"Logs and Specks"	July 11, 2010
Psalm 9: 1-10, Matthew 7: 1-5	15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Colesville Presbyterian Church	Rev. Ken Eimer, Pastor (Interim)

If we’re honest, we’d probably admit that one of the greater pleasures in life is watching people get what’s coming to them. As one writer put it, “You loved it when your mom stuck it to your brother, when your teacher yelled at the class bully, and when your camp counselor tore in to troublemakers; we love it when a policeman pulls over the car that just passed us at a recklessly high rate of speed.” 

 

One of the best places today for catching tongue-lashing lectures about right and wrong are the benches of the lower court judges, which may explain the success of Judy Sheindlin. A former New York City family-court judge, Sheindlin now stars as "Judge Judy,” hosting one of the most popular television shows in syndication. But Judy’s not the only ‘tell it like it is” officer of the court. There’s Joe Brown, the pulpit-pounding judge from Memphis, Tennessee and Judge Marilyn Milian on People’s Court, the first Latina judge to host a nationally syndicated show of this kind.    

 

How do we reconcile the law and order approach of Judge Judy, and her bombastic buddies on the bench, while practicing tolerance, acceptance and forgiveness in our schools, workplaces and churches?[1] Jesus had some harsh words to say about judgment too: “Do not judge 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.”

 

What kind of judging is Jesus talking about and how can his words about judgment help us be more flexible in thought and deed?

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On one hand, judging is inevitable and necessary. If you teach, you’re obligated to judge a student’s ability to grasp a range of subject matter. If you’re a psychologist, you assess (or judge) a client’s cognitive capacity through testing and interviews. Judges instruct juries to reach verdicts in capital and civil cases. You judge what’s best for your children until they can make educated decisions of their own.   

 

You purchase scallops instead of red meat, low cal potato salad instead of a deli dish with sour cream, and a frozen soy desert instead of Ben and Jerry’s. You make an important decision about the future course of your life on a retreat. Judgments like these are called discernments. They can be as important as determining the fate of someone’s life, as casual as making a decision related to personal taste, or something in between. 

 

In Psalm 9, our Old Testament lesson, David writes that “God judges the people with equity and guides the nations upon the earth.” 

 

Equitable or discerning justice is tempered with mercy.

 

“. . . God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for he has appointed a time for every matter and for every work” (Ecclesiastes 3:17). 

 

Discerning justice knows the difference between right and wrong.

 

“Partiality in judging is not good. Whoever says to the wicked, ‘you are innocent,’ will be cursed by peoples and abhorred by nations; but those who rebuke the wicked will have . . . a good blessing come upon them” (Proverbs 24: 23-25).

 

Discerning justice is impartial. 

 

And finally this one: “Speak out, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy” (Proverbs 31:9). 

 

Discerning justice accounts for the needs of people on the margins of society.   

 

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Jesus is talking about a different kind of judgment and to deepen our understanding we need to look at a passage from the Gospel of Luke.    

 

Jesus tells a story about a religious official, called a Pharisee, who goes to the Temple to pray. The Temple is located in Jerusalem and is a one of kind architectural masterpiece. As the Pharisee enters this magnificent structure, he sees another person there who’s despised by the locals. He’ a tax collector by trade and hated because the money he collects supports the Roman Empire. So keeping his distance from this unclean person, the Pharisee prays the following:

 

“God, I thank you that I’m not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income’” (Luke 18:11-12)
 

Today, it might sound something like this:
 

Two men are at the drive-up window at McDonalds and are waiting for their order. One man’s in a prestige car, let’s say a Lexus, and the person behind him is seated in a Chevy Aveo. The Lexus is in pristine condition. The Aveo has dents on the side panels, a partially smashed in bumper, and looks like it hasn’t been washed in months. As he’s paying the cashier, the Lexus guy drops some change and gets out of his car to retrieve it. And that’s when he takes stock of the Aveo and the ill shaven and poorly clothed driver inside.  
 

