Stop Judging

JUNE 20, 2022, MONDAY
Monday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time (Green)
CYCLE C - YEAR II
Lectionary: 371

Reading I
2 Kgs 17:5-8, 13-15a, 18

Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, occupied the whole land

and attacked Samaria, which he besieged for three years.

In the ninth year of Hoshea, king of Israel

the king of Assyria took Samaria,

and deported the children of Israel to Assyria,

setting them in Halah, at the Habor, a river of Gozan,

and the cities of the Medes.

This came about because the children of Israel sinned against the LORD,

their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt,

from under the domination of Pharaoh, king of Egypt,

and because they venerated other gods.

They followed the rites of the nations

whom the Lord had cleared out of the way of the children of Israel

and the kings of Israel whom they set up.

And though the LORD warned Israel and Judah

by every prophet and seer,

“Give up your evil ways and keep my commandments and statutes,

in accordance with the entire law which I enjoined on your fathers

and which I sent you by my servants the prophets,”

they did not listen, but were as stiff-necked as their fathers,

who had not believed in the LORD, their God.

They rejected his statutes,

the covenant which he had made with their fathers,

and the warnings which he had given them, till,

in his great anger against Israel,

the LORD put them away out of his sight.

Only the tribe of Judah was left.

Responsorial Psalm
60:3, 4-5, 12-13

R. (7b) Help us with your right hand, O Lord, and answer us.

O God, you have rejected us and broken our defenses;

you have been angry; rally us!

R. Help us with your right hand, O Lord, and answer us.

You have rocked the country and split it open;

repair the cracks in it, for it is tottering.

You have made your people feel hardships;

you have given us stupefying wine.

R. Help us with your right hand, O Lord, and answer us.

Have not you, O God, rejected us,

so that you go not forth, O God, with our armies?

Give us aid against the foe,

for worthless is the help of men.

R. Help us with your right hand, O Lord, and answer us.

Alleluia
Heb 4:12

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

The word of God is living and effective,

able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel
Mt 7:1-5

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Stop judging, that you may not be judged.

For as you judge, so will you be judged,

and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.

Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye,

but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?

How can you say to your brother,

‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’

while the wooden beam is in your eye?

You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first;

then you will see clearly

to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.”

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

Arrogance can make us believe that we are morally superior to others and can act as judges over them. As Jesus' imagery suggests it is all too easy to see others' faults and remain blind to our own. Becoming obsessed with a small failing in another person can distract us from being aware of a much greater shortcoming in ourselves.

PRAYER:

Lord, it is not easy always to think the best of other people, though I know I should. Newspaper headlines are pointing the finger of blame every day; they see the speck in every neighbor's eye, and urge me to judge, denounce and sue for damages. But I never know enough of the story to form a proper judgment on anyone. I would rather leave judgment to God, and try to be godlike in thinking well of my fellows.