Judge Not, lest you be judged/A reflection for the fourth Sunday of Lent

Fourth Sunday of Lent Reflection
Based on the Gospel of Luke 15:1-32
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry


The reading for the fourth Sunday of Lent being used by some of the western Catholic churches is one that gives two very important messages to us concerning Christ’s purpose and message from His Father, Almighty God. The first message is to be found in the opening passage of the reading. “The tax collectors and the sinners, meanwhile, were all seeking his company to hear what he had to say, and the Pharisees and the scribes complained. ‘This man’ they said ‘welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Here is quite clear who Christ wanted to speak to and who he thought He did not have to be concerned over what they thought. The Jewish leaders were concerned that Christ freely welcomed the sinners that they had cast out into His presence and even went further sitting down to break bread with them. Christ’s actions in doing this were completely opposite what the laws of the Jewish faith called for and were part of the reason they used to crucify Christ when they brought Him to trial.
Today, we find the Roman and other Christian churches acting in the same way as the scribes and Pharisees. They are rejecting people because they have been divorced or because God created with a sexual orientation towards people of their own sex and condemning them just as the Scribes and Pharisees did to those who they considered unclean.
If it was good enough for Christ to sit down and eat with those rejected by the Jewish religious leaders of the time why is it not good enough for us to minister to those people the others have rejected? Are not all the world’s people children of God? Are we not, as ordained ministers of God, called to act as Christ did and be His instrument here on earth? We need to follow the teachings of Christ and do as He stated in Matthew 9:13 “For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
The same teaching can be found in Mark 2:17 “I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” and again in John 12:47 “I will not judge those who hear me but don’t obey me, for I have come to save the world and not to judge it”. It is not our place make judgments against God’s children, that is God’s exclusive domain, but we are here to teach and council and lead all toward God. We are here to proclaim the teachings of Christ and of salvation to everyone especially those who have been rejected just as the Scribes and Pharisees did to those Christ choose teach.

The Gospel then relates the parable of the two sons whose father divided their inheritance. The one son went and squandered his, just as so many of us squander the gifts God has given us, and then returned to be feasted and welcomed with celebration. He approaches his father with these words; “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it; we are going to have a feast, a celebration, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.”
Could this message be any clearer? God will rejoice and welcome everyone no matter what they may have done wrong, with open arms if they but ask His forgiveness.
So many people today are like the other son who remained with his father and tended the fathers business. The faithful son became upset and angry that the father welcomed this wayward son with such rejoicing and confronted his father to which the father replied; “My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.”
The message of this Gospel is very clear, Almighty God does not reject anyone who desire to be with Him and asks Him for forgiveness for any sin they may have committed. Neither should any church that proclaims to adhere to the teachings of Christ reject anyone who desire to be active within the church and partake of the graces of the Sacraments.
" He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." (John 8:7 ) These words need to resound in our hearts and minds at all times when we decide that we are in a position of making judgments against someone. There is not a person on earth or in heaven for that matter, except of course Jesus, Almighty God and Our Beloved Mother Mary, who did not commit a sin. If the truth be told and according to the writing we have from many who became saints, they all admitted they were sinners. St. Paul, the greatest of Evangelists, persecuted and ordered Followers of Christ to be killed before he saw the light of Christ’s truth. St. Ignatius, St. Francis of Assisi and even Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta spoke of their sinfulness.
God rejects no one who returns to Him. God loves all His children, He loves them as He created them and only asks that they respect themselves and others and return their love to Him.
When churches, that claim to teach and follow the message of Christ, drive people away by their rules and regulations and reject people because they mad a mistake and got divorced but still want to love and serve God they are not fulfilling Christ’s teachings.
When Churches inflict pain and suffering by allowing their ministers to abuse children and still remain in service to the church, They have failed God.
When churches would rather spend billions on fancy garments and elaborate buildings than feed the poor and care for the needy and sick, they are not following the teachings of Christ that they proclaim from their pulpits and therefore they are like the Scribes and Pharisees who Christ said this about in Matthew 23:15 - 33.
“ For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers! "You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. (this last line might give you pause to think about the fate of Pope John Paul 1)
During this fourth week of Lent let us meditate and reflect on how we are doing in serving Almighty God and Christ teachings and if we are guilty of acting like the Scribes and Pharisees or are we being true to the teachings of Christ.
May Almighty God, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, open our heart, mind, and eyes to His truth and assist us in living according to His will. AMEN