Luke 6:39-45

Sirach 27:4-7

Psalm 92:2-23, 13-14, 15-16

1 Corinthians 15:54-58

Luke 6:39-45

Jesus told his disciples a parable,

“Can a blind person guide a blind person?

Will not both fall into a pit?

No disciple is superior to the teacher;

but when fully trained,

every disciple will be like his teacher.

Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye,

but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?

How can you say to your brother,

‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,’

when you do not even notice 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.

“A good tree does not bear rotten fruit,

nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit.

For every tree is known by its own fruit.

For people do not pick figs from thornbushes,

nor do they gather grapes from brambles.

A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good,

but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil;

for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, enlighten my mind with the light of faith so that I may be a good teacher and guide. Help me to overcome sin in my life and any hypocrisy. I want to bear good fruit for your kingdom.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Remove the Wooden Beam from Your Eye: In his Sermon on the Plain in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus addresses three topics in parables. In the first parable, Jesus speaks about our relationships with others and how we attempt to guide and teach others. Those who are blind cannot successfully guide the blind. Jesus is evoking the image of physical blindness to speak about the pitfalls of spiritual blindness. Jesus then evokes the relationship of a disciple to their teacher. A disciple, who, by definition, is learning from their teacher, will not surpass their teacher in knowledge. When the teacher has taught their student all that they themselves know, the student (disciple) will be their equal. This doesn’t mean that the disciple or student can continue to grow in knowledge on their own or with a different teacher. But when the teacher is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, no disciple can surpass or even equal their teacher. In the second parable, Jesus speaks about how we can fall into hypocrisy and judge others. We are blind and oblivious to our own major faults and, at the same time, feel like we can judge others and criticize them for their lesser faults. Imagine an employer who is entirely consumed by greed and who hasn’t helped the poor with their abundant wealth, and yet reprimands one of their employees for a minor fault. That is what Jesus is speaking about. We tend to ignore our own major sins and faults and yet can be wholly focused on the lesser sins or imperfections of those around us.

2. Every Tree is Known by its Fruit: In the third parable, Jesus compares people who produce good fruit to those who produce evil fruit. It is often hard to know or discern who has good intentions and who has evil intentions. Things often only become clear when we see if the person has produced good fruit or evil fruit. Sirach echoes this Gospel teaching: “The fruit of a tree shows the care it had” (Sirach 27:6). Sirach emphasizes how our speech reveals the inner person as well as their virtues and vices. Sirach “would not deny that one can deceive through speech or make oneself appear better than he really is, but this description cannot be maintained indefinitely. Eventually, the character of a person will show itself in their words” (Bergsma, The Word of the Lord: Year C, 255).

3. Clothed with Immortality: In the Second Reading, Paul continues to teach the Corinthian community about the importance of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. The mystery of Jesus’ resurrection teaches us that our true hope is for eternal life and not success in this passing world. Through his passion and resurrection, Jesus has been victorious and conquered death. The Corinthians were having difficulty understanding how a corpse or rotting body could share the glory of the kingdom. And Paul teaches that our mortal, human nature is unable to pass from corruption to incorruption by its own power. However, God’s power can work the resurrection, and God’s Word reveals this to us. Paul sees death and the netherworld as enemies that are themselves put to death by the resurrection from the dead (Montague, First Corinthians, 285). Even now, Jesus Christ is giving us, his brothers and sisters, a share in his victory, and Jesus’ resurrection is powerfully at work within us through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (see Montague, First Corinthians, 286).

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you are the divine teacher and gardener. You know and can teach me the path that leads to life. You know exactly how to prune me and tend the soil of my life so that I bear abundant fruit for your Kingdom.

Living the Word of God: How am I judging the faults of others? Am I just in my judgments and merciful? What kind of fruits have I produced in my life?