Fasting from Judgment - March 19
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 72; PM Psalm 119:73-96; Jer. 3:6-18; Rom. 1:28-2:11; John 5:1-18
I have a small confession to make, and I hope you’ll receive it with care. I find my inner life getting tangled in the outrage of the world—frustrated by our broken systems, by the way we treat one another, and by what feels like a blatant disregard for human suffering. If I’m completely honest, I know this isn’t a new phenomenon. It has always been this way, but lately, it seems amplified—designed to provoke outrage.
I share this because today’s passage from Paul’s letter to the Romans is a powerful reminder. He urges the community in Rome not to judge others, lest they be judged themselves. And who are these people the Romans are condemning? According to Paul, they are filled “with every kind of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, craftiness, they are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, rebellious toward parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.” Paul pulls no punches.
But listen to what he says next:
“Do you imagine, whoever you are, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not realize that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?”
Paul is reminding the Romans—and us—to leave judgment to God so that we can focus on the work of doing good.
That’s no small task. Perhaps that’s why, in arguably his most important epistle, Paul addresses it so directly from the start. Transformation isn’t easy. It reminds me of another passage from his first letter to the Corinthians:
“For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
It feels foolish to withhold judgment in a world where people are acting like absolute fools. And yet, maybe that’s exactly what’s needed—especially with those whose lives intersect with ours.
John+
Questions for Self-Reflection:
How can you fast from judgment this Lent?
Where do you find yourself most judgmental, and what can help shift that?