Word to the Wise
Monday, June 20, 2022 - Monday in the 12th Week in Ordinary Time
[2 Kgs 17:5-8, 13-15a, 18 and Matt 7:1-5]"Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove that splinter from your eye,' while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother's eye." [Matthew]
In the past, when I have had occasion to preach from the text about the wooden beam in the eye, I have tried to find a piece of wood with lots of splinters showing and pass it around during the homily! Another "prop" I used on one occasion was a large gavel of the sort a judge would use. But Jesus' image really gets to the point. How do we "see" others? Is the "splinter" we think we see in someone else's eye really the splinter in our own? Jesus uses the exaggerated contrast of beam v. splinter to make his point, but often the problem is smaller in size but still results in hypocritical judgment. We may think, "There but for the grace of God go I!" but as soon as we think that, we may find ourselves convicted of false righteousness, like the Pharisee judging the tax collector in the Gospel According to Luke [18:9-14].
Another image comes to us from Native American heritage in which one is challenged to walk a mile in another's moccasins before making a judgment about the other. Prudent assessment first requires humble self-knowledge. Jesus' image of the beam and splinter can help us to see ourselves better. AMEN