We Must Not Condemn But Show Mercy

By Henry Karlson, 22 April 2021
Participants at the inaugural Parramatta Street Feast in Prince Alfred Square, Parramatta. Image: Diocese of Parramatta.

 

St Paul, because he understood how Christ treated him with mercy and grace, forgiving him for what he had done, tells us to treat others and their sins with gentleness, bearing their burden with us instead of judging them.

We fulfil the law of Christ, which is the law of live, when we embrace each other with love. We do so when we follow and imitate Christ. And what did Jesus do? He bore the sins of the world upon himself. How can we imitate that? By bearing the sins of others upon ourselves, helping them deal with the consequences of their actions without judgement.

We should not condemn others for their mistakes. We should not mistreat them for what they have done. We must consider our own struggle with sin. If we want mercy, we should give out such mercy; if we want people to be patient with us, we must be patient with others; if we want grace, we should be gracious with others.

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Henry Karlson has done considerable amount of graduate work and study in philosophy, theology and comparative religious dialogue. He has taught as an adjunct at both Georgetown University and the Catholic University of America. He seeks to engage his readers with a diversity of topics, some cultural, some philosophical, some theological, but all for the Glory of God.

With thanks to Patheos and Henry Karlson, where this reflection originally appeared.

 

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