Matthew 7:1-5

Matthew 7:1-5

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Stop judging, that you may not be judged.

For as you judge, so will you be judged,

and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.

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.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, help me to see myself with true humility. Help me to see my strengths and weaknesses. Help me to know how I have collaborated with your grace and when I have rejected your help.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Stop Judging: The Gospel continues our reading of the Sermon on the Mount. We are reading from the third part of the Sermon, which centers on “deeds of kindness” and our “social obligations” in the New Covenant (Matthew 6:19-7:12). There are two main teachings. We read the first teaching last week on Friday and Saturday, and that teaching was about our relationship to the goods of this world (Matthew 6:19-34). The second is found in today’s Gospel and concerns our relationship to other people. Just as we are not to dedicate our lives primarily to storing up earthly treasure, we are not to spend our lives judging others. We need to store up heavenly treasure with God and leave the judgment of the human heart to God the Father. 

2. The Generous and Attentive Eye: Both teachings are fleshed out with parables about the eye. The good eye correctly views the riches of this world and is a generous eye (Matthew 6:22). The bad eye or evil eye is one that looks at other people’s possessions with envy and covetousness and is miserly with one’s own possessions. The good eye, we learn today, is also an eye that can see clearly. It is not blocked by a wooden beam – an image of a massive fault – and is attentive enough to guide the gentle removal of a splinter – an image of a small fault – from our brother’s eye. Both teachings are followed by an exhortation to entrust ourselves to the care of the heavenly Father. Instead of being anxious about earthly goods, we are to be primarily concerned with God’s Kingdom and righteousness, confident that God will provide the food, drink, and clothing that we need. Instead of wasting our time judging others (Matthew 7:1-5) and focusing on what they do that annoys us, we are to turn to God in prayer and ask for what we need with the expectation that the Father will respond. Both teachings invite us to pray with confidence, because our heavenly Father is generous.

3. Beams and Splinters: One of the most important lessons from the Sermon on the Mount is Jesus’ admonition, “Stop judging!” How our lives would be different if we truly practiced this! Jesus is not inviting us to be naïve or to turn a blind eye to evil. But he ardently wants us to recognize that we are not God and are not omniscient. We can barely judge our own hearts; how then can we pretend to rightly and correctly judge the hearts and innermost intentions of our brothers and sisters? Jesus wants us to look first to ourselves and remove any wooden beams that prevent us from seeing clearly. Only then are we able to discern the splinter or eyelash – the symbol of a small fault or imperfection – in our brother’s eye. You have probably experienced how good it is to receive counsel from a wise and holy person. Their counsel is truly valuable. They can see clearly with eyes of faith and spirit-infused wisdom. And with them, we can discern the path forward, having removed both beams and splinters.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you are the innocent one without any beams or splinters in your eye. All things are clear to you, and you know all things. You know my heart and what I need to do to love you and my brothers and sisters more perfectly. Guide me and teach me so that I may help those around me and in my life.

Living the Word of God: What massive wooden beams do I have in my eyes? Do I have a friend or spouse who can tell me in a couple of words what my dominant fault is? How can I work on it in the coming days, weeks, and months? Can I follow the recommendation of The Imitation of Christ to work on one virtue each year in the pursuit of holiness and perfection?