Judge not!

This sermon was delivered on December 6, 2009 at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation (Blacksburg, VA), by the Reverend Christine Brownlie.

This sermon is based on a question that came from a member of our Congregation. She asked if Jesus’ command to not judge others (Matthew 7: 1–5) was meant to be a warning to avoid all judgments. If so, how could we live this way? My answer is based on the verses listed above and also on the story of the woman caught in the act of adultery, which can be found (in most translations) in John 8: 1–11. If you have a Revised Standard Version of the Bible, this story has probably been omitted for reasons that I mention in the sermon. I’d suggest that you follow the links given above and read those passages before you read the sermon.

There was a man who was caught in the web of adultery. Well, here we go again! Another celebrity athlete who had the whole world conned into thinking he was a good guy, take a fall! Oh Tiger, Tiger, Tiger... Whatever were you thinking? I guess that fancy trophy case, all those lucrative endorsements, and all that attention turned your head and led you right into the pit of sin. I guess when you get to be some kind of Sport’s GOD it just goes to your head. You guys get so arrogant — you think you’re above the rules! What kind of an example is this for the little boys and girls who look up to you? Well, Mr. Squeaky Clean, you’ve broken our hearts and we will never see you in the same way again.

These words, or similar words have probably run through the minds of many people as the sorry tale of Tiger Wood’s bad behavior is unfolding in the public eye. Mr. Woods, his wife, and the women who were his partners in this bad behavior are now the targets of America’s self-appointed commentators on the moral of others — even David Letterman, whose own history of bad behavior was the subject of public scrutiny not so very long ago. And in my humble opinion, this is judgmentalism at its finest.

I’m sure that somewhere in America, a sports writer is dusting off the family Bible and trying to recall where it is in the Christian scriptures that we have the famous quote from Jesus: “Judge not, lest you yourself be judged!” He or she may even recall that famous story about the woman, caught in adultery, that is brought before Jesus to be judged. He said something like, “Let he who is without sin among you cast the first stone.”

Strange words, confusing words. Whatever could they mean? Anything goes? Could it be that only God has the right and power to judge, and we’re supposed to put up with anything and everything? If so, then why do we hear so much about sin and damnation from Christians? What gives the Pope and other Christian leaders the right to condemn women who have abortions, same gender couples getting married, or the use of human genes in scientific research? Isn’t this judging others? And what about us liberals who smugly make harsh and judgmental statements about those afore-mentioned people and many others whose philosophy and values are different from our own?

How often do we look at someone and quickly whip out our book of labels and categories and act as if we know that person over there in the corner by the way they dress, or how they speak. or the religious view that they proclaim? Can we really throw the “first stone” or try to remove the speck from our friend’s eye when we have a log in our own eye?

Most of us would agree that making judgments and even being judgmental is an intrinsic aspect of human nature. I suspect that we would also agree that these tendencies are at the root of many of the problems we face in our world today. Just think of all of the prejudice and hatred that flows from the silly and dangerous fears of small-minded people who have the gall to believe that everyone ought to think and live according to their rules, as though they sat at God’s right hand and that they had some sort of divine mandate to go around judging and condemning others! The very nerve of these self-righteous, self-appointed hall monitors! Every time I run into one of these sanctimonious types, I just have to let them know that they’re narrow-minded, bigoted, and old-fashioned; they need to loosen up, expand their horizons, and get over their nonsense and think like me! (In case you are confused, I’m being sarcastic here.)

The reality — at least as far as I see it and you may disagree with me — is that most adults are pretty stuck in a set of assumptions, values, and beliefs that they live by and which are the ground for their preferences, their decisions, and the way they experience other people. We might agree that being judgmental is not helpful, but when we’re in that mode we either don’t recognize it, or we ignore it because we’re so sure we’re open-minded and accepting. And let’s be honest: there is something in expressing our distaste for someone in those judgmental words that can feel very good!

We may not be judgmental about the same things that our deeply committed Christian neighbor are, but we have not avoided this common and hard-to-recognize trait.

Let’s go back to Jesus’ injunctions about judging others. Was it his intention to forbid punishing murderers, thieves, and adulterer? I don’t think so. Jesus was very clear that he intended to uphold the law-every “jot and title.” But if his words seem confusing, his actions give us some clues to work with.

The Gospels tell us that Jesus preferred to hang out with the riff-raff of Jewish society; tax collectors, prostitutes, people who judged to be “unclean” according to Jewish law. His biggest quarrels were with those who were most concerned with following and enforcing the law: the High Priests and the Pharisees. Jesus’ biggest complaint about these powerful groups was that they were so concerned about following the letter of the law to such extremes that they forgot the value of compassion. He also didn’t like this idea that according to Jewish law, some people were designated as being “unclean” and therefore not really part of the community.

