But Jesus, I Know Best!

 In the Bread of Life Discourse in the Gospel of John, (John 6:37) Jesus said:

"Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,
and I will not reject anyone who comes to me,
because I came down from heaven not to do my own will
but the will of the one who sent me."

I was thinking about this in light of how everyone is always fighting about whether this person or that person should be allowed to receive Holy Communion, not to mention a bunch of other things.

It seems to be that we are a bit tougher than Jesus when it comes to judging each other and deciding who's in and who's out.

Why is that?

I think it is because in our human state, we have pieces of our humanity buried in our judgments.  We get jealous.  We can be self-righteous.  And too often we claim superiority, or absolute knowledge when it comes to what God would or would not do.

We need to be super careful about doing this; it is very dangerous. A good dose of humility before God might be helpful in correcting our arrogance.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 16, verse 23, Jesus said:

"You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do." (Jesus said this to Peter when Peter rebuked him because Jesus told him that he (Jesus) was going to be killed and raised on the third day.)

In Chapter 23 of Matthew's gospel, verse 4, when speaking of the Pharisees, Jesus warns:

"They tie up heavy burdens [hard to carry] and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. "

My point is, if you have taken up the practice of a daily examination of your conscience, be sure to include in it an evaluation of whether you have become like the pharisees.  Have you ever talked (or thought) as if you know more, or better than others?  Have you ever put burdens on others that, when carefully examined, are of your own making?  Do you judge others based on your own thoughts, beliefs and practices?

I suspect Jesus knew that in our humanity, we are prone to poking at people who think, act, believe or talk different from us.  If you discover in yourself that you are tempted to do this, try to catch yourself at it and lighten up.  I find it always helps to remember that God did not put me in charge of everyone else.

If we could just work on loving each other and leaving the judging to God, we would find ourselves experiencing the great freedom that comes from being in union with God.

Janet Cassidy
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