EIGHT SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR C
Commentary of Fr. Fernando Armellini
A good Sunday to all.
This is the third Sunday in which the liturgy makes us listen to the inaugural discourse of Jesus, a discourse that began with a eulogy that Jesus addressed to his disciples who had followed him and said to them: 'You are blessed because you have become poor; you have renounced to keep your goods for yourselves. and have given them to your brothers who are in need; you have secured life, you are blessed.' Then he went further and showed where this love, this willingness to serve the brother should go, and he said, 'Do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you; if someone steals your cloak and one day you see that he is cold and is in need, take off your coat and give it to him.'
This is the pinnacle of love beyond which it is impossible to go. Whoever comes to love in this way is a whole person. Jesus also said the reward for those who allow themselves to be involved in this love and said, 'The Most High will recognize them as his children; they will resemble him for the Father in heaven loves unconditionally and is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.' When you come to love the enemy, you become like the Father in heaven.
Here is the new face of God, which is no longer that of the Pharisees, the lawgiver who stood scrutinizing his subjects, took note of good deeds and transgressions, and rewarded or punished justly. Enough with this, God! The God already spoken of in the Scriptures is the merciful God; in Hebrew, 'rahu' is derived from 'rehen,' which is the mother's womb. It is visceral love, and it would be better to say that uterine love is like that of a mother; it is the supreme love. This is the image God took from the scriptures to describe it (it's a poor image, of course, because God's love goes infinitely beyond a mother's love).
Here, then, is Jesus' invitation, which is the apex of this discourse, 'Become merciful yourselves as your heavenly Father' is merciful.’ To be merciful means to let oneself be involved in this unconditional love. We are aware and even proud to be the possessors of this sublime life proposal, but at this point, Jesus wants to warn us of a danger that the Pharisees have fallen into.
Jesus has seen this danger and does not want it to reappear among his disciples. Paul describes this danger well in the second chapter of the Letter to the Romans. Speaking of the Pharisees, which he knows very well because he was one of them, addressing his proud co-religionists. After all, they know the Torah, he says to them, 'You call yourself a Jew, that is, you are a son of Abraham, heir of the promises, and you rest secure because you know the law, the Torah, you know the will of God, you know how to discern between what is good and what is evil, what is right, and what is wrong; and that's why you are convinced that you are now the guide of the blind, you feel as light of those who are still groping in the dark, you present yourself as an educator of the ignorant, as a teacher of those you consider poor illiterates. But how is it you who teach others and not yourself?' That is, 'you Jew, Pharisee, you think you know everything, that you are in complete harmony with the Torah, and you teach others... and you forget that the Torah is still teaching you before you teach others, and you cannot be teacher and guide.'
Paul goes on to say, 'You preach that one should not steal, and then you steal; you preach what is learned from the Torah that one should not commit adultery, but then go on committing adultery; you detest idols and then rob temples; you boast that you know the law and then offend God by transgressing the law.' The consequence, Paul says, is that the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you. Jesus fears that this pharisaical confidence, feeling at ease with God, may appear and become teachers and guides among his disciples. Jesus explains this danger in a parable.
Let us listen:
"Jesus told them a parable, 'Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher.'"
The saying that a blind person cannot lead a blind person is of elementary logic; the problem arises when the blind is convinced that he can see and begins to guide others. Jesus applied this saying directly to the scribes and Pharisees, as the evangelist Matthew tells us in chapter 15: There was a lively discussion because the scribes said to Jesus, 'How dare you and your disciples not do the ritual purifications?' Jesus replied: 'You substitute adherence to God and his word for adherence to traditions you have invented.'
When they returned home, the disciples said to Jesus: 'Be more careful when you speak because you scandalize them.' Jesus replies to the disciples: 'Leave them alone; they are blind and guides of the blind.' They are blind because they had an image of God that they had invented themselves, a God who was exactly like them, a judge, an executioner, and they did not want their eyes opened. They had before them the perfect image of the God of Abraham, of the God of Isaac, of the God of Jacob, but they did not want to let their eyes be opened, and they set themselves up as guides of the people, and they all ended up in a pit.
The exact very severe judgment is found on the lips of Jesus after the healing of the man born blind, in chapter 9 of the Gospel according to John. Jesus says, 'I have come into this world that those who do not see recognize that they are blind and open their eyes, but those who are convinced that they see may remain blind.' The present Pharisees understood that he meant them and said to him, 'Are we blind too?' Jesus answers them, 'If you were blind, you would have no guilt; you should open your eyes, but instead, you say that you see, and then your blindness remains because you are convinced that you see.'
