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

 

 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 

 

In Saturday's reading, Jesus continued what is known as the Sermon on the Plain:   "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 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."  My study bible comments here that Christ does not judge anyone (John 8:15, 12:47).  Therefore, says Cyril of Alexandria, "if the Teacher does not judge, neither must the disciple, for the disciple is guilty of worse sins than those for which he judges others."   Christ's reference to the positive removal of the "speck that is in your brother's eye" is directed toward disciples, and the mutual correction He will recommend in the Church; it informs the tradition of the experienced spiritual elder who help those newer to the journey of faith.

"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."  This is a positive reference to the power of repentance, and its effect of creating a "good tree" which bears "good fruit."  It is an affirmation of the power of the heart and our need to guard our own hearts:  what we choose to cultivate and what we choose to let go.  This is what discipleship is for.

"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 comments that hearing the gospel alone is not enough, because salvation is not based on hearing alone, nor on faith alone, but also on doing the things spoken by Christ (see James 2:24).  

In modern life we speak a lot about empathy, and in some important sense, Jesus' words here emphasize empathy in discipleship.  This happens in that very important passage in which Jesus says, "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."    What He is recommending here is that in order to be a good teacher, the disciple who really follows Christ has to have gone through his own discipleship, his own correction and repentance history of his own sins and imperfections, before he can instruct another.  These very words inform us about the tradition in the Church of an elder counselor, or a priest confessor.   Hypocrite! is probably the greatest consistent disparagement that Christ gives to people, and that goes especially for religious leaders.  In Matthew chapter 23, Jesus' repeated condemnation of the religious leaders comes in this form.  Not only does Christ specify just what that hypocritical behavior looks like, He repeatedly says, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!"  If only for this reason, that this is what we read in the Gospels, and they are Christ's scathing words regarding the religious establishment, do we need then to take utterly seriously this admonition to His own disciples (and we who would call ourselves disciples among them).  What would the Church be, with leaders who have not themselves wrestled with their own sins and flaws, their own tendencies that lead to failure in discipleship, their own honesty about themselves?  What is a Church leader, if they cannot first lead by being one who has gone through the rigors and difficulties of discipleship, grappling with their own forms of selfishness -- and especially putting in correction on their own behavior as disciples of Christ to more conform to His teachings?  Without having first removed the plank in your own eye, how could one be an appropriate leader and guide to those who would strive to do the same and become true disciples of Christ?  Without empathy, "rules" simply become another form of legalism.  How would one be able to discern an appropriate use of mercy in teaching or leading others along a particular path of discipline?  For Christ, these words make clear that without one's own experienced path of correction, hypocrisy is the only outcome, and that makes unfit leaders for His Church.  We have only to look around us and see the result of a failure to take such discipleship seriously in cultivating those whom we would put in charge of our flocks, and I speak to no particular denomination but to all.  For Christianity in a modern context, we are often tempted to relax the rules we understand to be for our own good and self-discipline.  But the real truth is that these things apply to us each individually and as solemn personal responsibility so that in fact we not only understand through experience how our own faith works, but also how to help others out of messes in their own lives.  Many people turn to psychologists for help in understanding how to assimilate personal feelings and beliefs into social and personal life and relationships.  But an experienced person of faith already has struggled with this question on the deepest levels, and understands that this work consumes not only social dicta but also personal religious and spiritual grounds of the soul, and within the love of Christ.  For without that all-encompassing love, we cannot understand real empathy as a tool in personal growth, or the discernment between discipline and helpful correction which is meant to help someone grow and not to punish.  Christ's teachings to us come within this character trait of love, and we as faithful must understand that all discipline starts there and ends there, and is grounded in the place of faithful prayer and communion.  It is for the good the soul, and of the person, and ultimately of the social fabric of our world and our lives, that we learn discipleship.  But that all starts right here in the heart, and in the plank in my own eye first.  This is how we build the good treasure of the heart.