Do You Not See the Log in Your
Own Eye?
Introduction: May
you continue to reflect on your motives for speaking and actions, and may that
lead you to say and do what GOD intends for you.
Most of us
experience, many people talk and act without thinking things through. It is
much easier to just react than to weigh the consequences of our words and
deeds. It takes effort on our part to reflect on what GOD would have us do. If
we seek to proclaim the Good News of the Lord Jesus, we must be willing to act
like Him.
To quote from
Benjamin Franklin that summarizes the readings for today: “The heart of a fool
is in his mouth, but the mouth of a wise man is in heart.” The passage from
Sirach reminds us that what comes out of the mouth gives us a clue to what a
person thinks and feels. The First Reading also uses the analogy of the fruit
produced by a tree as an indication of care that is taken of the tree.
Paralleling this second image, the Responsorial proclaims that good fruit
produced by a tree is like a person who is in a relationship with GOD. In the
Second Reading, St. Paul reminds the believers in Corinth (and us today) that
they (and we) must be devoted to the good works of the Lord Jesus. In the
Gospel, Jesus also challenges His listeners to be the good fruit by positively
looking at oneself and seeing where one can improve and also speaking from a
caring and loving heart.
First Reading: Ecclesiasticus
27:5-8; The test of a man is in his conversation
Commentary: The wise sage of Jerusalem collected
many proverbs and pithy sayings. Most of them are severely practical, as in
this short reading. Here, he presents us with four images of testing someone by
their speech. He does not deny that there are other ways of proving a person’s
worth and generosity, but these four aspects of testing by speech are as clear
as any. This reading is chosen to introduce the sayings of the gospel-reading
on discerning people by their fruits. There is no way of telling what people
are except by how they act.
In fact, the
Book of Sira is rather a favourite with Luke. He takes at least two of his
sayings and transforms them into parables to illustrate two of his special
emphases in Jesus’ teaching. Luke is the evangelist of prayer, and a saying on
a widow’s earnest prayers (Sira 35.14) illustrates the need to persevere in
prayer in Luke 18.1-8 (the Parable of the Unjust Judge), and the Rich Fool
(Sira 11.19) is used to illustrate the acute dangers of hoarding wealth in Luke
12.16-21.
Responsorial Psalm 92:2-3,13-16;
It is good to give you thanks, O Lord.
The
Responsorial uses a similar image of palm and cedar trees growing in the house
of the LORD, bearing fruit. These trees produce and grow well. The allusion of
being “planted in the house of the LORD” and “flourishing in the courts of our
GOD” can refer to being grounded and rooted in GOD and thus having good growth.
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians
15:54-58; Death is swallowed up in victory
Commentary: For most people, death is a terror: the one thing certain about life is that it will end in death. For Paul, death is a triumph that he awaits eagerly, longing to be fully united with Christ and to share fully in Christ’s victory. This Christian attitude, totally at variance with the views of those who do not know Christ and with our natural human instincts, is the reason why the Church has given the last four Sundays to meditation on the transformation that will take place at Christian death. Paul is so convinced of the overwhelming power of Christ and his victory over sin that there is no hesitation: this mortal body will put on immortality. Quite how this will be is still not entirely clear: Paul says it is foolish even to ask what sort of body the dead will have. But he insists that there is continuity: the seed which dies is transformed, but ‘each kind of seed has its own kind of body’; the risen person is in continuity with the person in this life. There are no conditions attached, no threat or fear of hell, being cast into outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, as in so many of Matthew’s parables.
Gospel: Luke 6:39-45; Can the
blind lead the blind?
Commentary: Matthew gathered together the
teachings of Jesus on the basic requirements of Christian morality into the
Sermon on the Mount; that formed a sort of manifesto for the Kingdom of Heaven,
starting with the eight Beatitudes. Luke gathers many of the same teachings
into his ‘Sermon on the Plain, starting with four Beatitudes. This has
provided the gospel readings for the last three Sundays. Matthew, writing for
Christians of Jewish origin, stressed Jesus’ teaching on the Law and how Jesus
made it more interior and often more demanding. Luke, always aware of the needs
of the poor, stresses our social obligations. As he draws to a conclusion,
he gives us two of Jesus’ warnings, expressed in the vivid language and with
the fierce exaggeration and wit which is so characteristic of Jesus’ teachings.
First, the splinter and the log warns us to use the same standards in judging
ourselves as we use in judging others. The second, the sound and rotten fruit,
is perhaps a double warning. You can judge people only by their actions. More
profoundly, it is also a challenge: don’t flatter yourself with your
achievements until you are good through and through, until the store of
goodness in your heart is really overflowing.
