"Do not judge..."

Jesus knows our human nature with all our failings very well. He is walking with us on our life journey and our faith and friendship with him have helped us to overcome many of those failings. But he knows that the tendency to judge and criticize others remains with us even as we continue to improve in other areas. That is why he tells us in today's gospel, ''Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Why do you observe the speck in your brother's eye and never notice the log in your own?''(Matthew 7:1-5). How will we answer that question? One response could be that I sometimes lack confidence in my own self worth and so in order to build myself up, I put others down. But that is to miss the whole point of our relationship with Jesus. When he was baptized by John, Jesus heard the words of his Father, ''You are my beloved Son.'' The same Father has given us our life and we too were baptized as his beloved daughters and sons. In John 15:9, he tells us, ''As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.'' Thank you for those affirming words, Lord. Now I see that you you also love that person I am always criticizing in the same way that you love me. Help me to see the goodness in John and Mary and not be obsessed with their tiny faults that irritate me when I know that I have greater faults that you have forgiven. Thank you for that teaching today, Lord.