Twenty Third Week in Ordinary Time
Gospel: Lk 6: 39-42
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.”
DON’T JUDGE YOUR NIEGHBOUR: “First take off the log in your eye”. Jesus knows that human beings have failings, and that is why He uses parables to help us recognize that we are weak. In this, He warns that we should focus on our failings before addressing those of others. If we do not address our issues, we are walking in darkness due to our blindness of heart. In this state, we cannot lead others in the journey of faith. We need to ask God to send us the spirit of truth to enlighten us so that we might not judge and mislead others. What are the logs in my eyes? What destroys my relationship with God and with my neighbour?
PRAYER: Lord open our eyes to accept others.
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FRATERNAL CORRECTION: A blind person cannot lead the other person. Perfection consists in imitating God the Father. He is God by being compassionate, and his compassion is his ability to feel for others. The attitude of judging our brothers and sisters is opposite of being merciful to them. St. Paul warns that one who has a bad behavior cannot be a leader and cannot lead others in a right path. Yet he can be healed by the pure grace of God like St. Paul who was changed by the Grace of God from arrogance to a servant of God (1 Tim 1:13). For God nothing is impossible. We need to purify our minds and our spirits to become like Him. St. Paul gives a guidance to us all, that apostolic life requires us to know our environment very well and the problems of others. Let us renounce whatever is contrary to the Gospel and ask the grace of God for the complete transformation.
DAILY GOSPEL 