did something "wrong"-- didn't produce documents when they should, answered interrogatories in a less-than-forthcoming way, that sort of thing. The younger lawyer's instinct was to judge, condemn-- to make a motion to the court seeking sanctions and such because of the perceived failings of the other side. Almost-always my advice was not to do that. "We'll make mistakes too," I would say, "and then we'll be glad we didn't get too high up on our moral horse." What goes around, comes around. If we deal in judgment and condemnation, there will come a time when that is dealt to us. If we deal in mercy and forgiveness, we will receive that as well. Jesus always deals in "two-fers." Doing what He says leads us to heaven, for sure, but it also leads us to the best life here on earth as well.