March 2, 2025 – Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030225.cfm)
Do we often find ourselves judging quickly others or to speak ill of someone? Is it easy for us then, to find faults and ugly things when we are with others? Does our speech express bitterness as we describe others?
Judging others is actually natural to us. It is our way of assessing possible threats. We use it to create social order and hierarchy. It also helps reinforce our own beliefs and values.[1]
Yet, when we find ourselves having such tendencies, we might also easily fall towards self-righteousness and superiority. When we only focus on what is wrong and ugly in everything and everyone, we become more inclined to complain. We accuse and blurt out the faults and failures of others. This behavior creates a lot of toxicities and negativity in our relationships.
We may be unaware of the poisonous attitude we bring. We could believe and think that we have the best ideas and solutions. We might also think we have the best personality and attitude. Yet, we become a person who is very difficult to deal with. We are difficult to please and in need of constant affirmation.
On this Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, the Lord calls to pinpoint such tendencies in us. This is for our own growth as a Christian Community. Let us discern together the invitations in our liturgical readings this Sunday. They concern the intentions behind the words we speak.
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus wanted his disciples to realize the danger of self-righteousness. This leads to bitterness, discontentment and insecurity. We need to recognize our own faults and sinfulness. We should not undermine them by finding the fault of others.
Jesus addressed the Pharisees and Scribes who seemed to be so righteous, yet, sick and sinful inside. Jesus compared them to blind men leading the blind. They noticed the splinters in other people but were blind to the beams in front of their own eyes. Jesus called them hypocrites.
This was clear at how these people would always notice even the minutest details of the defects of others. They were filled with complaints and biases against others. These people’s malicious words consistently attacked Jesus and his disciples. Their words revealed their evil intentions.
In fact, the First Reading from the Book of Sirach reminds us of the image. It says, “when a sieve is shaken, the husks appear, so do one’s fault’s when one speaks.” When we speak and use words that destroy others’ reputation, we reveal that we have a sick and rotten heart. Words that degrade and hurt others also show this. Similarly, words that only curse and bring insult to others reveal the evil in us.
Jesus captures this in his words, “an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil.” Let us be mindful then of things that we nurture in our heart because these are manifested in what we speak.
Moreover, to pinpoint the wrong or the faults of others is not entirely wrong. It is also our moral responsibility to express what is not good. Indeed, there is wisdom and goodness in criticism in itself.
We remind ourselves also of these two kinds of criticism. There is a constructive criticism and destructive criticism.
A constructive criticism seeks the good of my brother and sister. In this criticism, we do not seek to bring insult to the person but to help the person grow and learn from mistakes and failures. It gives both positive and negative feedback. This is done with honesty and sincerity from our part.
On the other hand, destructive criticism is hateful and malicious because it desires damage to my brother and sister. It is destructive because it puts down and humiliates the person and has no desire to help the person to grow and learn. Further, it is a mere accusation filled with bitterness and hate. In the words of Pope Francis, when we tend to destructively criticize and simply accuse others, then, we are friends of the devil because the devil is the Great Accuser. Thus, this is done with evil intent. We commonly do this when we talk behind to speak ill about the person in initiating, perpetrating and joining others to destroy the image of my brother or sister.
Jesus does not want us to be that bitter and hateful accusers. Jesus desires that each of us becomes free. We achieve this freedom by being capable of recognizing our sins. This recognition makes the transformation of hearts possible. In this way we become a help to one another, so that as parents, leaders, mentors and authority figures, we will not be leading others blindly but with humility and willingness to be corrected, affirmed and challenged.
As disciples of Jesus, he demands consistency in our words and actions, in the way we relate with others and with God, and in the way we look at ourselves.
And so for this Sunday, these are your take-away.
First, let us begin in recognizing our own “beams,” of our inconsistent words from our actions, our bitter and hateful words, our quick judgments and biases against others and other attitudes that make us hypocrites. Remember, when we choose to blind ourselves from these, then, there is a danger of making ourselves distant from God, from others and from our own reality.
Second, avoid speaking ill of others, even in joining or perpetrating or encouraging others to do so. This makes our heart free from bitterness.
Third, constructively correct others. Use words that uplift and motivate others to become better persons rather than being harsh and portraying ourselves to be superior. That’s again the attitude of a hypocrite.
As we dare to look at ourselves and confront the evil within us, may we also find Christ most willing to embrace us. Hinaut pa.
[1] Mike Robbins, “Why do we judge others?,” published on February 15, 2024,
https://mike-robbins.com/the-gifts-of-judgment/#:~:text=We%20judge%20others%20as%20a,our%20own%20beliefs%20and%20values. (Accessed on February 26, 2025).
A DOSE OF GOD TODAY 