Word to the Wise
Friday, September 11, 2009 - Friday in the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Timothy 1:1-2, 12-14 and Luke 6:39-42]Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?.....
My father was a judge in Louisiana for many years. On one occasion, someone gave him a huge gavel as a kind of symbol of his office. It was much too large to take on the bench, so he kept it on a shelf in his office. I think of it when I encounter this particular image from Jesus' teaching. One of the most common faults that people accuse themselves of in the sacrament of reconciliation is that of being "judgmental." The range of "judgments" is quite large from what folks wear to the way they speak or even things over which the person being judged has no control whatsoever! I occasionally ask the penitent to take the "gavel" they carry around and bury it in their yard. That way, when they find themselves being "judgmental" they have to go out and find the place they buried the gavel and dig it up before they can render judgment! Some of the gavels they carry are very large indeed. Jesus' image can be reinforced in our own mind's eye by finding a large piece of wood with lots of splinters in it! I'm sure the effort will bring the image to life! Whether it is a beam in our eye or a large gavel in our hand, we need reminding of this all too common fault of "judgmentalism." We are often far more guilty than the one we are judging. AMEN
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