Can the blind lead the blind?

He also told them a parable: ‘Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully qualified will be like the teacher. Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbour, “Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye”, when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbour’s eye.

‘No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; for each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.

‘Why do you call me “Lord, Lord”, and do not do what I tell you? I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them. That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, immediately it fell, and great was the ruin of that house.’

- Luke 6:39-49

Jesus takes us to the next step here, in his Sermon on the Plain, after his teachings about the importance of the quality of mercy in all our dealings. Following upon those teachings, Jesus takes us to a place where's it's not just enough to hear what he says and assent to the teachings, but we must make ourselves models of those teachings as well. The pupil is not above the teacher, but must be like the teacher. The blind can't lead the blind: for that position, in his disciples, Jesus seeks those who will not be blind - those who can follow in his footsteps and do as he does.

But I think these words entrust us with a knowledge that we can go more deeply than following and doing, we can become like the teacher. Jesus exhorts his disciples not to use his teachings in ways that are hypocritical, but to examine themselves. Don't cast out the speck in your neighbor's eye, nor comment on it, without being willing to see the log in one's own, and to do something about it, to cast it out. This says to me that, no matter which point we begin from, we are capable of cleaning up our own internal messes, of cleaning up our own acts, and becoming like Jesus. It's not just a question of doing, but also of becoming - we must be like the teacher. So the practice of self-discipline, discernment, and self-awareness is meant for us to become like the teacher: to follow his commands and to make them a part of who we are.

It's not enough for us to call on him, "Lord, Lord" but we must live our lives following those teachings. In this we will be building a firm internal foundation for our lives - hopefully one cast out "log" at a time. If we follow his commands, we are building ourselves on firm ground. We won't be hypocrites, but we will become more like him. Therefore we will be prepared in this way of self-awareness to be good teachers. We cannot be blind to our own flaws, and we must do something about them. We won't be able to see to help enlighten others until we cast out what's in our own eye.

These are the words to his disciples, following up his teachings on going the extra mile to be merciful, to practice what he teaches. I take it to mean that we can go a lifetime finding something new within ourselves to change every day, and that the goal of our prayer lives is to make us aware and to give us a better foundation from which to act in our lives, and to better follow his teachings of mercy. The blind can't lead the blind; we must make our own sight better if we are to teach others as well.