39 He also told them a parable: "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully taught will be like his teacher. 41 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 42 Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye." Luke 6:39-42
There's nothing mysterious about Jesus' plain spoken teaching here. I entered religious life in 1969, a small Franciscan community in the throws of the renewal that followed the Vatican Council. This community had just stopped the practice of Culpa Chapter—the public declaring of each others' negligences and faults. "Brother Martin talked in the dormitory after lights out." "Brother Cyril broke a cup in the kitchen and didn't declare it." "Brother David is seen in the company of Brother Francis too often." "Brother Luke takes seconds without asking permission." It made for a very neurotic, suspicious way of life. There was nothing interior about it—just accusing others of breaches of outer religious rules. Jesus would have a field day!
Here's a funny aside. When you broke or ruined something (a dish, a book, a pair of muddy sandals, a bent fork) you had to bring it to the chapter of faults if you intended to declare your own offense against poverty. One day a brother brought a toilet seat to the chapter, as he had broken it. Everyone laughed and understood how ridiculous the whole thing was. That was the last culpa chapter. But religion can get like that—petty and minding everyone else and losing one's own self-observing Christ-Center. In these gospel verses, Jesus says effectively, "Cut it out."
Verse 39: Jesus gives us the little picture of one blind man taking off another blind man for a walk. Both will wind up in trouble. Imagine two people of low conscience (low consciousness) conspiring. Both are headed for a downfall. I'm thinking of troublemakers in the small parish, who put their heads together and don't even see themselves and how destructive of community they are—what spoilers!
Verse 40: "...but everyone when he/she is fully taught..." Did I ever pay attention to those Christ words? Do I allow myself to be taught? The word is docile. It comes from the Latin docere—to teach. Instead of saying to myself, "Oh yeah, of course I'm teachable," I might pull up from the back of my mind when it was that I last listened long enough to what someone else had to say that I took it to heart and changed course. I sometimes wonder if docility (teachable-ness) is dead.
Verse 41: Jesus asks a question: why do we do this—see the faults of others and not our own? Jesus asks a question; he wants an answer, not an argument. Does it have to do with our fearing vulnerability, that a crack in our facade will be revealed, that someone will not like us, that we'll be perceived as a loser? In a homily at the start of Lent I once suggested that spouses ask each other, "What should I do for Lent?" One rather upset woman got in my face at the door — no way was she going to take the risk of asking her husband what she should do for Lent? Maybe he'd suggest giving up so much time gossiping about the parish on the phone? Stop trying to be so impressive?
Verse 42: One translation uses the word, "plank" — take the plank out of your own eye first. But I think log is better. Jesus has a sense of humor. Log is funnier than plank. He knows how we are. I put up a picture of a log pile here. Jesus speaks in the singular, but truth be told, we can carry a whole pile of logs in our eyes. Judgments, assessments about everyone and everything. And some of those judgments can be very old. Remember, when a tree is cut, we can count the rings revealing how old the tree is — a ring for every year. I saw a tree slice once that had well over 1000 rings. Old tree — old resentments. A lifetime of judging and resenting! But again this gospel is about seeing ourselves first. "Why do you see...?"
"You hypocrite..." The Greek word hypocrite means actor. When religion doesn't take me inside to self-knowledge and the awareness of new direction and evolution, I'm just an actor on a stage. There was an older nun on the seminary faculty who called us all out on this one day. She said at a house meeting, "You know, you're all sitting there in chapel every morning with your prayer books on your laps with the colored ribbons set, and you're looking all around the place checking out each other's sweaters." Ouch!
