17.03.25 Belas Kasih Tanpa Batas: Jangan Menghakimi, Tapi Mengasihi

Monday 2nd week of Lent "Lk 6:36-38" Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. "Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back." Have you heard the story of the teacher in the college for 'Older Students'? This man loved asking questions about the things he had explained before in order to keep his students attentive in his lessons. "Let's see, you…the fellow in the corner," the teacher said. "When was Rome destroyed by fire?" "To be honest…" the unfortunate 'student' replied, taken by surprise, "I…don't remember." "Very well, then," the teacher insisted, "do you remember when Vesuvius wiped Pompeii off the map?" The man, visibly embarrassed, answered, "No idea, really." "This is quite disappointing," the annoyed teacher complained. "What about the destruction of Jerusalem?" "My mind is a blank right now," the poor man said. "May I know," the teacher asked in anger, "why did you come to my class?" The man produced a bulb from his pocket and replied shyly, "To change this bulb...I'm the caretaker." "Judge not, and you will not be judged"; since we never know everything about others, we are not in situation to judge anyone. You know the saying, 'Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes.' The truth is that walking a mile in someone else's shoes can give you an idea of what they feel. But even after a mile, you don't know anyone well enough to judge them. You should walk more than a mile, in his shoes, along the paths he walks, in the same weather, at the same time, in same company, stepping on the same footprints... yet still that wouldn't be enough; you should walk not just in his shoes but in his feet. Of course, that is impossible. That is why it is unwise to judge anyone, since our judgements are always flawed, unless you are either him - or God. God has given us a conscience to judge ourselves. No one can know better than myself when I haven't been generous with God (except God). Mary, my Mother, if you teach me to love everyone, I will always understand and help them to be holy, instead of wasting time and humility trying to judge them.