The story of the woman caught in adultery has to do with having compassion for the person who violates the law. If you want to read the whole account, you’ll find it in Gospel of John Chapter 8. Biblical scholars tell us that this beloved tale is a late addition to the gospel and probably not an authentic story. So why was it included? What is the lesson to be learned?

The guilty woman is brought before the crowd and treated in a way that is humiliating. The law regarding adultery was clear: this woman faced the punishment of death by stoning-a horrible, brutal death. (See Lev 20:10) Jesus understood the law, but he also knew that adultery was a common transgression, as it is today. Very likely some of the men who were screaming for this woman’s death had violated this command — and many others. Yet there they were, acting very holier-than-her, demanding that the required punishment be carried out.

Jesus, says, “OK let’s obey the law and stone her. But let’s be fair. Only those who have lived without transgression can be her executors.” And when the last man left, Jesus simply turned to the terrified woman and said, “Go and sin no more.”

We don’t know if she followed his injunction. But that’s not the point. I think that Jesus’ point was that when we make judgments about others, compassion and self-awareness must be part of the process of coming to a decision about how to respond to others and their ideas and beliefs and actions. We can’t assume that we know someone’s motives or intentions. We can’t let our emotions lead us to a conclusion about the person who has voiced opinions or taken actions that we find offensive. Like the crowd that was gathered to hear Jesus speak, when we’re so sure that someone missing the mark (the mark that we set) with their opinions, behaviors, and condemnations of others, we need to take a step back and examine our assumptions and our line of reasoning. Otherwise, we too risk becoming judgmental, close minded, and prejudiced.

This does not mean that we have to set aside our ability to engage in the hard work of making judgments. We must — and we do — make judgments all the time. If we didn’t, we couldn’t survive! One of the most frightening experience of my life happened when I talked myself into getting on an elevator in a NYC housing project with two young men. My “gut” said no, no, no! Wait for the next one! My head said, “prejudice — shame on you!” and I stepped into the car. As soon as we were between floors, one of them stopped the elevator and the other asked for my money and my watch. They then proceeded to the next floor and got off. I was shaken and angry with them. I was even angrier with myself for not distinguishing between judgments and being judgmental!

I found in a commentary on the verses from the Gospel of Matthew that helped me. The author, a Catholic scholar, writes

“ . . . In adult life we cannot escape the obligation to make some judgments, even on the moral character of others. Parents fiancés, employers, civil, judges church administrators, etc. all have this duty. Jesus’ teaching warns against usurping the definitive judgment of God, who alone sees the heart. By contrast, our judging must be tentative, partial, and inadequate. But wherever possible, we should try to mind our own business.”

We should mind our own business — yes. But we should also stand for justice in situations where the weak are being abused by those in power, whether it’s a Muslim woman receiving 100 lashes for wearing pants in public or a young child sold into slavery on a chocolate plantation, or a neighbor abusing his or her spouse or child. We have a moral duty to protect society from murderers, rapists, thieves, kidnappers, drunken drivers, embezzlers, arsonists, and other people who do harm to others. Such people must face judgment and punishment.

Certainly, compassion calls us to support those who are harmed as well as those who do harm to others, we must also recognize there are people who do not — and will never — respond to efforts to help them find a better way of life. The work of rehabilitation is not always effective. There are people who must be confined for life in order to protect society.

How can we learn to judge rightly?

We might begin this work by becoming less judgmental. We do this by divesting ourselves of the assumptions we hold about the people who annoy us, the people whose political and religious view offend us, and the people who we see as being “different” from ourselves because they are somehow unattractive. We should be wary of the favorable judgments that we make based on someone’s appearance, professional status, or the pricey stuff they own and like to show off. Favorable judgments can be just as false, and just as dangerous as negative judgments.

I’d like to return to my judgmental statement regarding Mr. Woods and replace it with my considered judgment of this messy situation. It is a very sad episode that has consequences for people far beyond the Woods family. Tiger Woods was wrong to deceive his wife and his family. He has violated one of the most sacred gifts that people can bestow on another: trust. I hope that he and his wife will consider their options carefully and look for whatever help they need to move into a better place than they are now. I hope that the commentators and the comics will move on, remembering that they too have sinned.

According to the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Jesus said,

“Judge not, so that you may not be judged! For with the judgment you make, you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.”

In other words, our best judgment, partnered with clear-eyed compassion, serves us all well and helps us create what Jesus called “The Kingdom of God” or as we Unitarian Universalists prefer, “The Beloved Community.”

May it be so!