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Compassionate love

Image by Demi Kwant on Unsplash.com

Today’s gospel is a call to imitate the faithful love of God in our lives and interactions with one another. Jesus says to his disciples:
“Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged yourselves; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.”

It can be very easy to fall into judging one another in both big things and small. I sometimes think that it’s a particular temptation in Lent. For some reason struggling with our own Lenten practices and observances can make us more judgemental about the practices of others. So this is a particularly good gospel to reflect on in Lent.

Jesus gives us the key to moving beyond that temptation to judge and condemn. First, he turns our attention to the Father, reminding us that God looks on each one of us with compassionate love. The first step in the process of becoming less judgemental is to recognise that compassionate, loving gaze in our own lives. Once we have that awareness we can learn to look on one another with something of that same compassionate love. When we begin look at one another in that way I think we will soon come to find it easier to be more accepting and less judgemental of one another.

Where are you being invited to look with compassion on those around you today?