Pope Francis said that God will judge people as they have judged others, stressing it is necessary for Christians to be humble and show compassion.
“What measure do I use to measure others? What do I use to measure myself? A generous measure, full of God’s love? I will be judged according to that measure and no other, precisely the one I use,” Pope Francis said on Jan. 30 during Mass at St. Martha’s House in the Vatican, Catholic News Service reports.
In his homily, the pope made reference to the Gospel of St. Matthew, which told people what was necessary for salvation — feed the hungry, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger.
That day’s Gospel reading, however, centered on the Gospel of Mark, specifically “how we must live.”
Pope Francis said Christians must think about the way in which we measure others, as the “measure” God uses will focus less on the good and bad thing we do, and more on how we “live our lives.”
He said that a key lesson from the life of Jesus was a willingness to endure humiliation, to put others above ourselves and not claims places of honor, even when deserved.
The pope said Christ himself “was God, but he didn’t cling to that; he humbled himself. This is the model.”
The themes of mercy and compassion arise repeatedly throughout the synoptic Gospels.
During his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.”