✝️ Homily – Monday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time (Cycle II)

📖 Readings: Genesis 12:1–9 | Psalm 33:12-13, 18-19, 20 and 22 | Matthew 7:1–5
Theme: “Let God Lead, and Let Mercy Guide”

😂 Judging Is Easier Than You Think

A priest once jokingly said, “The fastest growing ministry in the Church today… is the Ministry of Judgement!”
Everyone seems to be an expert on what’s wrong—with everyone else!
And yet, Jesus didn’t say, “Blessed are the fault-finders,” but “Blessed are the merciful.”

🌄 1. Introduction – A New Journey Begins

In the first reading today, God calls Abram to leave his country, his family, and his comfort. This is not just about geography—it’s about trust and surrender.
At the same time, the Gospel calls us to leave behind another kind of comfort: the comfort of judging others.

🛤️ 2. First Reading – Genesis 12:1–9: Trusting God’s Path

God says to Abram:

“Go forth from your land… to a land that I will show you.”

Abram doesn’t receive a GPS or map—he walks by faith.
He becomes the father of faith by taking the risk of letting God lead.

We are also being called: to leave behind old habits of thinking, pride, bitterness, or judgment—and trust God’s plan.

👁️ 3. Gospel – Matthew 7:1–5: The Plank and the Splinter

Jesus uses humour and exaggeration in the Gospel:

“Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?”

Imagine someone with a log sticking out of their eye trying to remove a speck from someone else. That’s the absurdity Jesus wants us to see in our hypocrisy.

He’s not saying we should never correct others—but He’s saying that humble self-awareness must come first.

💡 4. From Condemnation to Compassion

It’s easier to criticize others than to confess our own weakness.
But Jesus is more interested in transformation than condemnation.
He doesn’t say, “Don’t care about your brother’s speck.” He says, “First, deal with your own.”

Only then can you truly help someone else—not as a judge, but as a companion.

🌍 5. A Word for Our Time

In South Africa, and in our world today, we are quick to judge—by race, class, mistakes, or politics.
But today’s Gospel teaches us: mercy is more powerful than opinion.
And in Genesis, Abram shows us that walking with God means letting go of control and stepping into the unknown with hope.

✅ 6. Practical Wisdom for the Journey

• Before you speak, ask: Am I judging, or am I helping?

• Before you act, ask: Have I seen my own fault first?

• Every day, take one Abram-step: trust God’s direction over your own comfort.

🧭 7. Conclusion – Logs, Luggage, and Letting God

Life is too short to carry logs in our eyes and grudges in our hearts.
Like Abram, we are invited to step forward with faith.
And like Jesus taught, we are challenged to step back from judging others before we’ve allowed God to heal what’s broken in ourselves.

Let’s travel light, love much, and judge less.

💬 Reflection Quote

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.”
– Wendy Mass

🙏 Closing Prayer

Lord God,
You called Abram to walk by faith, not by fear.
Help me to trust You when the path is unclear.
Teach me to remove the plank from my own eye,
to walk humbly, and to speak gently.

May I never judge others harshly,
but offer them the same mercy You have shown me.
Let this new day be guided by compassion,
shaped by Your word,
and marked by the footsteps of faith.
Amen.