Lk 6:39-42 Full Readings
Self-Examination is the Key
Beloved brethren, we live in a hyper-judgmental culture. We tag others and label them monsters: “he is a thief”, “he is too arrogant”, “she is too rigid”, “they are too poor for your level”, “you can’t afford me”, “she lives in a ghetto”, “he can’t speak good English.” These and more such assertions often sound simple and harmless; yet, they have tremendously poisoned love and harmony. Nobody wants to be around someone who constantly condemns them or others. To find fault is easy but to live better may be difficult. Jesus’ teaching in the gospel of today provides a practical guide to spiritual growth. He says it is a sign of hypocrisy to tag others as evil while we paint saintly pictures of ourselves. The only path to peace is to reduce the amount of judgement in our lives and gradually seal our lips when tempted to utter judgement about others.
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 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 failures of our own sins, weaknesses, and ignorance.
One thing which makes us realise our sinful nature and start judging others is pride. It’s hard to see our own faults because our sin of pride blinds us. Pride keeps us from any honest self-reflection. Pride becomes a mask we wear which presents a false person. Pride is an ugly sin because it keeps us from the truth. It keeps us from seeing ourselves in the light of truth and, as a result, it keeps us from seeing the log in our own eye. Jesus today invites us to overcome this sin of pride and realise our sins, ask for forgiveness and to avoid judging others but wishing them the best.
Thinking the best of others is true love, which is agape love or in other words, benevolence (wishing the other good). With this love there is no judging of the other but always wishing him or her well. 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 kindness in judgment is nothing less than a sacred duty.
Jesus teaches us that what you give to others will return to you. If you forgive, you will be forgiven and if you see wrong in people always, others will also see wrong in you always. 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 which inhabits our hearts.
Reflect today on your tendency to see the sins of others while yours are blinded by pride. Are you able to ask God's grace to help me examine Yourself first before you judge others so that you may grow in love? 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.
Let us Pray
"O Father, give us the humility which realizes its ignorance, admits its mistakes, recognizes its need, welcomes advice, 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 thy name's sake. (Prayer of William Barclay, 20th century) " Amen.
Stay blessed
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