Getting back into his vehicle, he mutters the following:
 

Thank God I’m not like this person in back of me. I’m so much more industrious than he, so much more upscale and successful. He probably heads to McDonalds every day to chow down Big Macs, Super Sized Fries and milk shakes. I’d never do anything like that. I’m more selective when I come here, sticking to their salads, oatmeal and coffee. I’d sure hate to see where this person lives. He probably sleeps a lot, plays the lottery, hangs out at a sports bar and shoots pool – he and his car are definitely lower class.
 

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While discerning judgment is necessary and helpful, judgments of moral superiority tear people down. Most statements of superiority are comparisons that often begin with, “I’m glad I’m not like . . .” and end with a descriptor. “I’m glad I’m not like my lazy neighbor;” “I’m glad I’m not like the guy in the cubicle next to mine who has some weird values.” “I’m glad I’m not like the person who I saw in the department store today. She looked so shabby.” 

 

One of the things I’ve observed about people, and maybe you’ve witnessed the same, is that we like to put ourselves in the best possible light. It doesn’t always work out that way, of course, but it’s pretty nice when it happens. After all, who could be more patient, more talented, more sincere, or more honest than us? I recently received an e-mail from a person who described herself as the most loving, accepting, flexible, intellectual, feeling and complex person she knew and I’m sure there are a lot of other people who think the same way about themselves.            

 

There are different reasons why we put ourselves in the best possible light and one of them (I believe) is our desire to feel good about ourselves and to be right.   

 

The Pharisee applauded his rightness by saying, “Thank God I’m not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income’” (Luke 18:11-12). I’m sure these words made him feel good.

 

The Lexus guy applauded his ambition, work ethic and life style when he compared himself to the driver behind him.

 

We applaud our rightness in our subtle and not so subtle judgments about people who we think are not as bright, creative or successful as we are.       

 

And since it’s no fun being right by ourselves, we seek out a peer group to be right with. The religious official in the Gospel of Luke was part of a peer group that Jesus, interestingly enough, didn’t have a lot of good things to say about. 

 

If we’re Republican, we might belong to the Young Republicans. If we’re Independents, we may seek out interest groups, or individuals, who support our point of view. If you’re a religious conservative, you might band together with similar minded people to counter act misguided liberals and if you’re a religious liberal you’ll want to spend time with birds of the same feather to oppose the agenda of religious conservatives.

 

More importantly, if we hold fast to one position, can we authentically listen to someone who doesn’t agree with us? If we’re pro choice on abortion are we willing to have our viewpoint challenged, and possibly changed, by those who are pro life (and vice versa)? If we’re persuaded that the war in Afghanistan is wrong, are we open to hearing the other side of the case (and vice versa)? If we believe there’s one way to interpret a passage of Scripture – if we believe we’re right -- how open will we be to other interpretations?

 

If we believe we’re right in conviction, then those who disagree have to be wrong and from there it’s not a far stretch to say, “Thank God, I’m not like Jill or Bob who believe . . .   You can fill in the rest.

 

If we believe we have the right life style then those who choose a different style have to be wrong and from there it’s not a far stretch to say, “Thank God, I’m not like Susan or Mark who do . . .  Once again, you can complete the sentence.  

 

But if it’s possible we’re not right, that diversity is the norm and not homogenization, there may be multiple ways to reach truth or to experience contentment than the path we’ve chosen and we’ll be less inclined to judge and more inclined to be curious about ideas and styles of life that we’ve dismissed or that are new. We may not change our convictions but entering into genuine conversation can help us appreciate people who don’t think or live like us and it may in fact help to clarify why we have chosen the road we’re presently on.  

 

If the Lexus guy understood the Christian message he’d be saying ‘thank you’ for his life instead of parading his prestige. If the religious official understood God’s good news, he’d see that both he and the tax collector are in need forgiveness.

 

“Do not judge 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.”

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