From the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.

Luke 6: 39-49

And he told them 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 thorn bushes, 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.”

“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I command? I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, listens to my words, and acts on them. That one is like a person building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when the flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been well built. But the one who listens and does not act, is like a person who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, it collapsed at once and was completely destroyed.”

 The Gospel of The Lord.

Discussion Questions:

1. What is your first reaction to this Gospel? What about Jesus’ teaching causes resistance in you?
2. What is dangerous about being blind to our faults, and how do you guard against this happening in you?
3. Where do you see the metaphors of “healthy trees bearing good fruit, and solid foundations withstanding storms” coming to life around you?
4. Who have been your informal spiritual teachers, past and present? How have they helped you to see spiritual things more clearly?

Biblical Context

Luke 6: 39-49
Margaret Nutting Ralph PHD

The sermon on the plain continues. Remember, the context is discipleship. Jesus has taught his brand-new disciples that the poor and the hungry are blessed, and that his disciples must love their enemies.  These are very hard teachings. Jesus’ contemporaries would have presumed just the opposite: that the rich are blessed and that their enemies, are God’s enemies too.  Last week, as we read Jesus’ teaching that we must love our enemies, we acknowledged that we might reel resistant to Jesus’ teaching. Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel suggest that those listening to Jesus were feeling resistant too.

Today’s Lectionary reading begins, “Jesus told his disciples a parable— ” What follows does not seem to be a parable at all, but a question: “Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?” We will have a great deal to say about parables as we read Luke’s Gospel.  For now we will simply notice that the word parable is used in Luke’s Gospel not only to describe developed stories; it is also used, as it is here, to name a short, proverbial saying. This distinction will become important in later discussions.

Jesus’ question, “Can a blind person guide a blind person?” addresses the resistance his disciples may be feeling to his teachings. If they are resistant it is because they have a blind spot; they cannot see the truth of Jesus’ teaching. Until the disciples can see the truth, they are not ready to lead others. If they were to teach others now they would simply teach others their own misunderstandings. That would be the blind leading the blind. The disciples and those they are leading would both fall into the pit. Before leading others the disciples need to spend time with Jesus so that they can learn the truth. Jesus then tells them that; “when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher.” In other words, disciples become like their teacher when, instead of resisting the truth that their teacher is teaching, they understand and embrace it.

Jesus then asks, “Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?” When Jesus speaks of a “wooden beam” in his disciple’s eye he is again describing spiritual blindness. This blindness leads one to be judgmental about the behavior of others while, at the same time, failing to notice what is wrong in one’s own behavior. Jesus insists that if his disciples want to judge someone, they should judge themselves: “Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.”

Jesus wants his disciples to bear good fruit. However, they will not be able to bear good fruit until they become disciples, listen to their teacher, stop being judgmental about others, recognize and repent of their own failings, and understand Jesus’ new teaching. Once they have accomplished this, they will bear good fruit. “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.”

One of the effects of Jesus’ teachings about the poor, about enemies, and about judging others is that as his disciples respond to Jesus’ teachings, they will become more loving. “A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, … for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.” When the disciples are fully trained, they will be like their teacher. Like Jesus, they will act out of love rather than acting out of ignorance.

Tending our Blindness

Reflection
Sr. Mary McGlone CSJ

In today’s Gospel, Jesus asks, “Can a blind person guide a blind person?” Today he might ask, “Can artificial intelligence produce anything except artificiality?” In truth, a blind person may be the best one to teach another to navigate the world in ways that do not rely on sight. Those who use AI can become well prepared enough to sift through the chaff to get to the wheat. But much of our communication, entertainment, and politics militate against such discernment; instead, they overwhelm us with so much trivial information that we end up like a hunter-gatherer seeking millet or manioca in the Aldi’s cereal aisle.

The story of the speck and the beam gives us another example of Jesus’ understanding of AI. In ancient Israel, wood was so expensive that people constructed their homes with stones and adobe-like bricks. Most of the wooden beams they could see were in the Temple and they were typically between 15 and 42 feet long, weighing an average of about 300 pounds. That’s a lot to hold in front of you while trying to extract some dust from someone’s eye!

Jesus had a sense of humor and loved to make people laugh — and slowly realize they were laughing at themselves.

Jesus made ludicrous comparisons to help people comprehend the ridiculousness of the situations around them. He wanted them to judge well the difference between chaff and wheat, between trees solidly planted near living streams and the capricious leaves that make a spectacular show on their way to becoming mulch.

It becomes pretty obvious that today’s Liturgy of the Word prods us to seek wisdom that sidesteps a myriad of distractions. Media, advertising, and attention-seeking public figures are playing “Made you look!” with us, often, to draw our attention away from how they are threatening truth, human thriving, and pulling off other actions and attitudes that counter the reign of God.

There’s a poster that features Albert Einstein and the quote, “Two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.” Today’s Gospel ends with Jesus’ suggestions about where to seek good fruit. Jesus sums it all up, saying, “From the fullness of the heart, the mouth speaks.”

Today’s question seems to be, what will lead us to wisdom of heart? First, we need enough humility and self-knowledge to recognize that we are all blind in some ways and that we need one another’s discerning guidance. Second, we need to cultivate our awareness that the fault we dislike and criticize in another is very often a reflection of our own failings. Most of all, we need to look to the Master again and again, remembering that an accurate understanding of Christ’s teaching will make us uncomfortable and goad us to grow.

As long as we maintain awareness of the homegrown logs that block our sight, we can offer Gospel-based criticism of what is happening around us. Not only that but we will be compelled to expose the lies and distractions that come from rotten trees and stores of evil.

Selections from Breaking Open the Lectionary: Lectionary Readings in Their Biblical Context for RCIA, Faith Sharing Groups, and Lectors—Cycle C, by Margaret Nutting Ralph, Copyright © 2006 by Margaret Nutting Ralph. Paulist Press, Inc., New York/Mahwah, NJ. Reprinted by permission of Paulist Press, Inc. www.paulistpress.com

Reflection Excerpt, Sr. Mary M. McGlone. St. Joseph Sr. Mary M. McGlone serves on the congregational leadership team of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet.