Gospel for Sunday, March 02: VI Sunday C: Luke 6:39-45
PLAIN SPEECH
39 Then he also told them a parable, “Can one blind man lead another blind man? Will they not both fall into a ditch?
40 A disciple is not greater than the master; but every well-prepared disciple will be like his master.
41 Why do you look at the mote that is in your brother’s eye, while you do not discern the beam that is in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, “Brother, let me remove the mote that is in your eye,” while you yourself do not see the beam that is in your own eye? Hypocrite, first remove the beam from your own eye, and then you will see well enough to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.
43 For there is no good tree that bears bad fruit, nor is there a bad tree that bears good fruit; 44 for every tree is known by its own fruit; for figs are not picked from thorns, nor grapes from brambles. 45 The good man from the good treasure of his heart brings forth good, and the evil man from the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil; for out of the abundance of the heart speaks his mouth.Lk 6:39-45
Dear sisters and brothers of Misericordia, I am Carlo Miglietta, a doctor, biblical scholar, layman, husband, father and grandfather (www.buonabibbiaatutti.it). Also today I share with you a short thought meditation on the Gospel, with special reference to the theme of mercy.
The Gospel passage of Lk 6:39-45 gives us some passages from the discourse Jesus gives on the plain after spending the night in prayer (Lk 6:12) and after calling the twelve to be his apostles (Lk 6:13-14). Most of the phrases brought together in this discourse were spoken on other occasions, however, Luke, imitating Matthew, brings them together here in this Sermon on the Plain.
The text is divided into several similes. The first invites us not to be “blind men leading other blind men” (v. 39). Who are these blind men? Perhaps the Pharisees who claim to be teachers of their countrymen despite their spiritual and mental dullness. Or the pastors of Christian communities who lead churches and are filled with sin. But in reality this saying is addressed to all Christians who pass judgments, who arbitrarily judge men or worse, their brethren. Fundamental blindness is not deeming oneself in need of the Father’s mercy: says John, “If you were blind you would have no sin, but because you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains” (John 9:41). The blind are thus those who “presume to be righteous and despise others” (Lk 18:9). The true disciple, on the other hand, is the one who can see his own limitation, his own sin, and with humility thank the Lord for his forgiveness and salvation. The disciple who has not experienced God’s mercy toward him acts without mercy and leads himself and those who come within the range of his wickedness to perdition.
The second parabolic saying reminds us that one cannot be a blind guide, but neither can one be a supermaster (v. 40). The only Master is Jesus, who said, “Learn from me who am meek and humble of heart” (Mt. 11:29); “I did not come to condemn the world, but to save the world” (Jn. 12:47).
Cardinal of Turin Archbishop Roberto Repole writes: “The God who reveals himself in Christ…. appears as the humble God. Humility is a distinctive trait of God. Humility comes from the Latin humilitas, a word that has a reference to humus, earth. Humility recalls the earth. How to preach the humility of the almighty Father God of the Christian faith? God is the creator of heaven and earth (cf. Gen 1:1ff), the one whom “the heavens and the heavens of heavens” cannot contain (cf. 1 Kings 8:27; 2 Chr 6:18). Humility would seem to be the least suitable characteristic for “saying” God. Yet Jesus pointed to himself as the meek and humble of heart: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, who am meek and lowly in heart” (Mt 11:29). With this description Jesus opens for us a glimpse into the mystery of God. If humility has had such a large place in Christian experience and spiritual reflection, it is perhaps because it enables us to correspond in the most fitting way to a God who has manifested himself, himself, as humble. In Jesus, God is manifested as humble precisely because he appears as God, who freely and out of love decides to compromise with man, to be a “God with and for man,” to the point of sharing his humanity in all its facets. He is not a distant and foreign God, but freely and gratuitously bows down to such an extent before the man he loves that he himself becomes that man. It is freedom and gratuitousness that make us read this manifestation of God in Christ in terms of humility.”
And if Jesus came to preach mercy and salvation for all, so too should his disciples only ever proclaim the Joyful News of God’s forgiveness and tenderness for all, in all circumstances.
The third simile (vv. 41-42) is an exhortation to refrain from judgment against others. Jesus wants to crush any vague desire to place oneself above one’s brethren, undermining harmony, cohesion, and communal peace. The evangelist gives Christians who behave in this way the epithet “hypocrites,” which Jesus normally addresses to the scribes and Pharisees: the term designates one who plays in the theater a part that does not correspond to his condition. Those who want to stand as judges of others must begin by converting themselves. My eye must always be on the 10,000 talents condoned to me, and not on the 100 denarii that the other owes me (Mt 18:23-35). The disciple is asked to oust his own beam that blinds him, never believing himself to be righteous and not in need of mercy. And the other must be graced by me as I have been graced: my eye toward the other must be the same eye of kindness that God has toward me. If I look at my debt I am no longer blind, but I see the mercy used toward me; but, if I look at the other’s evil, I judge, whereas Jesus said, “Do not judge, lest you be judged; for with the judgment with which you judge you will be judged, and with the measure with which you measure you will be measured” (Mt 7:1-2). It is fitting then to be truly always superabundant in mercy toward our brothers and sisters!
In the fourth simile (vv. 43-44) Luke continues in this indictment against the selfishness and self-righteousness of some, who allow themselves in the community to fuel divisions and misunderstandings. The speech is illustrated by an example drawn from the agricultural world: good trees bear only good fruit. The Christian, filled with God’s charity, should produce nothing but fruits of goodness and mercy.
The conclusion of this pericope is that nothing but “goodness” should come out of our hearts (v. 45). For Hebrews, the heart is not the organ of feeling, but the organ of the will: the believer is called to want only good, thus to “will good,” to love always and everyone. The text has a fundamental scope for orthopraxis: it is not outwardness, labeling, that counts, but what one is or has inside. Being a Christian is not judged by ceremonies or worship, but by goodness of spirit, the ability to love, which is the only thing that matters.
Happy Mercy to all!
Anyone who would like to read a more complete exegesis of the text, or some insights, please ask me at migliettacarlo@gmail.com.