Jesus told his disciples a parable,
“Can a blind person guide a blind person?
Will not both fall into a pit?
No disciple is superior to the teacher;
but when fully trained,
every disciple will be like his teacher.
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye,
but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?
How can you say to your brother,
‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,’
when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye?
You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.
“A good tree does not bear rotten fruit,
nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit.
For every tree is known by its own fruit.
For people do not pick figs from thornbushes,
nor do they gather grapes from brambles.
A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good,
but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil;
for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.”
In a commentary on this gospel, Dr. John Bergsma summarizes it’s meaning concisely. He said: “There are three topics addressed in our Gospel: the importance of a teacher as a model, the danger of hypocrisy, and the mark of a good person.” And these three things are made abundantly clear when you read the gospel from this light.
Jesus’ is the greatest of all teachers, and He is the perfect role model. The early christians said that following Jesus was “the way.” and that is completely true. If you model your life after Jesus, and follow His teachings you will be less likely fall into the pit of temptation and sin. Everything that Jesus taught was meant to lift our souls up to God, and to rightly order our lives to be in full communion with Him. And everything he did in His life on earth was to show us the proper response to all temptation and sin. His response was always virtue, humility, and righteousness. and that is how we are to live our lives as well.
But alas we are human, and we fall all of the time. Sin is a part of our existence. But Jesus tells us today that hypocrisy is especially dangerous. It one of those things that we dont need to be taught, because we all instinctively understand what it is. Hypocrisy is one of those things that we humans are hyper-aware of. It is almost lke a super-power we have to be completely oblivious about our own faults, and hyper critical of everyone elses. Hypocrisy dwells in pride, and pride is the lie that tells you that you dont need God because you think that you are better than everyone else, and dont need anything from anyone. And it is in that lie that you start to ignore your own faults, and instead become hyper aware of everyone else’s.
The only antidote to hypocrisy is humility and introspection. We need to take time to sit and reflect. But today even leisure time is in short supply. We are all constantly on our phones, and screens, and some of us are on social networks scrolling endlessly, and the more we do this the less we take time to examine our conscience and commun with God and thus discern His will for our lives. Humans are becoming more and more reactive, and less and less reflective. And as a result we are becoming a much more callous and hard people. There was a reason that God made one day a week a mandatory day of reflection, because it is not goood to be constantly on defense, we need time to be introspective, and to be at rest in the shelter of God loving embrace.
And thus, the mark of a good person is the fruits that come from following the example of the good teacher, resisting the temptation of hypocrisy & pride, and ordering your life toward righteousness & goodness. We do that by never forgetting to take time, every day, to pray and to reflect on our lives, and our families, and on our relationship with God. And we must take one day a week (Sunday), to not work at all, to be with family and God, and to take time to reflect on things bigger than ourselves, and upon our relationship with Him and all of the people in our lives that we love. And we must always resist the temptation to judge others. This is crucial to the balance and happiness that God wants for all of us. Make the time in your own life and you will see the fruits.
Oh lord, help me today to see my faults, to reflect on them, and give me the courage to do what is necessary to actively make a change that will not only benefit me, but all those I love and to bring me closer to you. Amen.
