Asking for help...
Reflections on the readings for the Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time (March 3, 2019): SIR 27:4-7; PS 92:2-3,13-14,15-16; 1COR 15:54-58; LK 6:39-45
MISSIO offers “Preaching Mission,” as a homily help, providing connections to mission from the readings of Sundays, Feast Days and Holy Days.
More than once, Jesus spoke out against hypocrites.
In the Gospel today, He asks His disciples how it is that they can spot a small flaw in someone else – but are unable to see their own far greater faults. “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?” (Luke 6:41-42)
Jesus insists that we recognize and remove our own failings before we condemn other people or presume to tell them how to live. He concludes by reminding His followers that the fruit they bear, good or bad, is the result of how they express the faith in their hearts and go about their daily lives. If we truly travel the path of our Lord we will become the good, loving, generous people He calls us to be. Everything we say and do reflects the state of our soul. The closer we are to Christ, the more we will imitate His holiness and share His mercy with our brothers and sisters for love of Him.
