How much do you know your faith? How many times do you find yourself saying “I don’t know…” or give an uncertain answer to a question about the teachings of the Catholic Church? Jesus is telling us today that a blind shepherd, cannot lead the blind sheep. The teachers in the time of Jesus knew the scriptures and the law very well but did not follow the spirit of the Law. In other words, they did not understand what they read. Is this true for us today? Some of the faithful are exposed to the Word of God every day and for others, they only hear the Word every Sunday. Is hearing the Word of God enough? Just how much of it do you understand and how much of your understanding is passed on to others? Are you blind like the Pharisee?
Unskilled teachers hurt both themselves and others for as the teacher is, so is the disciple. The disciple cannot rise above the teacher but in time to come, with the right guidance, both will grow and the disciple will become like the teacher. Jesus, our teacher, is the best there can be.
He shows us the path to life for He is the Word of Life. In order to follow Jesus Christ, we need to be trained by Him. Spend time with the Lord and be opened to hear His Word.
The word “pit” or “ditch” is used figuratively in the Bible to mean a place without strength, without light (Psalm 88), and without God (Psalm 16:10). In our blindness, we develop hypocrisy. We see the splinters and flaws in others and not the bigger plank in us. A splinter and a plank are made of the same material. Perhaps, we recognise the flaw in others because we are all too familiar with the same flaw in ourselves. Similarly, the person whose flaw we point out also sees the same flaw in us. Why then, would they come to us for advice in removing the speck? Are we too quick in playing the judge? Who are we to judge and condemn others when God is Love and is quick to forgive us for our own mistakes and sins?
Jesus is exhorting us to first remove our own plank before we can help others with their speck. He is not saying that we cannot point the splinter out, we must first ensure that we can see clearly what that is which we fail to see in ourselves, before we seek to help others. Jesus tells us “Not to judge and condemn others but to forgive and be kind to others”. Ask Jesus to grant you sight and to show compassion to others so that you may “do unto others what you would want to be done unto you”.
Every tree is known by its own fruit. To have good fruit such as the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), glorifies God because it gives sustenance to us and also to the people who see us wearing Christ in our hearts.
Motivating you on,
Geraldine and Marianne
Questions for Reflection
Are we too quick in playing the judge? Who are we to judge and condemn others when God is Love and is quick to forgive us for our own mistakes and sins?
Jesus tells us “Not to judge and condemn others but to forgive and be kind to others”. Ask Jesus to grant you sight and to show compassion to others so that you may “do unto others what you would want to be done unto you”.