So, how many of you have a splinter in your eye? I don\u2019t see anyone here that suffers from\nthat problem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course, if I did, I would be guilty of exactly what Jesus\nis talking about- I would be guilty of concerning myself with the faults of my\nbrothers and sisters rather than being concerned with my own actions and\ngetting rid of my faults. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
You know, it is comforting to compare oneself with others\nwho we perceive have greater faults, isn\u2019t it? \nIt makes us feel better about ourselves. \nIt gives us an excuse for staying just the way we are rather than working\nto make ourselves the best possible person in God\u2019s eyes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I think that\u2019s why\nscandal and gossip are so attractive to some folks. It takes the heat off of them; they can consume\nthemselves with judging and ridiculing others and divert attention from\nthemselves. And so, the world is quick\nto judge someone who is caught cheating on their spouse; stealing from the\ncookie jar; or acting irresponsibly in some situation. And while everyone is busy echoing their\noutrage at this other person, our own faults get a free ride! But God is not concerned with who we are\nrelative to others. God is only concerned with who we are in relation to his\nwill for us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, the irony is that all of us really do need to make\njudgments, only our judgments should not be condemnations; rather, they need to\nbe discernments about the things that affect our own actions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Permit me to explain: Notice Sirach\u2019s words of wisdom: \u201dWhen\na sieve is shaken, the husks appear; so do one\u2019s faults when one speaks\u201d. You see it is the influence that the evil\npeople in the world have when they speak out of authority that engenders real\nevil. So, we do need to judge;\nparticularly what people say. We need to\nput their words and thoughts through a sieve to determine their real intention;\nto see their real effect; to assure that they don\u2019t lead us astray. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s what Jesus means when He says: \u201cA good person out of\nthe goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of\nevil produces evil.\u201d Perhaps an example\nwould help. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s a carefully crafted movement in our society that uses\nthe term \u201cPro-choice\u201d. These people make\ntheir arguments from a positive perspective- a woman has the right to choose\nwhether she has a baby or not. Who can\nbe against that- a woman\u2019s right to choose? \nBut when you put that argument through the sieve, the truth surfaces\nvery quickly. First, a couple already has\nthe right to choose making the baby or not. \nSo, they already made the choice. \nSecond, the sieve exposes the fact that other people\u2019s rights are at\nstake- the baby\u2019s rights. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now I use this example because it is just so clear. And almost anyone can see how this evil is\ndegrading society- making us more selfish; undermining the family and dulling\nour sense of guilt for murder. The\nevents in New York State and Virginia recently are dramatic evidence of all of\nthat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But there are so many other subtle evils. How do we assure we can discern them? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, that\u2019s why Jesus talks about the blind leading the\nblind. In fact, consider these evils-\neuthanasia, pornography, drugs, and gangs. Many people who sell such evils are blind; they\nhave been seduced by evil and don\u2019t even see it. And some of most basic needs- food, clothing,\nand entertainment- are tainted by economic evils like chemical preservatives,\nslave labor, and cheap thrills. Yet\nsociety buys their products because it is expedient. And so in fact the blind are leading the\nblind because most people are not properly equipped to discern, to put their\nwords through a sieve. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And so what does Jesus say? \nHe says that \u201cBut when fully trained, every disciple will be like his\nteacher.\u201d And that is the secret. We must be fully trained as disciples of\nChrist; trained by those we can trust. The\nChurch has handed down the Gospels and Scriptures as well as the traditional\nteachings of the great Church Doctors. That\nis something we can trust; that\u2019s how we can be prepared to make proper\njudgments about what we hear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If all there is to our lives is the world and what it has to\noffer, then the selfish standards of the secular world would make sense. But that is simply not true. As Paul says in our second reading: \u201cWhen\nthis which is corruptible clothes itself with incorruptibility\u2026\u201d, \u201c\u2026then the word that is written shall come\nabout.\u201d And the word that is written is\neverlasting life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus leaves us with this thought: \u201cFor from the fullness of\nthe heart the mouth speaks. So then be\nstrong, fully devoted to the work of the Lord.\u201d \nAnd be able to discern what comes from a righteous heart. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Sirach 27: 4-7; 1 Cor 15:54-58; Luke 6: 39-45 Deacon Larry Brockman So, how many of you have a splinter in your eye? I don\u2019t see anyone here that suffers from that problem. Of course, if I did, I would be guilty of exactly what Jesus is talking about- I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[567],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1103"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1103"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1103\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1104,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1103\/revisions\/1104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}