Reflection: Are you
clear-sighted, especially in your perception of sin and the need for each of
one of us to see ourselves correctly as God sees us - with our
faults, weaknesses, and strengths? Jesus' two parables about poor vision allude
to the proverb: Without vision,n the people perish! (Proverbs 29:18) What can we
learn from the illustration of a blind guide and a bad eye (the log in the
eye)? A bad eye left untreated and a blind guide can cause a lot of trouble
that will only end in misery and disaster for us! We can only help and teach
others what we have learned and received from wise teachers and guides. And how
can we help others overcome their faults if we are blinded by our own faults
and misperceptions? We are all in need of a physician who can help us overcome
the blind spots and failing of our own sins, weaknesses, and ignorance.
Overcoming blind spots in our own lives: The
Gospel of Luke was written by a disciple who was trained as a physician. Luke,
with keen insight, portrays Jesus as the good physician and shepherd of souls
who seeks out those who desire healing, pardon, and restoration of body, mind,
and spirit. Jesus came to free us from the worst oppression possible - slavery
to sin, fear, and condemnation. Like a gentle and skillful doctor, the Lord
Jesus exposes the cancer of sin, evil, and oppression in our lives so we can be
set free and restored to wholeness. A key step to healing and restoration
requires that we first submit to the physician who can heal us. The Lord Jesus
is our great Physician because he heals the whole person - soul and body, mind
and heart - and restores us to abundant life both now and for the age to come
in his everlasting kingdom.
Thinking the best of others: The Lord Jesus wants
to heal and restore us to wholeness, not only for our own sake alone. He also
wants us to be his instruments of healing, pardon, and restoration for others
as well. What can hinder us from helping others draw near to Jesus, the divine
Physician? The Rabbis taught: "He who judges his neighbor favorably will
be judged favorably by God." How easy it is to misjudge others and how
difficult it is to be impartial in giving good judgment. Our judgment of others
is usually "off the mark" because we can't see inside the other
person, or we don't have access to all the facts, or we are swayed by instinct
and unreasoning reactions to people. It is easier to find fault in others than
in oneself. A critical and judgmental spirit crushes rather than heals,
oppresses rather than restores, repels rather than attracts. "Thinking the
best of other people" is necessary if we wish to grow in love. And
kindliness in judgment is nothing less than a sacred duty.
What you give to others will return to you: Jesus
states a heavenly principle we can stake our lives on: what you give to others
(and how you treat others) will return to you (Mark 4:24). The Lord knows our
faults and he sees all, even the imperfections and sins of the heart which we
cannot recognize in ourselves. Like a gentle father and a skillful doctor, he
patiently draws us to his seat of mercy and removes the cancer of sin that
inhabits our hearts. Do you trust in God's mercy and grace? Ask the Lord to
flood your heart with his loving-kindness and mercy that you may only have room
for charity, forbearance, and kindness towards your neighbor.
Producing good fruit versus bad fruit in our lives: Why
does Jesus set figs and grapes over against thorns and brambles (Luke 6:33-35)?
The fig tree was the favorite of all trees for the people of Palestine. It
symbolized fertility, peace, and prosperity. Grapes, likewise, produced wine,
the symbol of joy. Thorns and brambles were only good for burning as fuel for
the fire. There's a proverbial saying that you know a tree by its fruit.
Likewise, a person will produce good or bad fruit depending on what is sown in
the heart. Charles Read said: "Sow an act and you reap a habit. Sow a
habit, and you reap a character. Sow a character and you reap a destiny."
Character, like fruit, doesn't grow overnight. It takes a lifetime.
Jesus connects soundness with good fruit. Something is sound when it is free from defect,
decay, or disease and is healthy. Good fruit is the result of sound living -
living according to moral truth and upright character. The prophet Isaiah
warned against the dangers of falsehood:Woe to those who call evil good and
good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness(Isaiah 5:20). The
fruits of falsehood produce an easy religion which takes the iron out of
religion, the cross out of Christianity, and any teaching which eliminates the
hard sayings of Jesus, and which push the judgments of God into the background
and makes us think lightly of sin.
How do we avoid falsehood and bad fruit in our lives? By being true - true to God, his word, and the grace
and help he gives us so we can turn away from evil and wrongdoing. And that
takes character! Those who are true to God know that their strength lies not in
themselves but in God, who supplies everything we need to live as his disciples.
The Lord strengthens us with the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit - with
faith, hope and love, justice, prudence, fortitude and temperance. And we grow
in godly character through exercising the gifts and strength that God
supplies. Do you want to bear good fruit in your daily life? Allow the Holy
Spirit to train you in godliness and the wisdom to distinguish good fruit from
bad fruit (1 Timothy 4:7-8, Hebrews 5:14).
O Father, give
us the humility that realizes its ignorance, admits its mistakes, recognizes
its need, welcomes advice, and accepts rebuke. Help us always to praise rather than
to criticize, to sympathize rather than to discourage, to build rather than to
destroy, and to think of people at their best rather than at their worst. This
we ask for your name's sake. (Prayer of William Barclay, 1907-1978)
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Seeing
the speck in another's eye, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"The word
hypocrite is aptly employed here (Luke 6:42, Matthew 7:5), since the denouncing
of evils is best viewed as a matter only for upright persons of goodwill. When
the wicked engage in it, they are like impersonators, masqueraders, hiding
their real selves behind a mask while they portray another's character through
the mask. The word hypocrites, in fact, signifies pretenders. Hence, we ought
especially to avoid that meddlesome class of pretenders who, under the pretense
of seeking advice, undertake the censure of all kinds of vices. They are often
moved by hatred and malice. Rather, whenever necessity compels one to reprove
or rebuke another, we ought to proceed with godly discernment and caution.