The same thing can happen to the disciples, which is what Jesus wants to make very clear because the scribes and Pharisees have already died and are in the arms of the merciful Father, but Jesus does not want the same thing to happen to his community. In the early church, the disciples were called 'the enlightened ones.' In baptism, their eyes were opened. The Gospel, the Christ, enlightened them; they were called 'hoifotistentes,' and the baptistery, the baptismal font, was called 'fotisterion,' where they were enlightened. After baptism, the Christians did not worship a pagan image of God anymore, an idol invented by people, but worshipped the true God. which they had seen in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.
Also, today, through the Gospel, we continue to see Jesus of Nazareth. Before their eyes were opened, they were withdrawn into the realities of this world, the material realities; for them, only the goods of this world, the pleasures, counted. Now, however, they see the things of this world in the right way; they know how to give the correct value to the realities of this world. The letter to the Ephesians, in chapter 5, says: 'Once you were in darkness, now you are light, now you have been enlightened, behave as children of light. Therefore, the consequence among you is that fornication be not even mentioned, or all kinds of impurity, of covetousness, vulgarity, insult, trivialities... they must not even be heard on the lips of the baptized because they are now light, and the light is goodness, righteousness, truth.'
Christians, however, the disciples, must always bear in mind that, although they have been enlightened, they can never become guides. The only focus is Christ and his Gospel, and it is this guide that the disciples must have constantly present. To this guide, to this Gospel, all must always refer. Even to the best of the disciples, their sight can quickly become clouded. Therefore, they may revert to reasoning according to the standards of this world to justify what they condemned before, to boast of what they were ashamed of before. The Book of Wisdom says, 'The reasoning of mortals is frail; our reflections are uncertain because a corruptible body weighs upon the soul.' Within us, there is always the impulse of what Paul calls the 'flesh' contrary to the Spirit's inspiration.
Therefore, not even the one who has been enlightened can lead others because he is weak and frail, and the only guide is always Christ and his word. The second danger the disciple faces is feeling that he is a teacher. The disciple is neither a guide nor a teacher. Jesus forbade all these titles. You cannot call someone a father, teacher, or guide because if you give him these titles, you start believing in them, becoming like the Pharisees and the scribes.
The teacher is one; the guide is Christ, and he must go ahead, and we must follow in his footsteps. Among brothers and sisters, we encourage one another, but all of us contemplating Christ, not that one of us begins to be a guide. The teacher is also one, the Spirit. Jesus told us this at the Last Supper, in the 15th and 16th chapters of John's Gospel: "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth and will teach you everything and will remind you of what I have told you and will bear witness of me." Jesus meant that there is a teacher within us; the teacher is the Spirit given to us. At all times, He is advising us on the choices we must make that conform with our identity as sons and daughters of God.
Listening to this voice is a delightful experience that each one of us can and should do. For example, I recently mentioned what Jesus said in the inaugural address of his public life; he said that we must love our enemies, do good to those who harm us, and give our tunic even to the one who stole our cloak. This is against the logic of this world, but if we reflect for a moment, we hear a voice within our heart that says, 'He is right; do what he tells you, and you will be a real person.' When we hear this voice, it is the voice of the Spirit; it is the voice of the Master, the only master. We cannot be teachers or guides because we are blind, frail, and easily clouded our sight.
The letter to the Ephesians says in chapter 4: 'We have a great treasure which is the Gospel; this treasure that we have discovered, we have had this good fortune to have it in our hands, but this treasure we keep it in earthen vessels.' We are made of fragile clay, impure clay. Remember this so we cannot set ourselves up as guides and teachers. How do we behave when there are brothers and sisters with fragility and misery, even in the Christian community?
Let's listen to what Jesus tells us:
"Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye but not perceive the wooden beam in your own? How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,' when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your eye? You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother's eye."
Surely you have noticed in this part of Jesus' discourse the insistence on the term 'brother': "Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye? How can you tell your brother, 'Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye.' Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother's eye." Jesus uses this term four times.
We know that 'brother' was the most common title with which the early Christians identified themselves. Jesus, therefore, does not address the outsiders, the pagans; he addresses the members of the Christian communities. In this scenario, we also see the problems of the communities of Luke's time. These problems are not different from ours; the evangelist also addresses us with the words of the Master.
First, "Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye?" Our eyes instinctively rest on what is not good, on a defect because it bothers us. There shouldn't be certain behaviors within the Christian community. What does Jesus say, "Why do you notice?" He doesn't say, 'Because you humbly try to help your brother see well'; no, he says, 'You have noticed.' Before you become interested in your brother's problem, you must check if you see well; instead, remove the beam in your eye.
