Is it Christ's job or mine, to judge humanity? Is it Christ's job or mine, to say who Christ has saved? Do I accept Christ's redeeming gift of salvation, rendered two thousand years ago once and for all humanity? Or do I presume to usurp Christ's work of judgment - a task for which I am not competent? Do I take judgment onto myself? Does Christ call me to take judgment onto myself?
In the previous post, I spoke of "a confident embrace of Christ's call to each of us." By "to each of us," - to each human being, is what I mean. Or else, how shall I judge which human being is excluded? Faith, creed, color? Persuasion, perhaps?
It is said, "as you judge others, so shall you be judged," but this is really only to say: whatsoever you do to the least of my brethren, so you do unto me. Anyone reviled, any heretic, any materialist or infidel, any sinner - who are these but the lepers, the Samaritans, the tax-collectors, the whores? Hated and loathed! Condemned by the righteous, condemned by their acts or by their very nature! But how did Christ treat these? Did Christ not bring to the afflicted, hope of healing? Did Christ not teach us to see - in the heretic, in the false believer, in the worshipper at another altar, in the Samaritan - our true neighbor, one of our brethren in the body of Christ? Did not Christ tell even the materialist, the tax collector that in God, there was hope - hope, even for those for whom salvation would seem hardest, would seem even impossible? Yet in God, all things are possible.
Even the criminal, condemned and standing under penalty of the law of the land, Christ spared. Every one in that crowd of proud pharisees knew better than to claim sinlessness, and stoop for a stone - not with Christ standing by. And note well: first Christ said "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." Then Christ, without sin - cast no stone.
Christ consoles us with the fact and finality of his judgment. Christ consoles us with the certainty of his judgment – with its soundness, and its sufficiency. Shall I proudly declare myself without sin, pick up the stone while Christ stands by? Do I declare myself the superior judge?
Would you take Christ's judgment onto yourself?
Christ gave us the great good news that judgment and vengeance are not ours. What a glorious blessing! What a gift and a blessing, to be able to render direct service to the body of Christ! To worship God by letting all hatred and judgment slide, and to serve with love all of humankind! Whatsoever you do, howsoever you treat the lowest and least person - any person out of all of the classes of the shunned and the loathsome and the reviled, even those reviled by you - as you treat that person, so do you treat Christ. Just so: as you put yourself above and judge another, so do you put yourself above and judge Christ.
When I judge another, I judge Christ's judgment insufficient. I declare myself, and my judgment, necessary. I declare myself not only without sin (and therefore, fit to cast the stone), but also I judge myself superior in judgment to him who died to remove my sin! He stands by, entirely without sin, and watches as I choose to stoop and rummage for something suitably smooth and hard, to hurl in judgment against my chosen target. The target I hate! But I will blame Christ for my hate, even as I cast the stone – I cast it at Christ. For I cast it at one for whose guilt Christ has already spoken. I cast it at one whose sins Christ has already accepted, and taken on, in judgment.
Christ's judgment is certain, and entirely sufficient. Should I not accept Christ's judgment of humanity? To accept Christ's judgment is to gratefully fall back into Christ's already-given gift of salvation! If instead I attempt take on Christ's judgment, I do a bad job. Rearing up, I refuse to accept Christ as judge of humanity. Braying, I render irrelevant judgment, in a case where I am completely incompetent to judge – a case Christ already has taken on.
This is a dumb move.
