No, No, But Yes!

September 3, 2010
Friday of Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time
Luke 5: 33-39


Jesus gives us three practical, simple yet profound principles of life which should be the mark of every Christian: Do not criticize, do not compare, and have discernment.

Criticize not!
The Pharisees and scribes never missed a chance to criticize Jesus. They were constantly looking for opportunities to show Jesus in bad light. They fabricated stories and distorted facts to accuse Jesus of being and doing wrong. They left no leaf unturned in finding fault with Jesus. This time they thought they got something to accuse Him of in the vivid life-style of His apostles and of Jesus Himself. They did not conform to the standard of “being religious”. They judge Him as a glutton and pervert. His band of disciples do not exhibit religious discipline, they accused. But, Jesus is unmoved by criticism. He had already made it clear to His disciples not to judge others. The one who judges others brings about judgment on himself.

There is this story of a young professional and her husband migrated to Sydney for their job. They moved into a house in a subdivision. As they were dining she looked through the window and saw the laundry line of her neighbors. She noticed that the laundry were not done properly, the clothes looked stained and soiled. On the following day, as she looked through the window she saw the same sight, the woman in her neighboring house was spreading laundry for drying. She was dismayed to notice that the clothes looked not clean. She thought to herself, may be this neighbor does not know how to do laundry. Why does she not consult someone to improve her job? May be somebody needs to call her attention that she is not doing a good job. She brought this to her husband. On the following day, the woman was taken by surprise as she looked through the window and found a very clean and neat laundry line outside. She shared her surprise with her husband and said, “see, it is incredible. Something has happened, our neighbor seems to have learned their lesson. Now their laundry looks so clean. May be somebody has called their attention!”. Her husband looked at her and said, “yes, something has happened. This morning I cleaned our window pane. Now you can see clearly the objects outside”.

What you see outside is a reflection of what you are within. Jesus said, “if your eyes are sound, your whole body is in light”. Indeed, the more imperfect you are, the more imperfections you will find in others. The itch to criticize indicates the infection of imperfection within.

Do not Compare:
The Pharisees and scribes found Jesus and His companions unacceptable because they did not conform to others. They were not like the group of John or of the Pharisees. Jesus showed how unique He is. The best formula for an unsatisfied and unhappy life is to compare yourself with others and to compare others with yourself or else one.

God does not compare two people, he created them unique. God is delighted not when I try to be like others, but when I try to be who truly I am. Be myself. Know my potentials and weaknesses. Know my abilities and talents.

Have discernment:
For everything there is an appropriate time. For everyone there is an appropriate destiny. There is time for everything. Discernment is a spiritual principle that helps me do the right thing in the right time in the right manner. Jesus was a person of discernment. He knew when to be with the crowd and when to be in solitude. He knew when to preach and when to act.