Jesus has given us clear guidelines to avoid falling into hypocrisy: do not judge others, lest we ourselves be judged by the same standard; and when we are tempted to do so, it is better to look in the mirror first, not to hide behind make-up, but to see clearly who we really are. Recalling that the only true judgement is that of God in his mercy, Pope Francis — during Mass celebrated on Monday morning, 20 June, in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta — urged us not to give in to the temptation to put ourselves in the Lord’s place, doubting his word.
‘Jesus speaks to people and teaches many things about prayer, about riches, about vain worries—so many of them—and about how his disciples should behave,’ said Francis. And so ‘we come to this passage of the Gospel on judgement’, proposed by the liturgy (Matthew 7:1–5). It is a passage in which ‘the Lord is very concrete’. For whilst “sometimes the Lord tells us a parable to help us understand, here it is: ‘ta, ta, ta’: direct, because judgement is something only he can do”.
“It begins” with a clear word from Jesus: “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged”. So, “if you do not want to be judged, do not judge others: ‘tac, tac’, clear.” And the Lord “goes a step further”, pointing precisely to the criterion of measure: “For with the judgement with which you judge, you will be judged, and with the measure with which you measure, it will be measured to you.”
“We all want, on the Day of Judgement, for the Lord to look upon us with kindness, for the Lord to forget the many bad things we have done in life,” said Francis. And “this is right, because we are children, and a child always expects this from his father.” But “if you constantly judge others, you will be judged by the same measure: this is clear.”
“First, the commandment, the fact: ‘Do not judge, so that you may not be judged’,” the Pope reiterated, adding: “Second, the measure will be the same as that which you use for your brothers and sisters.” And then “the third step: look in the mirror, but not to put on make-up so that your wrinkles aren’t seen; no, no, no, that’s not the advice!” Rather, Francis suggested, “look in the mirror to look at yourself, just as you are.” Jesus’ words are clear: “Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye and not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” when there is a log in your own eye?’”
“How does the Lord describe us,” the Pontiff asked, “when we do this? One word: ‘Hypocrite, first remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye’.” In reality, the Lord’s reaction should come as no surprise: “He gets angry; it is very strong, and it even seems as though he is insulting us: he calls those who judge others ‘hypocrites’.”
The reason is that “those who judge,” the Pope explained, “put themselves in God’s place, make themselves God, and doubt the word of God.” It is precisely “what the serpent persuaded our forefathers to do: ‘No, no, God is a liar; if you eat of this, you will be like him.’ And they wanted to put themselves in God’s place.”
For this reason, the Pontiff insisted, “it is so wrong to judge: judgement belongs to God alone, to him alone!” It is rather our duty to show “love, understanding, and to pray for others when we see things that are not good”, and if necessary “even to speak to them” to warn them if something does not seem to be going the right way. In any case, “never judge, never”, because “if we judge, it is hypocrisy”.
After all, Francis stated, “when we judge, we put ourselves in God’s place; this is true, but our judgement is a poor judgement: it can never, ever be a true judgement”. Because, precisely, “true judgement is that which God gives”. And “why can’t ours be like God’s? Because God is almighty and we are not? No, because our judgement lacks mercy”. And “when God judges, he judges with mercy”.
In conclusion, the Pope suggested reflecting “today on what the Lord tells us: do not judge, lest you be judged; the measure by which we judge will be the same one used against us; and, thirdly, let us look in the mirror before judging’. And so when we feel like saying: ‘she does this, he does that’, it is better to look in the mirror before speaking. Otherwise ‘I will be a hypocrite — Francis repeated — because I am putting myself in God’s place’. And in any case, “my judgement is a poor judgement: it lacks something so important that God’s judgement possesses, it lacks mercy”. The Lord, the Pope hoped, “will help us to understand these things clearly”.
[Pope Francis, homily at Santa Marta, in L’Osservatore Romano, 20 June 2016]