• >
  • At the Wellspring of Faith >
  • Meditations and Reflections >
  • Questions on the Bible and the Christian Faith >
  • Judgment: Why did Jesus tell his disciples not to judge?
  English
  • Community
  • At the Wellspring of Faith
  • Coming to Taizé
  • Around the World


 
  • Prayer
    • Prayers by Brother Alois
      • Daily Prayers by Brother Alois
      • Prayers by brother Alois 2015-2016
      • Easter 2017: Prayer by Brother Alois
    • Bible readings for each day
    • Prayer for Each Day
    • Prayer intentions
    • Podcasts
    • Young adults and prayer at Taizé
    • The value of silence
    • How to prepare a prayer service
      • Preparing a time of prayer
      • Prayer Vigil for the Care of Creation
      • Preparing a welcoming space for a meditative prayer
      • Icons in worship
  • Songs
    • Meditative singing
    • Learning the songs
  • Meditations and Reflections
    • A Way of the Gospel at St Stephen’s Source
    • “A very simple reality”
    • Feeling that we are not alone can strengthen our hope
    • Brotherhood begins by listening to others
    • Short meditation of the day
    • Commented Bible Passages
    • Questions on the Bible and the Christian Faith
      • Baptism
      • Children: What does it mean to “welcome God’s kingdom like a child”?
      • The Mystery of Christmas
      • The Church
      • Church and State: What does the Bible tell us about the attitude of believers towards the wider society?
      • The commandments
      • The Cosmos: The Cosmos: What is the place of human beings in the universe?
      • The Cross
      • Death: What enables us to say that Jesus died “for us”?
      • Dialogue: Religions and The Gospel
      • Eucharist
      • The Eucharist Seen by a Christian of the Second Century
      • What does it mean to evangelize?
      • Faith
      • Faith: How does the New Testament speak about faith?
      • Faith: What Is Distinctive About the Christian Faith?
      • Fear of the Lord
      • Forgiveness: If Jesus knew that Judas was going to betray him, why did he keep him in the circle of his close companions until the end?
      • Forgiveness: Does forgiving mean forgetting?
      • Freedom: Am I still free if I obey a call from Christ?
      • Freedom: Is everything that happens decided by God in advance?
      • Happiness: Do we have the right to be happy when others are suffering?
      • Hell: Must a Christian believe in the existence of hell?
      • Christian hope
      • Judgment: Why did Jesus tell his disciples not to judge?
      • Love of enemies
      • Mercy
      • Mercy: If God is merciful, why does the Bible contain threats?
      • God’s presence: If God is present in everyone, what does faith add?
      • Reconciliation: What are the presuppositions for a true dialogue between Christians of different confessions?
      • Reconciliation: How can we bring together diversity and reconciliation?
      • Sin: Should we regret our sins?
      • The suffering of the innocent
      • Are the differences between Christians a problem or an asset?
      • The world : Can we really make the world better?
    • Portraits of witnesses to Christ
      • Saint Irenaeus of Lyons
      • Mother Teresa
      • Saint John Chrysostom (344 – 407): an astonishing modernity
      • Saint Augustine (354-430)
      • The Relevance of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945)
      • A Path of Reconciliation : Brother Roger
      • Jeremiah
      • Dorotheus of Gaza (Sixth Century) Humility and Communion
      • Franz Stock (1904-1948), a Life Given for Reconciliation
      • Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955): Taking the World Seriously
      • A prophet who comforts (Isaiah 40–55)
    • Short Writings from Taizé
      • 1. I Believe; Help My Unbelief
      • 2. Saved by the Cross of Christ?
      • 3. What Is Distinctive About the Christian Faith?
      • 4. Dialogue and Sharing with Believers of Other Religions
      • 5. Thrice Holy God
      • 6. Do We Need the Church?
      • 7. The Eucharist and the Early Christians
      • 8. It Is the Word That Is the Bread of Silence
      • 9. The Two Faces of the Cross
      • 10. Brother Roger, Founder of Taizé
      • 11. Blessed in Our Human Frailty
      • 12. Easter Voices
      • 13. Is Christ Divided?
      • 14. Pleasure, Happiness, Joy
      • 15. “Rooted and Built Up in Christ”
      • 16. Icons
      • 17. “Make the Unity of Christ’s Body Your Passionate Concern”
      • 18. “I Have Come That They May Have Life”
      • 19. The Rainbow After The Flood
      • 20. Does the Book of Revelation have something to say to us today?
      • 21. Toward God, in God
      • 22. Voices from the Beginning
      • 23. Should We Fear God?
      • 24. Unfailing Faith
      • 25. “Go, I am with you”
    • Weekly Meditations by Brother Alois
      • The Church of Reconciliation at 50
      • Christ brings us together beyond all borders
      • The Risen Christ Makes Us Passionate Seekers of Communion
      • The Wellspring of Hope
      • Visits to Keep Alive a Flame of Hope
      • Prayer with the Lakota in South Dakota
      • God’s Love, Source of Human Solidarity
      • The Courage to Be Peacemakers
      • In Memory of Brother Roger
      • In Communion with Eastern Christians
      • Christ is our hope, he is alive
      • When we share God gives us the joy of living
      • Close to Wounded Humanity
      • Promoting Universal Friendship
      • Committing Your Entire Life
      • Let us be peacemakers wherever we live
      • All of us can plant seeds of unity
      • A little parable of this universality of God’s love
      • By welcoming refugees, we receive more than we give
      • Looking towards the Light of Christ
      • Trust in God’s love was at the heart of Brother Roger’s life
      • The goodness of God will have the last word
      • Easter 2017 / Meditation by Brother Alois: Witnesses to the Risen Christ
      • Ascension 2017 / Meditation by Brother Alois: Let us set off toward new horizons
      • Find a source of hope
      • Stand firm in hope
      • Looking towards the light of the transfigured Christ
      • Simplify our lives in order to share
      • The friendship of Christ for each and every one of us
      • Allow friendship to grow in order to prepare peace
      • The Bible is the story of God’s faithfulness
      • Christ calls us to be, together, a sign of his peace among humans
      • Widening Our Friendship
      • Going together to the wellsprings of joy
      • Lent: Singing the Joy of Forgiveness
      • Easter 2019: Let the Joy of the Resurrection Spring Up!
      • Pentecost 2019: Make sure that Taizé remains a place of trust
      • The Joyful Radicalism of Saint Francis of Assisi
      • The Earth Is a Precious Gift of God
      • Christ Is Our Peace
      • Responsible for our wonderful planet
      • To Bring Everything to Light
    • Letter for the year
      • Brother Alois 2019: Let us not forget hospitality!
      • Brother Alois 2018: Inexhaustible Joy
      • Brother Alois 2017: Together, Opening Paths of Hope
      • Brother Alois 2017: A Call to Church Leaders for 2017
      • Brother Alois 2017: Towards the Unity of the European Continent
      • Brother Alois 2016: The Courage of Mercy
      • Taizé 2015
      • Brother Alois 2012-2015: Towards a New Solidarity
      • Brother Alois 2015: Four proposals in order to be “salt of the earth”.
      • Brother Alois 2014: Four Proposals for “seeking visible communion among all who love Christ”
      • Brother Alois 2013: Four Proposals to Uncover the Wellsprings of Trust in God
      • Brother Alois 2011: Letter from Chile
      • Brother Alois 2010: Letter from China
      • Brother Alois 2009: Letter from Kenya
      • For an open Europe, a land of solidarity
      • Brother Alois 2008: Letter from Cochabamba
      • Brother Alois: Letter to those who want to follow Christ
      • Brother Alois: A call for the reconciliation of Christians
      • Brother Alois 2007: Letter from Kolkata
      • 2006: Brother Roger’s unfinished letter
      • Brother Roger 2005: A future of peace
    • Letter from Taizé: Testimonies
      • Sharing what we have
      • What are you doing with your freedom?
      • For a Fraternal World
      • Opting for Joy
      • Unlimited Compassion
      • Desire for Forgiveness
    • Towards a new solidarity
      • "Towards a new solidarity": 2012-2015: Three Years of Searching
      • Reflection Group "Towards a New Solidarity": In Taizé, reflecting more deeply with young people
      • Themes
        • Leaping Over Walls of Separation
        • Solidarity with All Creation
        • Indignation, Passivity or Commitment
        • Peace to Those Who Are Near
      • Listening to young people...
        • Listening to the Young People of Asia
        • Listening to the Young People of Europe
        • Towards a new solidarity: Listening to the Youth of America
        • Listening to young people from Oceania
 

