Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

My brothers and sisters, show no partiality as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. For if a man with gold rings and fine clothes comes into your assembly, and a poor person in shabby clothes also comes in, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say, "Sit here, please, " while you say to the poor one, "Stand there, " or "Sit at my feet, " have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil designs?

The world will try to impress us in many ways. It will try to convince us we can treat people differently depending on their status. It will tell us we should show preference for one type of person over another. However, this is not what Jesus did in his life. He treated everyone the same, sinners and holy people, good and evil, rich and poor, male and female. He judged them not by their outward appearances, but by their inner spirit. He even went so far as to tell his disciples they needed to humble themselves and become servants if they wanted to follow in his footsteps. Jesus loved everyone he met completely and totally and we are all called to the same love, even of our enemies.

Have we let the world convince us some people are more or less worthy of our love? How can we become more Christ-like in how we treat others? What can we do to avoid becoming judgmental?

O Lord, you are the one and only judge.

Amen.