Fifth Tuesday of Ordinary Time

“Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?”  He responded, “Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts. You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”

Although we might not be Pharisees, sometimes we act like them in our dealings with others. We fall into the temptation to see only the faults in others, to notice the differences between us and them, and to even believe we are better than this person or that person. However, Jesus does not teach us to judge others. That is not what we are called to do in this world. Instead, God calls us to be bearers of His Love, Mercy, and Grace to our brothers and sisters. We are all flawed or broken by sin and so we should not be so quick to judge others. Rather, we should seek to know, love, and serve them as Jesus would if he was standing in our place.

Do we judge others? What can we do to remind ourselves that we are not called to be judges, but rather to be messengers of God’s Providence? Do we recognize our own faults so that we can more easily forgive those who trespass against us?

O Lord, bring our hearts closer to you.

Amen.