Judgment: Why did Jesus tell his disciples not to judge?

“Judge not, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37). Is it possible to put this Gospel saying into practice? Do we not have to judge, if we do not want to give up trying to change what is not right? But this invitation of Jesus penetrated deep into people’s hearts. The apostles James and Paul, different in so many ways, echo it using almost the same words. James writes, “Who are you to judge your neighbour?” (James 4:12). And Paul: “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?” (Romans 14:4).

Neither Jesus nor his apostles wished to abolish law courts. Their maxim concerns daily life. Although the followers of Christ have made the choice to love, they still keep on doing things that are wrong, and this has more or less serious consequences. The spontaneous reaction is then to judge those who, by their negligence, weaknesses or oversights, cause harm or setbacks. We can of course come up with many excellent reasons to judge our neighbours: it is for their own good, so that they may learn and make progress….

Jesus knows the human heart, and he is not taken in by the most hidden motivations. He said, “What are you looking at the straw in your brother’s eye for? And the beam in your own eye, do you not notice it?” (Luke 6:41). I can use the faults of others to reassure myself of my own worth. The reasons to judge my neighbour flatter my self-love (see Luke 18:9-14). But if I am on the lookout for my neighbour’s smallest mistake, is this not a way of keeping me from facing my own problems? The thousand and one faults that I find in him do not yet prove that I am worth more than him. The harshness of my judgment may only be hiding my own insecurity and fear of being judged.

