There Is No Need to Judge
September 5-6, 2009
Mark 7:31-37
You may remember how last April there was a dramatic and unusual episode on the English TV show “Briton’s Got Talent.” The show is the European version of “American Idol,” where ordinary people come before a live audience and panel of judges and demonstrate their abilities. On the particular episode I have in mind, a frumpy, overweight English woman was a contestant. Her name was Susan Boyle. From the time she stepped onto the stage, you could hear whispering and giggles from the audience. For a show that was accustomed to the young and the glamorous, this old maid with a frumpy hairdo was clearly out of place. Everyone expected that her performance would be a disaster. When she told the judges that her ideal was to become a musical star like her idol, Elaine Paige, the audience burst into derisive laughter.
But then, Susan Boyle began to sing. And it was not long into her rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” that the laughter stopped. Her voice was amazing: clear, melodic, and deeply moving. By the time she finished her performance, the entire audience and the judges as well were on their feet, cheering and applauding. You see, they had determined that they knew what to expect. But they were wrong. They judged this woman on her appearance, but her voice was a miracle.
Today’s second reading from the letter of James warns us about judging others on their appearance. James tells his readers that, when we judge people according to the way that they dress or the money that they have, they are acting in a way that is contrary to the gospel. James’ remark makes perfect sense. We all understand that when we judge by appearance, we can often be wrong. Say for example, you were to meet a young person dressed in black, with spiked hair, wearing a dog collar and many tattoos. The inclination would be to judge this person negatively. But if you talked to this person, you could discover that he volunteers weekly, working for Habitat for Humanity, building houses for the poor. Or say you’re introduced to an elderly woman who had become physically feeble. It would be easy to judge her as feeble in other areas as well. You could begin to speak to her in a demeaning way, speaking loudly and calling her “Sweetie.” You could presume that shoe was unable to follow the conversation. But here again you could be wrong. If you spoke to the woman, you could be surprised by her wisdom and wit. So it’s certainly clear that, when we judge by appearances, we can often be wrong.
But the letter of James goes deeper than that. James tells us that we should avoid judging, not because we could be wrong. We should avoid judging because there is no need to judge, because as people of faith we already know the value of every person. That is why the author of James says, “Has not God made the poor of the world rich at faith and heirs of the kingdom?” We are the poor of the world. James is telling us that all people are loved by God. If we truly believed that, we would not need to judge, because we would already know that every person deserves our deference and respect—even if they can’t sing like Susan Boyle, even if they don’t work for Habitat for Humanity, even if they are old and feeble and cannot follow the conversation.
Who are the people in our lives that we are likely to judge? Is it the dorky kid in our class at school? Is it the guy at work who stutters? Is it our in-law who is always the first to put her foot in her mouth? We know that despite all outward appearances, each one of these people and everyone else has a value and a worth. The message to us today is that we should put judgments aside. As believers there is no need to judge others by the color of their skin, the slant of their eyes, their accent, the neighborhood in which they live, the car that they drive, or the clothes that they wear. We do not have to judge, because we already know their value. We already know who they are. They are beloved daughters and sons of God.
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