As preached by Sister Rebecca
Holy Wisdom Chapel
Today’s Gospel is a continuation of Jesus’ sermon on the mount, which begins with his teaching his disciples the Beatitudes, the source of true joy no matter what situation one encounters in life.
I would like to begin exploring with you the imperative: do not judge. The judging Jesus is referring to here is ego-centric judging. It is not the judging that is necessary in life. He is speaking of judgment as a means of control, not a means of looking for the truth. It is a means of defending our small self by categorizing people; our thought pattern makes them into objects: “So and so is (fill in the blanks)_____” instead of seeing them as living persons. We can do the same thing to ourselves—disliking or condemning ourselves in the same way. At times this kind of thinking can be like a run-away train: there is incredible energy and speed, but no one is at the engine. Or the proverbial hamster running top speed in circles but going nowhere. This type of judgment is not of God and not of our true nature. It does not lead to deeper insight and compassion. It is another way of eating the tree of knowledge of good and evil. We know the story in Genesis, where the eating of this fruit is a metaphor for a familiar human condition—a condition of division, not only from one another, but also deep within our own selves.
However, an essential form of judgment is discernment: “This is what God is calling me to, or this is not what God is calling me to.” We need to make judgments. We also need to be aware of what is going on within ourselves. We need to discern: are we trying to control or to justify or validate ourselves or others? If so, we are not really looking for the truth.
Today’s Gospel calls us to self-knowledge: to go deeper and bring to light what is behind our judgmental attitudes, undermining others, (or ourselves) out of fear, prejudice, self hatred, denial of our shadow. Even Carl Jung referred to Jesus’ transforming initiative: “Take the log out of your own eye” meaning: own your own shadow. However, Jesus adds: “do not throw your pearls in front of pigs, or they may trample them.” This sounds like a harsh statement. The metaphor points to a lack of discernment, when we might share our inner work with those who are not ready for it, either psychically or spiritually. It can actually do people harm-their souls are not ready for it. Jesus seems to be speaking from experience. There is a place for timing, patience, solitude, silence, and quiet growth.
Jesus then urges his disciples to go to transformative prayer: “Ask and it will be given to you, search and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you.” He moves us from the temptation to anger, blame, and making ourselves or the other a victim. When we go to the heart, to soul space, the liminal space of encounter with Divine Wisdom, we see the real “demons,” the sources of bondage, the real things that are binding us. This inner space is a bridge between the mind and the heart. In our tradition we hear so often of contemplative prayer as being mind in heart. The small mind needs to descend into the heart.
This requires silence. Both Sr. Cecelia and Br. Stavros spoke of this in their past two homilies. In inner contemplative practice we learn to cultivate a witness-presence which allows us to see from the “whole to the parts,” from fragmented consciousness to intuiting the spacious wisdom vision. This is the space where we taste and see that the Lord is good. This life is Good and Beautiful.
The negative judging mind and attitudes divide us from our heart’s deepest longing for coming home: for soul connectedness. Once we pierce the mystery we realize that any seeming division is an unfortunate illusion. Then life changes radically. Trees start shining; we notice God’s fingerprints everywhere. And this brings such lasting joy.” (R. Rohr) And so now we may circle back to the beginning, to the Beatitudes, which end: “rejoice and be exceedingly joyful.”
I’d like to end with a well-known quote from T.S. Eliot:
“We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.”
Resources:
Sermon on the Mount (Gospel according to Matthew), Soul Work for Men by Richard Rohr, and “Contemplative Practice and Rewiring the Heart–Brain” by Cynthia Bourgeault.
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