The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate our journey and identify the gratitude we feel for our changes and for the people who inspired us to change.
Gratitude for Growth
The reading from the First Letter to Timothy expresses Paul’s gratitude for mercy in his conversion.
* [1:12–17] Present gratitude for the Christian apostleship leads Paul to recall an earlier time when he had been a fierce persecutor of the Christian communities (cf. Acts 26:9–11) until his conversion by intervention of divine mercy through the appearance of Jesus. This and his subsequent apostolic experience testify to the saving purpose of Jesus’ incarnation. The fact of his former ignorance of the truth has not kept the apostle from regarding himself as having been the worst of sinners (1 Tm 1:15). Yet he was chosen to be an apostle, that God might manifest his firm will to save sinful humanity through Jesus Christ (1 Tm 1:16). The recounting of so great a mystery leads to a spontaneous outpouring of adoration (1 Tm 1:17).1
Psalm 16 is a song of trust and security in God.
* [Psalm 16] In the first section, the psalmist rejects the futile worship of false gods (Ps 16:2–5), preferring Israel’s God (Ps 16:1), the giver of the land (Ps 16:6). The second section reflects on the wise and life-giving presence of God (Ps 16:7–11).2
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus asks in the Sermon on the Plain, ‘Can a blind person guide a blind person?’
* [6:20–49] Luke’s “Sermon on the Plain” is the counterpart to Matthew’s “Sermon on the Mount” (Mt 5:1–7:27). It is addressed to the disciples of Jesus, and, like the sermon in Matthew, it begins with beatitudes (Lk 6:20–22) and ends with the parable of the two houses (Lk 6:46–49). Almost all the words of Jesus reported by Luke are found in Matthew’s version, but because Matthew includes sayings that were related to specifically Jewish Christian problems (e.g., Mt 5:17–20; 6:1–8, 16–18) that Luke did not find appropriate for his predominantly Gentile Christian audience, the “Sermon on the Mount” is considerably longer. Luke’s sermon may be outlined as follows: an introduction consisting of blessings and woes (Lk 6:20–26); the love of one’s enemies (Lk 6:27–36); the demands of loving one’s neighbor (Lk 6:37–42); good deeds as proof of one’s goodness (Lk 6:43–45); a parable illustrating the result of listening to and acting on the words of Jesus (Lk 6:46–49). At the core of the sermon is Jesus’ teaching on the love of one’s enemies (Lk 6:27–36) that has as its source of motivation God’s graciousness and compassion for all humanity (Lk 6:35–36) and Jesus’ teaching on the love of one’s neighbor (Lk 6:37–42) that is characterized by forgiveness and generosity.3
Carol Zuegner asks “What am I not seeing in myself and others because of that wooden beam in my own eye? How can I remove that beam (ouch) and really see people?”
That person who is loud and annoying? Maybe she is lonely. I’ve been lonely. That person who is grumpy? Maybe he is carrying a burden that has become too heavy. That person who seems to have everything and makes me feel small? Maybe she is hiding a deep sorrow. What my squirming has made me feel: I am always grateful for the grace of God to forgive me and to love me as I am. I pray today that I really see God in all things and all people, even and especially, the annoying and the grumpy. I pray that people can see God in me4
Don Schwager quotes “Seeing the speck in another's eye”, by Saint Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"The word hypocrite is aptly employed here (Luke 6:42, Matthew 7:5), since the denouncing of evils is best viewed as a matter only for upright persons of goodwill. When the wicked engage in it, they are like impersonators, masqueraders, hiding their real selves behind a mask, while they portray anothers character through the mask. The word hypocrites in fact signifies pretenders. Hence we ought especially to avoid that meddlesome class of pretenders who under the pretense of seeking advice undertake the censure of all kinds of vices. They are often moved by hatred and malice. Rather, whenever necessity compels one to reprove or rebuke another, we ought to proceed with godly discernment and caution. First of all, let us consider whether the other fault is such as we ourselves have never had or whether it is one that we have overcome. Then, if we have never had such a fault, let us remember that we are human and could have had it. But if we have had it and are rid of it now, let us remember our common frailty, in order that mercy, not hatred, may lead us to the giving of correction and admonition. In this way, whether the admonition occasions the amendment or the worsening of the one for whose sake we are offering it (for the result cannot be foreseen), we ourselves shall be made safe through singleness of eye. But if on reflection we find that we ourselves have the same fault as the one we are about to reprove, let us neither correct nor rebuke that one. Rather, let us bemoan the fault ourselves and induce that person to a similar concern, without asking him to submit to our correction."(excerpt from Sermon on the Mount 2.19.64)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 6:39-42 comments that the Holy Spirit, who knows us through and through, can help us remove our wooden beams, even if they seem especially heavy. Sometimes he will bring those beams into sharp relief during our day. Or he might help us recognize some negative tendency in the way we relate to people and give us clarity on where we need his help to change.
If God shows you a beam, he will help you to remove it in the most encouraging way possible. And that’s how he wants you to respond when you see a splinter in another person’s eye. A heart that wants to help others is a blessing from the Lord, but it comes with responsibility: to see as he sees and to love as he loves. “Holy Spirit, remove the beam in my eye today so that I might build up the body of Christ.”6
Friar Jude Winkler notes that the theology on the nature and structure of the Christian Church is different from that expressed by Paul in his authentic letters. This letter was written in Paul’s name. Grace and mercy called Paul out of arrogance to life. If it happened to Paul, it can happen to anyone. Friar Jude reminds us that conversion is expressed in our lifestyle that does not condemn but lives with mercy and compassion.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, cites the work of the German philosopher Karl Jaspers (1883–1969) and the English scholar Owen Barfield as he comments that among the people called Israel there was a dramatic realization of intimate union and group participation with God. They recognized the individually enlightened person like Moses or Isaiah, but they did something more. The notion of participation was widened to the Jewish group and beyond, at least for many of the Hebrew prophets. God was saving the people as a whole. Participation was historical and social, and not just individual. It is amazing that we have forgotten or ignored this, making salvation all about private persons going to heaven or hell, which is surely a regression from the historical, collective, and even cosmic notion of salvation taught in the Bible. Remember, God was always saving Israel and not just Abraham.
Both the Hebrew Scriptures and experience itself created a matrix into which a new realization could be communicated. Jesus offered the world full and final participation in his own very holistic teaching. This allowed Jesus to speak of true union at all levels: with oneself, with neighbors, with outsiders, with enemies, with nature, and—through all of these—with the Divine. The net and sweep of participation was total. What else could truly “good news” be?7
As we reflect on our own salvation history, the influence of the lifestyle of others and changes in our attitude, prompted by the Spirit, have united us more closely to Christ and the Christian community.
References
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