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And He spoke a parable to them: "Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall to 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.
"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
In yesterday's reading, we read the continuation of what is called the Sermon on the Plain, because Luke's Gospel tells us that it was delivered by Jesus as He "stood on a level place" and spoke to the crowd of His disciples. This is similar in content to the Sermon on the Mount which is found in Matthew's Gospel. We began the Sermon on the Plain in Monday's reading, with both Beatitudes and Woes. Yesterday, we read, as Jesus continued, "But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. 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. 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 to the ditch? A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher." My study bible tells us, "Spoken to the disciples, these words are an exhortation to discernment and imitation of Christ in their training for the apostolic ministry." It is a teaching that one cannot simply parrot words or teachings, but must follow them and bear their fruits as part of ministry to others. We must be "like Him" in all ways that we can.
"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 is part of real training and discipleship. How do we learn what we need to do, and how do we learn to help others? The only way is to grow ourselves in spiritual discipline, before we are able to help others in any way!
"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." Here is the essential teaching about the heart, about what it truly means to be a disciple to Christ. We are not to have the attitude that discipleship is finished, over at any time -- not at our baptism nor at any time in our subsequent walk with Christ. We enter into baptism in order to continually grow in Him, to "die daily" with Him as we take up the cross with Him. In this way then, what comes from the heart bears the fruit of spiritual discipleship. Jesus is teaching us that as we seek to continually "remove the plank from our own eye" so our spiritual fruits bear witness of that heart that will seek its own purity and cleansing, and truly reflect His discipleship.
"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 notes here: "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."
What is our secure foundation? Let us consider Jesus' words about the house built upon the rock that stood up to the flood and the stream that beat vehemently against it. Following upon words about discipleship, Jesus is telling us about the importance of His commandments, about the day to day work in discipleship. We're not simply saved at one point and then we have nothing left to think about. Instead, day by day, life will present us with challenges, and He indeed wants us to be prepared for those great challenges that might come like the stream that beats against the house. With a careful sort of awareness about that plank that is in our own eye, our own work we have to do of discipleship, how can we truly grow in His faith? How can we really be prepared for the floods that may seem to overwhelm us at times, or even to help others who may be going through their own spiritual struggle? To help others requires of us our own spiritual struggle, and the fruits of that struggle, so we may help our brothers and sisters along the way who are in that journey of faith together with us. Let us remember Jesus' great emphasis on purity of heart, true humility that sees our lives as we stand before God that there are still ways ahead of us in which we, too, grow like little children being taught by our loving Father about the things we can't see (like the plank in our own eye) and yet need to grow into and mature. Let us remember that the point of all this is to grow in becoming like Him, like our teacher, and that the greatest commandments He gave us are, finally, all about love. So, how can we, then, open our hearts to God, offer up our willingness to work at that plank in our eye, so that we can grow to be like Him, like the Teacher, and learn to bear the fruits of the heart He asks for?
