Why Do You Not Judge For Yourselves What Is Right?
by Deacon Bob's Blog
We're usually pretty good at applying objective judgment to situations outside ourselves. In today's Gospel (Lk 12: 54-59) Jesus makes that point, talking about the ability of people accurately to observe signs and predict the weather (ok, sometimes it seems like we've lost those skills, but that topic is for another day). But, Jesus says to the crowd, you don't apply the same kind of thinking to your own situation. The example He gives there is the fact that people do not settle disputes which they should settle, sometimes ending up in court and getting a result which surprises and disappoints them. Having been a lawyer handling commercial disputes for 44 years, I can tell you that Jesus is right. People often don't settle cases which they should settle, with disasterous results. So what, you might say. We all know that people can do silly, stupid things. What's the point? I don't think Jesus is speaking to litigants and trying to encourage mediations and settlements-- He's using that situation as an example, and I think He has two things in mind: 1. Jesus is trying to get us to be more self-reflective, to examine our lives and our activities more often and more honestly. We know all about things like the weather because we've watched it and learned. But, Jesus seems to be saying, have we applied that same process to ourselves? Do we attempt to understand ourselves? Do we examine our lives? Do we even try to discern what matters to us or what motivates our actions? Perhaps even more to the point, do we look around ourselves for spiritual signs-- for signs that we are headed in the direction of the Divine, or in the opposite direction? Do we even know how to look for signs of the Divine? Obviously the folks in Jesus' time didn't, Jesus is suggesting, because He is right in front of them and they don't see that; and 2. It is really difficult for us to see and understand ourselves, and sometimes it takes someone on the outside, someone who can be more impartial (which is the case with us when we're looking at something like the weather) to see what we're doing and interpret the signs for us. That's why having good, spiritually-solid friends matters so much. We have trouble interpreting the signs in our own lives as well as we can interpret the signs of the weather. We're too close to our own signs, and don't have the critical distance we need. We have a vested interest in seeing signs a particular way, and that skews our reasoning. One of the most valuable things a lawyer can do is persuade a client to settle. Often the client is so convinced that he or she is right, and so stuck in anger or disappointment, that the client can't see the signs. A good lawyer can lay the situation out in an acurate way, and help the client get past emotion and self-justification so that the client can get to the right place. A good friend, or a spiritual advisor, can do the same sort of thing, and sometimes we need that. We have trouble judging things for ourselves correctly. Sure, prayer helps, and we should seek God's assistance. But God does act through others who are put in our lives to fill in those places where our own reasoning is lacking. So we might keep those points in mind-- work as hard as we can on beingself-reflective and seeing the signs the Holy Spirit puts before us. They are there, if we are open to seeing them. Beyond that, don't be too proud to call for help-- from friends or professionals-- when you have trouble seeing the signs. We can all need that sort of help from time to time.