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More often than not, the season of Lent hits long before we get to this Sunday. As a result, we often miss out on these wonderful readings, which read like a mashup of a farmer’s almanac, some advice from a wise old neighbor, and timeless truth that is passed down from a parent to a child. The result is a series of practical and relevant teachings any one of us could use in our life right now.
First up is the Book of Sirach. “When a sieve is shaken, the husks appear; so do one’s faults when one speaks.” Translated: take care of the words you speak, and, in our case, the ones we text or post; they reveal who we really are, for good or for ill. Words are powerful things and we should be careful about how we use them. Our words express our thoughts and our thoughts show the type of person we are and the priorities we value most. In light of this heavenly truth-bomb, what do our words say about us?!
Next, we zoom in on the rapid-fire lessons Jesus is doling out in the gospel. The first one deals with teaching and being taught. “Can a blind man act as a guide to a blind man. Will they not both fall into a ditch?" In other words, we cannot teach until we have learned. We accept this truth in many areas of life. We read the reviews of persons, products, and services online. We want the teachers in schools and universities to be qualified. When something important is on the line, we want it to be handled by a professional, a real expert. I don’t think anyone would take their car to a mechanic who boasted about having no “formal” training! No one wants a doctor or lawyer who learned everything they know by watching a few videos on Youtube!
If this is true about matters of this world, how much more important for the things dealing with eternity?! We have a responsibility to carefully choose who teaches us about our faith and spiritual life. We need to take an active role in helping that aspect of our lives grow. It won’t happen by osmosis. Jesus promises his Holy Spirit to guide the Catholic Church with a teaching authority when it comes to matters of faith and morals. We don’t have to blindly figure out these things by ourselves. In fact, it is a really bad idea to try and be our own church and teacher. This divinely-guided authority is called the magisterium and it involves the Pope, Bishops, theologians and consultants. The duty of the magisterium is to make sure we can follow Jesus, our true teacher, in a time and culture that is very different than 2000 years ago. This teaching authority is a great gift but sometimes, out of pride, laziness or even scandal at the human weakness of our leaders, we rebel and try to make it on our own wisdom. Some questions to reflect on from this first lesson are: who is my teacher in spiritual matters? Am I teachable at all or do I always know best? Do I put in the effort to keep learning about my faith from reputable teachers or did my spiritual development stop in grade school, high school or college?
The second mini lesson deals with judgements. In one of his most well-known quips, Jesus says, “Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?” We are really good at seeing the imperfections of others while being completely blind to our own. Oftentimes our defects are far more serious but we obsess over someone’s much smaller fault. And, how little patience we have for the people who have the exact same imperfections as we do. Interestingly enough, Jesus doesn’t say we should stop caring about the splinter in our brother’s eye. But he demands we clean up our own vision first before we help them remove it. That way we can help others grow and improve in ways that are charitable, humble, and genuine.
The third lesson relates back to Sirach and teaches us not judge ourselves or others by appearance. "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.” Our thoughts, words, and actions show who we really are. When a person does good things, time after time, we know this is a good person. When a person is continually stirring up trouble, creating division, pain, and chaos, we know that person is troubled. The fruit reveals what is in the heart. In the same way, it is not enough for us to say we are Catholics and then live as pagans. In fact, it is not enough to say we are saved. What we need to say is that we are in the daily process of being saved. Our actions must reflect God's saving love to us. Of course, we always depend upon the mercy and grace of God, but we have to respond to this mercy and grace by doing our best to live the Christian life. If we don’t, then our fruits will demonstrate the insincerity of our conversion. This hypocrisy of Christians, whether it be the laity in the world or the clergy in the churches, is the biggest turn-off to those who don’t yet follow Jesus. Our thoughts, words, and actions must be consistent with what we believe because our example affects others, either by inspiring or scandalizing.
This Wednesday Lent finally begins. I need this Lent to work on these powerful lessons of Jesus. Perhaps you do too. Lent is a time for us to grow in our faith and let the Holy Spirit guide us through the prayer and teaching of our Church. Lent is a time to look into ourselves and ask the tough questions. Lent is a time to consider our living of the Christian life. Do our actions demonstrate Christ's continuing conversion in our lives? Do our thoughts, words, and actions direct others towards God? How hard am I working to remove that beam from my eyeballs first? If we are honest, we all have some work to do. So let us ask the Lord for his patience, mercy, and grace!
