Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C - Gospel Reflection

Luke 6:39-45 

This is the last Sunday in Ordinary time before we enter into the fast-approaching season of Lent. Today’s readings could serve as a guide in the examination of our spiritual lives before we begin the Lenten season, and help to direct our attention to the proper disposition we should have in carrying out the practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving during the upcoming forty days.

As Jesus warns us, we must always be on guard against the temptation to find fault in others. This is not to say that we should look past crimes and allow wrongs to go unpunished, and this is most definitely not a justification for the evils that we are capable of. Rather, He is telling us not to let these misgivings blind us from the dignity of that person or of our own place. When we focus on the faults of our neighbor, the devil presents our own virtues as the standard, and this he usually glorifies, thus making us believe ourselves to be some figure that in reality, is only a distorted image of who we truly are. Then, this splinter in our brother's eye that we see, becomes a wooden beam in our own.

We especially must be careful when, as our Lord tells us, we have a desire to remove this splinter. If we do this, we will only push that wooden beam even deeper into our own eye. Time and again, we fall not because of what is blatantly wrong, but because of many small imperfections under the guise of some good. It appears to us that we would be helping our brother if we could perfect the imperfections that we see in them. But we must keep two things in mind. First, we do not know the true state of our brother's soul. That is God’s job, not ours, and what appears to be a fault to us, may in fact be a means that our Lord is using to perfect the soul, or even a perfection itself! Of course, there are times when light must be shed on wrongdoings, such as when someone is causing undeniable disruption or the like. However, in such a case, we must use careful discretion and not overstep our boundaries, if it is our place as instructor. Or our duty may only be to report to someone more experienced in these matters. The second thing to remember is humility. In order to foster true love of our brothers and sisters, it is necessary to first clothe ourselves in humility.

Thomas Merton said “The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise, we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them.” This twisting of others is what Jesus is warning us against today, for it is a habit that is easy to fall into. Lent, therefore, is a time to be drawn away from what we see in others so that we might be able to clearly discern what in ourselves. It doesn’t matter what people around us are giving up, the amount they donate, or the time they spend in prayer. If we stop directing their path in an unhealthy way, then we will be free to follow the path by which God is directing us.

It is impossible to bear good fruit if we are not first good ourselves. Therefore, we must first work on ourselves, and then, simply by our example, God will be able to bear fruit in others. So, within the next couple of days, as we make ready for Lent, may God grant us humility and contrition, and the quiet discernment of the path He has laid out for us. May He also calm the desire to direct our neighbor, and gently remind us that to love is to give, not to direct.