Can the blind lead the blind?

And He spoke a parable to them:  "Can the blind lead the blind?  Will they not both fall into the ditch?  A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother's eye.

For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.  For every tree is known by its own fruit.  For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil.  For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.  But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say?  Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like:  He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock.  And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.  But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell.  And the ruin of that house was great."

- Luke 6:39-49

 On Saturday, we read Jesus' continuing Sermon on the Plain.  (This Sermon began in the reading for Friday, after Jesus chose His Twelve Apostles from among His disciples.  See Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.)  In Saturday's reading, Jesus taught His disciples, "Love your enemies, do good for those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you."  He said, "Just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise."  He offered us an image of an exchange of a "worldly" kingdom for this kingdom of God:  "But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.  For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.  Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful."  He also taught about judgment:  "Judge not, and you shall not be judged.  Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned.  Forgive, and you will be forgiven.  Give, and it will be given to you:  good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.  for with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."

And He spoke a parable to them:  "Can the blind lead the blind?  Will they not both fall into the ditch?  A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher."  Here Jesus is teaching those who would be His disciples that they must be like their teacher.  It's not enough just to have Him as our teacher, we must become like Him.  Remember, a disciple is a learner, one who will also in turn teach others.  My study bible puts it this way:  "Spoken to the disciples, these words are an exhortation to discernment and imitation of Christ in their training for the apostolic ministry."

"And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother's eye."  Here we have the call to self-awareness.  How can we help others unless we ourselves understand what it is to "remove our specks" - or even the plank that is in our own eye?  Jesus' greatest criticism is constantly in this word, "Hypocrite."  In the Greek, its literal meaning is "actor."  In the ancient world, one who puts on a false face or mask to play a character.

"For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.  For every tree is known by its own fruit.  For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil.  For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." These words are a call to purity of heart.  That is, a true depth of honesty and truth within ourselves.  This kind of honesty is the opposite of hypocrisy:  it is someone who can cherish and nurture the good within the depth of the heart, guarding against that which needs to go ("pruning" the plank in our own eye), so that then this rich treasure may be directly shared with others.  It all begins with what we choose to treasure.

"But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say?  Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like:  He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock.  And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.  But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell.  And the ruin of that house was great."  My study bible says, "Hearing the gospel is not enough, according to Jesus.  We must do what He says.  Jesus did not preach that faith alone is all God requires for salvation.  Spiritual foundations are made secure with both faithful hearing and faithful doing of the words of Christ."  Let us remember that discarding and paying attention to that "plank in our own eye" is also faithful doing.  Thus we are prepared for the work of discipleship, helping, guiding and teaching others - and sharing the good treasure of the heart.

Jesus' emphasis in today's reading is on what is inside of us, how we care for the heart.  He exhorts us all against hypocrisy, but rather making ourselves good trees which give off good fruits, speaking about the abundance of the heart in a truly-nurtured disciple who has followed His words.  In this way we are best prepared to meet our brothers and sisters.  In a modern context, I can imagine this application in a number of ways.  How do we meet others?  What do we cultivate and nurture in our own hearts?  Remember, He is speaking to disciples, to those who will in turn teach others.  In some sense, each of us who choose to be His disciples, as faithful, bear a responsibility to live as "light-bearers" in the world, to glorify God by our own discipline.  Jesus speaks most strongly against hypocrisy, about the good treasure of the heart, and guarding against the failure to perceive the plank in our own eye.  So how can we teach love, if we don't learn what love is from a relationship to God that leads us away from that which is not God-like?  Many people feel they have no sin.  But I believe that "missing the mark" (the literal translation of the Greek word for sin) can come in many forms.  There may be things which keep us from being the person we can fully be which we hold on to.  There may be secret ambitions, a kind of fruitless competitiveness or rivalry, or a desire for authority that seem perfectly "normal" on the one hand, but perhaps get in the way of good and true discipleship.  So we trim the tree, we withdraw the plank that keeps us from seeing straight, and having this spiritual discipline ourselves, we then become prepared to help our brothers and sisters -- without being hypocrites.  How do you learn from God's love for you today?  We remember that to do this job of discipleship is never ours alone and under our own power, but we have and need God's living strength at work with us to help us in all things.  In this way, we will be like the Teacher.