Saint Paul writes in today’s first reading for Mass that he fears, “that after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.” He has the right sentiment. The gospel reflects this same danger. It is a danger that every single one of us could fall prey to, as well. It is something to be concerned about.
We dedicate years of our life trying to be a good Catholic. Many of us know a great deal about the Catholic faith, we frequent the sacraments, live up to our vocation, work at growing in the virtues and avoiding sin. We try to be of service to others, and share our faith whenever we get a chance to do so. We try to grow to become more like Jesus Christ, as the years progress.
Everything can hum along smoothly in our lives, until suddenly we are hit with something that is just very hard to cope with. Maybe it is something that someone else has done that hurt us deeply. A spouse commits adultery, or leaves and files for a divorce. You could have a minor disagreement with a friend you have known for a long time, and that friend suddenly quits talking to you. Perhaps an adult child left home, and doesn’t have any contact with you, after all the sacrifices, love and attention you gave them over the years.
Relationships can also take a turn for the worse because of drugs and alcohol, abuse, children with behavior problems, unemployment, etc.
Life throws wrenches at us sometimes, that tangles everything up and is difficult to cope with. So, we try to figure out what is wrong.
If our friend won’t talk to us, we may think they are just too sensitive to something we said. If a spouse left, then you might think that they set out to ruin your life on purpose. Or, they cheated on you, and you may feel like you are the innocent spouse. You might also think that your children took you for granted and they are selfish if they seldom call or come visit. People often think that a family member who drinks too much, or suffers with depression, has a major character flaw. If a person won’t work, they are just lazy. These are examples of the ‘wooden beam’ in our eyes, that Jesus is talking about in today’s gospel:
“Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive 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.”
There is absolutely no question that adultery is a mortal sin. But, sometimes there are circumstances that the innocent spouse may contributed to the situation. Being a control freak, verbally abusing a spouse, or putting them down all the time, or ignoring them and never showing them any affection, can contribute to the weakness of the spouse who cheated. The spouse who cheated committed a mortal sin, but Jesus also defended the woman who committed adultery. Perhaps he understood her relationship with her spouse, her need to be loved, and how that need was misdirected. Jesus told her to go and sin no more though, because there was a better way to address her need to be loved, within the context of her own marriage.
People who are put down, verbally abused, belittled, or others are constantly finding fault with them, will often act out in ways that are sinful. Either that, or they just leave and cut contact with the one who had a chronic pattern of hurting them. That happens with adult children sometimes.
If people won’t work, it may not be because they are lazy. It could be because of their low self esteem, caused in part by family members who do not respect them and see their good traits. It could also be because they suffer from an undiagnosed mental illness, like panic attacks, depression or anxiety. Some of the reasons people become mentally ill is because of medical reasons, but sometimes it is triggered by their home environment too. This is also true with children that get bad grades in school sometimes. They can have attention deficit disorder, an undiagnosed learning disability, or they suffer a lot of family turmoil and stress at home.
We are not always the innocent party. Jesus makes that pretty clear in today’s gospel. We can be the blind person trying to guide another blind person, if our eyesight is always focused outward, instead of inward. This was the danger Saint Paul spoke of, in today’s reading for Mass too. He preached publicly to others, so his focus was often on other people, but he didn’t want to lose the focus on his own sanctity in the process.
The responsorial psalm today has some pretty good advice, on how to keep our own hearts dwelling in love. The heart of our hearts, should reside with The Lord:
“My soul yearns and pines
for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my flesh
cry out for the living God.
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest
in which she puts her young;
Your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my king and my God!”
Daily Mass Readings:
1 Corinthians 9: 16-19, 22b-27 / Psalm 84 / Luke 6: 39-42
