“One day Abba Isaac the Theban went to a monastery. He saw a brother committing a sin and he condemned him. When he returned to the desert, an angel of the Lord… came and stood in front of the door of his cell, and said, ‘I will not let you enter.’ But he persisted saying, ‘What is the matter?’ and the angel replied, ‘God has sent me to ask you where you want to throw the guilty brother whom you have condemned.’ Immediately he repented and said, ‘I have sinned, forgive me.’ Then the angel said, ‘Get up, God has forgiven you. But from now on, be careful not to judge someone before God has done so.” -Sayings of the Desert Fathers.
Many modern Americans repeat the mantra of not judging others, or at least they used to. Lately, it seems to be more the mantra of don’t judge me because I am right, but I get to judge you because you are wrong, at least in practice. But, if you press most people about x matter, or if you speak up about y matter, many times you are likely to get the response that you should not judge others. The attack is made that if we were true Christians, we would not be judging other people the way we do. The argument is that the loving thing to do is simply to accept without judgment (or apparently without evaluation, without critical insights, without asking too many questions, etc.).
Christians (and others) have developed several comebacks to that line. Generally, we will point out that we have the right and the responsibility to ensure discipline in the Church. Or, American Christians love to use the line about speaking the truth in love. I must admit that I have seen more truth-speaking than I have seen love-giving. We Americans are rather good about giving other people a piece of our mind, and then glossing it over by saying how important it is to us to know the truth that we are being told, and that the loving thing to do was to tell you the truth. Some of our most confrontational “truth-telling” people are found in our parishes at the time of the Annual Meeting, who argue that their love for their parish is demanding that they speak up to defend the parish against [fill in the blank].
But the Desert Fathers approached the whole idea of truth-telling and judgment in a different manner. So many of the sayings of the Desert Fathers have to do with forgiveness and judgment. When dealing with people, over and over the message of the Desert Fathers is a message to not judge others. So the sinner is not judge, but most certainly instructed. The robber is freely given what he meant to take by coercion. The murderer is submitted to with prayer and acceptance. The Desert Fathers most certainly lived out the sayings in the Gospel that have to do with turning the other cheek, giving someone half of your cloak, forgiving others so that our sins might be forgiven in the same way as we have forgiven.
And, out of their witness grew a whole thriving Sinai Christian culture that evangelized their area, up until the Islamic conquests.
We are not accustomed to dealing with people in that manner. We want to confront, to stand up for what is right, to verbally convince people that they are ever so wrong and far from the faith. But, they handled it differently. They did confront, but usually by telling stories. They did confront, but many times with an unshakeable forgiving love that put the others to shame. And, finally, they were even willing to confront by dying for the faith rather than giving in to the lie.
Then I look at some of how we confront people. We march with signs calling people murderers. The sign is absolutely morally accurate, but the sentiments expressed are judgmental and anything but loving. We confront people who have committed a crime with how they are going to rot in hell. We do this even years later when the person has repented and is being put to death as a Christian. At a time when those who are dying could use the most comfort that their jail conversion is true, we have “Christian” relatives of the victim assuring them that there is no forgiveness for them. How can we do that? “But, from now on be careful not to judge someone before God has done so.”
I know that the State carries the power of the sword as a servant of God. I know that the State must have a judicial system that keeps lawlessness under control. I have no problem with that. I have no problem with Christian judges, Christian policemen, Christian members of the Armed Forces, etc. What I have a problem with are the attitudes expressed by all too many Christians concerning those with whom they disagree. It is one thing to disagree; it is another thing to express an opinion of where God is going to place that person when the Final Judgment arrives. We cannot and must not use the defense of the faith as an excuse to take the place of God and speak words of condemnation, or words that are anything less than loving communication. Those are two different matters. We may be called to truth; but we are even more strongly called to love.
Remember that it says that, “God so loved the world …” Then the next part says, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” All too many of us forget that. We often seem to others to be more ready to condemn the world than to save it. The Desert Fathers give us a different example of how to love the world, how to communicate what is true, and how to avoid condemning others.
I admit that every time I read the Desert Fathers, I leave feeling like my sin has been exposed and that I am in need of a cleansing. I never leave the Desert Fathers feeling justified and ready to tell the world how wrong they are. In fact, I leave the Desert Fathers more ready to engage in loving communication that speaks about God’s character and God’s desires for us. Let me encourage all of us to read the Desert Fathers more often. Let me also encourage us to watch our language, our judgments, and our attitudes. And, yes, this is a good time to ask the Holy Spirit for some help. God knows, I need the Holy Spirit’s help.
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