God’s Judgment is Just!

 

28th Week Wednesday in Ordinary Time

Year One

Rom 2:1-11

God’s Judgment is Just!

St Paul addresses those who judge others but do the same things. His message is clear: you condemn yourself when you pass judgment while living in sin. This forces self-examination—how often do we focus on the faults of others while ignoring our own? St Paul reminds us that God’s patience and kindness are not signs of indifference to sin, but invitations to repentance. Grace is not permission to continue in sin—it’s space to turn around. St. Paul makes it clear that God’s judgment is based on what each person has done. This doesn’t contradict the message of salvation by grace—rather, it shows that a transformed life bears fruit. Good deeds don’t earn salvation, but they are evidence of a changed heart.

Examine yourself before judging others. It’s easy to condemn others for their sins, especially when they’re public or different from our own. But St. Paul urges us to first confront our own hearts. Respond to God’s kindness with repentance. Don’t mistake God’s patience as tolerance. He’s giving us time to turn from sin and grow closer to Him.  Live with integrity. Knowing that God sees all and judges justly should inspire a life of humility and sincerity—not fear, but reverence.

Do not Judge?

Year Two

Gal 5:18-25

 Discern Between Good and Bad!

Do we know the works of the flesh? They are sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies and other ills. Be aware of them and take care not to be slaves of them.

The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control and these are even above the law. Know your good qualities of the Spirit and grow in them. Leave behind the evils of life.

Can you make a difference between the bad spirit and the good Spirit?

Lk 11:42-46

Be Responsible!

“But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practiced, without neglecting the others. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love to have the seat of honor in the synagogues and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces. Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves on which people unknowingly walk.” (Lk 11:42-44).

The Pharisees stand at the entrance of the synagogue to be greeted by people. As people enter the synagogue they first greet and wish the pharisees, before they even greet God. It is same in the market place that they would like to be noticed and greeted in the public place. Some like to be acknowledged and respected in public. It is to have visibility of themselves in front of a crowd. Visibility is for the service of God and people not of the self, it should not be for personal vain glory. We need to seek God first and the other things next. In the case of Pharisees, they began to look for name and fame for themselves satisfying their ego of being recognized by people.

Do I look for recognition and forget about my responsibility?

Fr Putti Anthaiah, sdb