Then Jesus cried aloud: 'Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness. I do not judge anyone who hears my words and does not keep them, for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my word has a judge; on the last day the word that I have spoken will serve as judge, for I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I speak, therefore, I speak just as the Father has told me.'
Today is the first Sunday in Lent. The rhythm of the daily office moves away from the prayer of Jesus in John chapter 17 back to chapter 12. The word that surfaces today in my initial reading is judge. Jesus says that he didn’t come to judge the world, but to save it.
Jesus’ proclaims that belief in him constitutes belief in the one who sent him (the Father). He has come to show the way (as the light) and deliver the world to salvation. The world that rejects Jesus, rejects the Father, and is subject to the judgment of the Father.
Everyone who believes in Jesus, as a true disciple, does not believe only in Him, but in the Father who sent Him. Jesus displays the glory of the Father and we learn to obey, love, and trust in him. As believers, we are freed from the darkness of ignorance, sin, and misery. We learn that the commandment of God is everlasting life, but the same commandment will seal the fate of all who reject it, despise it, or neglect it.
If we are to follow in the way of Jesus, then we are also called not to judge. God is the only judge, and will deal justly. The way I read this, it seems like those who reject, despise, or neglect God have already judged themselves.
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