Friday after the Fourth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on June 28, 2024 by under
Scripture: St. Luke 6:36-42 (NKJV)
6:36 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.
37 “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
39 And He spoke a parable to them: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher. 41 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye? 42 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.”
Devotion
There are two common problems when it comes to judgment. The first is when those who have no authority take it upon themselves to judge. The Father has committed all judgment to the Son (John 5:22). Our sinful nature is constantly trying to usurp Christ and play the judge. In some cases, Christ gives authority to men to judge in certain spheres (such as to the government, to parents, and to the pastoral office), but it is not our place to condemn our neighbor for his sins according to our own desires or reasoning.
The second problem is hypocrisy, when the one judging excuses himself for the same sin which he condemns someone else. Because of our sinful nature, we tend to be hyper-focused on the sins of others and completely oblivious to the seriousness of our own. It is consistently the case that we are guilty of the very sins that, when committed by others, aggravate us the most.
As a corrective to our hypocritical impulse, Christ directs our attention to the mercy of our heavenly Father. If anyone has the right to judge, He does. Yet He has had mercy upon us, forgives our sins, and wiped out the condemnation that was against us. When we remember and believe this, the Holy Spirit changes our attitude toward our neighbors so that we show them the same mercy and forgiveness that has been shown to us.
Collect: Grant, O Lord, we beseech Thee, that the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered by Thy governance, that Thy Church may joyfully serve Thee in all godly quietness; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
