Scripture:
Reflection:
In a group where people were sharing about seeing faults in others, I heard a phrase I never heard before: “You spot it, you got it.” I liked it when I heard it. It refers to that all-too-human tendency to point out what we dislike in others when it is something we have in ourselves. In our Gospel reading, Jesus points out that we cannot presume to point out the faults of others, much less help them, when we don’t recognize our own faults: “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.”
I think it helps to remember that for the most part, we cannot remove the “wooden beam,” or even the “splinter,” from our ‘eye” by ourselves. We need the grace of God to remove our faults. Acknowledging this gives us the humility to actually be of service to someone else. We don’t help each other as experts as much as we help others as fellow travelers; as those who have known woundedness, too.
Before the Cross, we are all humbled and in need of mercy. This is why Jesus can tell us to stop judging and stop condemning. We may have to call out injustice, but we need not condemn others. Instead, we come together with people of good faith and work for justice and thereby help make peace. May the measure we measure out to others be one of generosity and compassion and the love of God in Jesus Christ.
Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P., is the local superior of the Passionist Community in Birmingham, Alabama.