The Sermon on the Plain
The Gospel of today is a continuation of the “Sermon on the Plain” that we first heard two (2) Sunday’s ago with the Beatitudes (Chapter 6 of Luke). Last Sunday, Jesus exhorted us to show mercy and love, to pardon instead of judging and condemning. Today’s gospel passage continues in the same vein, with practical guidance on how to behave as disciples of Jesus and a warning against three (3) related dangers. First, he warns us against looking to others to find faults while ignoring our own faults or lack of introspection. Second, he warns us about the danger of hypocrisy. Third, he warns us against harness in judgement. In today’s scripture, these lessons are synergistic and mutually reinforcing.
It is often easier to see the bad in others more than the good; just as we tend to see the good in ourselves more than the bad. Indeed we can be completely unaware of failings within ourselves are all to evident to those whose live and work around us … and If we are blind to our own faults, how can we truly help other’s to see theirs? We are simply the blind leading the blind and soon we are both lost.
This is not a prohibition against recognizing the faults of others (Luke 17:3 - If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.). … rather that we should avoid passing judgement with arrogance … heedless of our own sin … because when we fail to account for our own sins, and subsequently fail to correct them, there may be someone else who Does see them… and sees that you ignore them … in other words, they see you as a hypocrite without any credibility … a bad tree … bearing bad fruit. The message is clear … just because your enemy is hateful first, doesn’t mean that you get to be hateful as well, or that you may excuse hatefulness in others.
That does not mean that criticism is not warranted or is not needed … that is assumed by the lesson of splinters and beams; because we all have splinters and beams. We are all inconsistent and flawed … and at times … we are hypocritical … but there is a right way and a wrong way to approach what is known in my Dominican community as “fraternal correction.” This is what Jesus means when he tells us that “when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher.” In other words, as a Disciple of Christ, we are to approach any rebuke as He does … with love and forgiveness. What is missing is any judgement of the sinner … only the sin. In fact, judging others doesn’t really define who they are, it defines who you are. There is a quote attributed to St Mother Teresa that puts all of this into perspective … “if you judge people, you have no time to love them.” This means that if any correction is necessary, it should be done with love and in a way that actually has a chance of accomplishing the desired change in behavior.
So … we are not supposed to judge others … but what happens when we are judged by others? Today I want to focus on seems to be a modern-day version of the splinter and beam fallacy … the tendency to engage in what is euphemistically known as … whataboutism. While the term might be relatively new in our public conscientiousness, the concept is something children seems to naturally learn … and use … from an early age … where, when faced with the consequences of their misdeeds, they attempt to deflect attention away from themselves by suggesting that another side is equally guilty of similar wrongs. Why am I in trouble for staying out late when “Joe” stayed up late to watch TV and didn’t get in trouble? Whataboutism works by pointing out the hypocrisy of others rather than engaging the arguments on the merits or by avoiding introspection and finding fault in an external source … it works because we believe that judgements should be fair to all parties … and if that is not possible … judgement is not possible … Don’t judge me … remove the beam from Your eyes first, then come back and talk to me about the beam in front of me. Such attitudes are not compatible with the Gospel … We are all inconsistent and flawed … and at times … hypocritical. It is easy to find some hypocrisy in the world and point it out in order to avoid any need of carefully engaging in the merits of an argument … But this is a vicious cycle, because the act of avoiding responsibility and introspection also provides arguments for using whataboutism in the other direction … until we find it excusing all kinds of horrific actions taken … based on the excuse that the “other” side is worse.
Disciples must recognize their own shortcomings and work tirelessly to rectify them so that what issues forth from their hearts are good fruits that only true goodness of heart can produce. This is something that is not possible on our own, so from its earliest days, the Church has provided an means through which to help the faithful recognize and address human frailty weakness. The Sacrament of Reconciliation provides us with an opportunity to confess our failings before God, to seek His forgiveness for them, and to be reconciled again with His love. This “interior penance” is an interior “conversion of the heart” that is central to the message of Jesus and made possible through our encounter with Him through the Eucharist.
Today we are in Ordinary Time. On Wednesday we will celebrate Ash Wednesday and begin our session of Lent. Lent is a time for us to reflect on what is going on in our lives. We examine our conscience and … hopefully … make adjustments to better reflect the love of Christ for others … because thoughts become words … words become actions … actions become habits … habits shape character … character determines destiny.
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