Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time-C
“Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own? A well-known tactic of humanity is to blame others for a minor transgression while ignoring a bigger problem of our own.
A cute story illustrates this so well. A husband of fifty years asked his doctor how he could get his wife to admit she is hard of hearing. The doctor suggested he ask her what’s for dinner in different rooms in the house and see if she responds. The husband did as the doctor suggested and asked when he first entered the house, then in the living room and bedroom. When his wife didn’t answer, he went to the kitchen and asked her with his voice raised. Immediately, his wife turned around and said, “Quit screaming, for the fourth time, spaghetti and meatballs.”
After Jesus commented on how eager we are to point out others’ flaws and ignore our own, he called those types of people, hypocrites. In this context, Jesus does not mean a person condemns another while doing the same things as the accused. Instead, Jesus uses the term to mean a person assumes virtues and qualities the person does not have. The word hypocrite comes from the Greek word hypokrit, which means an actor who wore masks to look like the characters they were playing.
Jesus tells us that when we condemn others, we are like actors afraid to expose our evil deeds by projecting them on another. Jesus is not condemning a person who, in good faith, attempts a fraternal correction but rather a person who hides behind a mask, hoping his deeds will not be known.
Besides projection, there is another reason why we might be tempted to call out another’s fault before our own. Usually, it is a coping mechanism that gives us an out so we do not have to reflect on our shortcomings. Examining our conscience and showing how we have fallen short daily is never easy. It is akin to mental flagellation; no one rushes to do it unless you are scrupulous.
Examining one’s conscience is often considered a solitary endeavor, but that is not the case. If we desire, the grace of God will accompany us on the journey of self-illumination, making our examination beneficial.
The will of God is all about reconciliation, and if a person has strained his relationship with God or neighbor, be that big or small, God will supply all of the grace necessary. How apropos is this message only days before the Lenten season?
Our Lenten journey often begins with what we want to give up or how to be more charitable. These are good wishes, but what is usually last on our list is the need to reconciliation with God or others. It is so much easier to give something up than to ask for forgiveness. That dynamic can change this Lent.
By receiving ashes this Wednesday, we consciously or unconsciously admit our inadequacy. “Remember you are dust, and unto dust, you will return.” Accepting our dependency on God’s grace to overcome our existential demise can redirect us to think differently. Acknowledging my sinfulness by wearing ashes can change the tendency to judge others harshly, or at least it should.
If we want reconciliation as our focus this Lent, we will have little time to notice others’ splinters; we will be too busy removing the beam from our eyes.