Matthew 5
It is not uncommon to hear “Don’t judge me!” in daily conversations. It seems we have declared a moratorium on moral judgment in our times. Drawing a line between right and wrong became outdated in our society. Even those seemingly moral judgments are very often made on emotions or popular sentiments. ‘Likes’ and ‘dislikes’ determine good or bad. Unfortunately, our emotional reactions and popular sentiments are often manipulated by commercial interests and political schemes, mainly through media.
Many Christians will not agree simply to follow this trend in the world. Instead, Christians say, “God will understand our good hearts.” We hear “God is merciful and loving,” “He understands our frailty and weakness,” “God forgives all and everything.” Instead of declaring themselves a moratorium on moral judgment, many modern Christians seem to have made God declare a moratorium on moral judgment and told him to shut the gate of hell. Isn’t it a brilliant way? We don’t have to be responsible for moral judgment anymore, because God accepts everyone and anyone.
But Jesus in today’s gospel seems very harsh and judgmental. And he mentions the forbidden word in modern Christianity ‘hell’ twice in a short paragraph. It is true he does not ask us to judge others. But he tells us to discern our hearts with a very strict standard. Before asking God to understand our ‘good hearts’, he tells us to change our hearts. Before asking God to accept our sins as our whole human existence, Jesus tells us to excise them out of our life.
Many saints had visions of hell. It is not a metaphor. And as St Faustina tells us, many who denied hell end up there. We can fool others. We can fool ourselves even. But we cannot fool God. Let us discern our hearts. Let us judge our own hearts. And let us change our hearts according to the heart of Jesus.