It is easy to notice this defect in the scribes and Pharisees. In chapter 23 of the Gospel of Matthew, we are told that these people paid the tithe of mint and cumin, but then they neglected righteousness and mercy. Here is the beam before their eyes, and then they were mindful of the lint... that is, the 'mint and cumin.' Mark says they are blind guides who filter the gnat and swallow the camel. Here is the beam and the lint again.
Applying it to our day is more delicate, but let's try to think about it. How was it possible that the Crusaders, who were called to give their lives even for the enemy, used the sword against them? And let us also think about the recent world wars of the last century. Were not Christians fighting and killing each other while debating if it was a mortal sin to prepare soup with a bucket of meat? The beam and the lint. Those who campaigned against ballroom dancing in the United States did not question the slavery present in the country.
He who looks at the straw, the defect, the error committed by our brother, says Jesus, is a hypocrite. Jesus does not say that we should not help our brother cleanse his eye, but he who looks at the speck is a hypocrite. 'Hypocrités' in Greek means actor-comedian; then we wonder what kind of character these hypocrites represent: those who behave in this way, those who are looking for faults; what God do they mean?
They represent God; the God they have in mind behaves precisely like them, and they act reasonably. The God that the Pharisees preached and in which these scribes still believe is the God who takes note of all the errors, is attentive to all the mistakes, to what people do, and loses sight of no sin; he takes notice of everything. These comedians behave exactly like the God they believe in, representing this character they put on stage very well, but it is a horrible character. God doesn't want to be described this way because it's a blasphemous mask they put on His face.
And here we have the problem: How do we distinguish in the Christian community those who see rightly and, therefore, can help me clear my eyes, although they are not teachers and guides, from whom I can listen to their suggestions? How do I know who I can trust and what the right and wrong advice is? With the last two images of today's Gospel, Jesus offers the criteria to discern between who follows the Master and listens to the voice of the Spirit and who does not follow the Master and listens instead to the flesh and not to the Spirit. Jesus now offers us the criteria for discernment.
Let us listen:
"A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit, for every tree is known by its fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles. A reasonable person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks."
Not just a beam, but just a speck gives a lot of trouble in the eye. I must find someone who can help. How can I recognize who can help me? Because I might go to the wrong person, someone with a beam in front of his eyes, that would only harm me. And how should I be if I realize that a brother, a sister, my fellow traveler, has lost sight of the guide who is Christ, has gone off the path, and needs help?
These are the questions. How do I recognize the true disciple who can be trusted? To this question, Jesus answers with two images. The first is that of the tree that bears fruit; if it is a good tree, it delivers good fruit; observe the fruit, says Jesus. The image of the tree is biblical; let us remember Psalm 1: 'A righteous man is like a tree that is planted by the streams of water, it brings forth fruit in its season; its leaves do not wither precisely because it sinks its roots by the watercourse.' Jesus says that you can trust those who sink their roots in the living water of the word of God; you cannot expect beautiful fruits and beautiful messages from those who do not refer to the Gospel but to their reasoning according to the criteria of this world or pseudo-revelations.
He also says that the fruits you must see are the figs and the grapes. They are the products of the promised land, which are the image of the fruits that God expects from his people, the sweetness of the fig tree, and the joy that comes from the grapes because grapes give wine, and wine symbolizes happiness. These are the fruits that you must see. If you come close to your brother and his words infuse you with joy and hope and make you experience the Father's love and mercy, you have found the right person to help you.
Jesus also tells us to be very careful because perhaps a lost brother in life approaches our Christian community in search of light, expecting to be welcomed, understood, and loved. Jesus asks us to be attentive so that this person will not find thorns, not feel hurt, judged, and condemned, but only find good fruits: gentleness and love.
The second image is the treasure kept in the heart's chest. Jesus asks you to check what is there in your brother's heart. It is easy to know because the words of his mouth reveal it; the mouth speaks from the fullness of his heart. If one speaks only of money, business, sports, and gossip, his heart is full of those things. The Buddhist will talk according to the criteria of Buddhism; the Muslim will reason as a Muslim; the pagan will reason as a pagan... You cannot expect them to speak according to the criteria of the Gospel.
Faithful Christians are recognized not only by their works but also by the way they speak; you can tell immediately if their words come from a heart overflowing with the Gospel because they judge according to the Gospel, they give advice referring to the Gospel, they suggest evangelical, courageous, challenging, heroic choices and, above all, from their lips come only words of love, because their heart is full of mercy, like that of his Father in heaven.
I wish you all a good Sunday and a good week.
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