First Take The Plank Out Of Your Eye (Luke 6:42)

"Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they both not fall into the pit?" (Luke 6:39)

The one thing that stands out in today’s gospel text is the humour. I hope there are others who noticed that too. Jesus uses statements like “Can one blind man guide another? Surely both will fall into a ditch pit,” “Hypocrite, remove the plank from your own eye first; then you will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Imagining the scenes would make anyone laugh out loud! I bet Jesus had a good sense of humour and amused his audience with illustrations, puns and jokes when needed. The Gospels tell us that Jesus often went into the mountains alone. Why? GK Chesterton speculates the apostles made funny, even ridiculous remarks. He did not want to offend them by laughing in their faces. So, He ran into the mountains holding His sides and letting the laughter come out in steady bursts. If for any reason you don't posses a sense of humor you won't be able to understand this.

Jesus uses a figure of speech ‘hyperbole’ to make the preaching somewhat hilarious. Jokes aside, when Jesus says, "You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye" he calls us who would act as examples or preach to others to first hear and believe ourselves. Why is it that we observe the splinter in our brother’s eye and never notice the plank in our own? We are all flawed. There is no one alive or dead who is / was perfect, except Jesus. So how dare we point an accusing finger at someone when we our selves are flawed? Christian leadership means being the role model for the lesson that we are teaching!

If we are not personally living and treating people with fairness, charity and justice, then all that we try to teach and witness, whether to our own family or neighbours, is lost and meaningless. Every episode of our life and all the ties that bind us to each other are ultimately about truth, justice, and fairness. What we are speaks so loudly that nobody can hear what we are saying. Another way of saying this is that we cannot give what we ourselves do not personally possess. We cannot give virtue, good example, or inspiration to another if we are not already living these things ourselves.

"The disciple is not superior to his teacher; the fully trained disciple will always be like his teacher." Don’t think you know it all, if you want to be able to judge and discern accurately you have to be fully trained by the Lord, and undergo a spiritual transformation. The only real teacher is the person who is personally in the process of conversion. Let us pray that we may acquire those virtues that we try to teach or see in others.

“Lord, help me to put aside any prejudices that may hinder your plan for my life. Transform my mind and heart that I may be spiritually fit for thy kingdom.”