On two occasions, Jesus spoke of an “unhealthy” or “evil” eye (Matthew 6:23 and 20:15). He was referring to looking at others with jealousy. An unhealthy eye admires, envies and judges one’s neighbour all at the same time. When I admire my neighbours for their good points but at the same time am jealous of them, my eye becomes evil. I no longer see reality as it is, and I may even judge someone for an imaginary wrong that he or she has never done.

A desire to dominate can also cause someone to judge. That is why, in the passage already quoted, Paul writes, “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?” Whoever judges their neighbour makes themselves his or her master, and in so doing takes the place of God. We are called instead to “consider others superior to us” (Philippians 2:3). This does not mean putting oneself down, but serving others instead of judging them.

Does refusing to judge others lead to indifference and passivity?

In one and the same phrase, the apostle Paul uses the word judge with two different meanings: “We should stop judging one another; judge rather that you should not put anything before your brother or sister to make them stumble or fall” (Romans 14:13). Ceasing to judge one another does not lead to passivity; it is a precondition for acting and behaving justly.

Jesus does not advise us to shut our eyes and stop trying. Immediately after telling us not to judge, he continues, “Can a blind person be the guide of another blind person? Will not they both fall into a pit?” (Luke 6:39). Jesus wants blind people to be helped to find their way. But he criticizes incompetent guides. These guides, who are a bit ridiculous, are according to the context people who judge and condemn. Without refusing to judge, it is impossible to see clearly and to help others find the right road.

Here is an example drawn from the correspondence of Barsanuphius and John, two monks of Gaza in the sixth century. After having reprimanded a brother for his negligence, John was sorry to see how dejected he was. He is hurt again when, in his turn, he feels that his brothers are judging him. To remain serene, he then decides no longer to criticize anyone else, but simply to take care of the things for which he alone is responsible. But Barsanuphius makes him see that Christ’s peace does not mean withdrawing into oneself. He quotes some words of Saint Paul to him several times: “Correct, rebuke and encourage with tireless patience and the concern to instruct” (2 Timothy 4:2).

Leaving others alone can be yet another subtle way of judging them. If I only want to worry about myself, could it not be that I do not consider others worthy of my attention and my efforts? John of Gaza decides not to correct any of his brothers any longer, but Barsanuphius realizes that, in fact, he is still judging them in his heart. He writes to him, “Do not judge or condemn anyone, but admonish them like true brothers” (Letter 21). John will become able truly to be concerned with others when he stops judging them.

“Do not make any premature judgments; wait for the Lord to come” (1 Corinthians 4:5). Paul recommends great restraint in judging. At the same time, he appeals to those to whom he writes to take care of one another: “Admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, assist the weak; be patient with everybody” (1 Thessalonians 5:14). By experience, he knew that reprimanding without judging could be costly: “For three years, night and day, I did not cease admonishing each one of you” (Acts 20:31). Only charity can accomplish this kind of service.

Last updated: 17 October 2006

Daily Bible Reading

Sat, 14 December
Peter writes: Once you were not a people at all, and now you are the people of God.
1 Peter 2:4-10
more...

For the Diary

 Search events

Podcasts

2019-12-12 : Espère en Dieu + Psalms 90 / Mt 3,13-17 / Bogoroditse Dievo II / Prayer by Brother Alois / C’est toi ma lampe
IMG/mp3/podcast_2019-12-12.mp3
12 December 2019
2019-12-05 : Espère en Dieu + Psalms 80 / Eph 2:19-22 / Wait for the Lord / Notre père / Prayer by Brother Alois / Nimm alles von mir
IMG/mp3/podcast_2019-12-05.mp3
5 December 2019
more...

New CD: «LAUDAMUS TE»


Community

  • Some Recent News
  • Visit of Patriarch Bartholomew to Taizé
  • Vocation and History
  • Brother Roger, Founder of Taizé
  • Other people on Taizé
  • Brothers living in other places
  • The Brothers’ Work
  • Solidarity: Operation Hope
  • Anniversaries 2015: Towards a new solidarity

At the Wellspring of Faith

  • Prayer
  • Songs
  • Meditations and Reflections

Coming to Taizé

  • Youth Meetings
  • Specific information for 2019
  • Specific information for 2020
  • Travel to Taizé
  • UK School & College Weeks
  • UK University Weeks
  • Testimonies by young adults
  • Multimedia
  • Some Recent News

Around the World

  • Small Provisional Communities
  • Africa
  • Americas
  • Asia Pacific
  • Europe
  • Middle East

Copyright © Ateliers et Presses de Taizé

This website

[ top | Sitemap | Home]

  • Contact
  • Times of prayers at Taizé
  • News by email