First of all, let us consider whether the other fault is such that we have never had or whether it is one that we have overcome. Then, if we have
never had such a fault, let us remember that we are human and could have had
it. But if we have had it and are rid of it now, let us remember our common
frailty so that mercy, not hatred, may lead us to the giving of
correction and admonition. In this way, whether the admonition occasions the
amendment or the worsening of the one for whose sake we are offering it (for
the result cannot be foreseen), we shall be made safe through
singleness of eye. But if on reflection we find that we have the same
fault as the one we are about to reprove, let us neither correct nor rebuke
that one. Rather, let us bemoan the fault ourselves and induce that person to a
similar concern, without asking him to submit to our correction."(excerpt
from Sermon on the Mount 2.19.64)
Vocal fruit: “The fruit of a tree shows the care
it has had; so too does a man’s speech disclose the bent of his mind.” —Sirach
27:6
Today’s Mass
readings mention fruit and speech. Our speech reveals the condition, good or
wicked, of our heart and mind (Lk 6:45; Sir 27:6). Our words bear good or
wicked fruit in the lives of our children, spouse, neighbors, and co-workers.
That fruit shows how careful we have been in our speech (Sir 27:6).
Is our speech
bearing fruit? Will our words bear good fruit or bad fruit? Even in old age our
words can bear fruit (Ps 92:15). Our
words are creative, much like God’s (see Gen 1:1-26). What fruit has been
created by our words? Is it the fruit of
bitterness, anger, unforgiveness, and division? Or is it the fruit of love,
peace, encouragement, unity, and numerous disciples?
When Jesus was
on trial before the Sanhedrin, He asked, “Why do you question Me? Question
those who heard Me when I spoke. It should be obvious that they will know what
I said” (Jn 18:21). Similarly, the fruit produced by our life is evident to
those who have heard our speech. Their lives will bear witness to what we have
said to them. We are to be held accountable for every word we have spoken (Mt
12:36). If an investigator were to question those who heard what you have spoken
over the years, what verdict would that investigator reach? Would the fruit of
our words acquit us or condemn us? (Mt 12:37)
Prayer: Father, teach me “what to say and how
to speak” (Jn 12:49). May Your words take deep root in me so that my words may
bear abundant and lasting fruit for You. “They that are planted in the house of
the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall bear fruit even in
old age; vigorous and sturdy shall they be” —Ps 92:14-15. “It is good to give
thanks to the Lord, to sing praise to Your name, Most High” (Ps 92:2).
The personal action for today: Do I sometimes speak without taking the time to
reflect on my motives? Are my words and actions about others
motivated by selfish desires or truly loving concern for their edification?
What further steps should I take to examine my words and actions and see if
they are producing good fruit? What can I do to enrich the life and growth of
others this week?
Saint Agnes of Bohemia: Agnes
had no children of her own but was certainly life-giving for all who knew her.
Agnes was the daughter of Queen Constance and King Ottokar I of Bohemia. She
was betrothed to the Duke of Silesia, who died three years later. As she grew
up, she decided she wanted to enter a religious life.
After declining
marriages to King Henry VII of Germany and King Henry III of England, Agnes was
faced with a proposal from Frederick II, the Holy Roman Emperor. She appealed
to Pope Gregory IX for help. The pope was persuasive; Frederick magnanimously
said that he could not be offended if Agnes preferred the King of Heaven to
him.
After Agnes had built a hospital for the poor and a residence for the friars, she financed the
construction of a Poor Clare monastery in Prague. In 1236, she and seven other
noblewomen entered this monastery. Saint Clare sent five sisters from San
Damiano to join them and wrote Agnes four letters advising her on the beauty of
her vocation and her duties as abbess.
Agnes became
known for prayer, obedience, and mortification. Papal pressure forced her to
accept her election as abbess, nevertheless, the title she preferred was
“senior sister.” Her position did not prevent her from cooking for the other
sisters and mending the clothes of lepers. The sisters found her kind but very
strict regarding the observance of poverty; she declined her royal brother’s
offer to set up an endowment for the monastery.
Devotion to Agnes arose soon after her death on March 6, 1282. Canonized
in 1989, her liturgical feast is celebrated on March 6.
Agnes spent at
least 45 years in a Poor Clare monastery. Such a life requires a great deal of
patience and charity. The temptation to selfishness certainly didn’t vanish
when Agnes walked into the monastery. It is perhaps easy for us to think that
cloistered nuns “have it made” regarding holiness. Their route is the same as
ours: gradual exchange of our standards—inclinations to selfishness—for God’s
standard of generosity.
