Jesus comes down from the mountain after a night of prayer and chooses his disciples. When he reaches a plain, he addresses them in a long speech that begins with the proclamation of the Beatitudes.
In Luke's text, unlike Matthew's Gospel, there are only four and they refer to the poor, the hungry, the suffering and the afflicted, with the addition of many other warnings to the rich, the sated and the arrogant (Lc 6, 20-26). Jesus makes this predilection of God for the last in his mission when, in the synagogue of Nazareth (Lc 4, 16-21), affirms that he is filled with the Spirit of the Lord and that he brings good news to the poor, liberation to the captives and freedom to the oppressed.
He then goes on to exhort his disciples to love even their enemies (Lc 6, 27-35), a message that finds its ultimate motivation in the behavior of the heavenly Father: "Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate" (Lc 6, 36).
This statement is also the starting point of what follows: "Do not judge and you will not be judged, do not condemn and you will not be condemned, forgive and you will be forgiven" (Lc 6, 37). Then Jesus admonishes us with an intentionally absurd image:
"How is it that you look at the speck of dust in your brother's eye, but pay no attention to the log in your own eye?».
Jesus truly knows our hearts. How many times in our daily lives do we experience this sad experience! It is easy to criticize – and with rigor – the errors and weaknesses of a brother or sister, without taking into account that in doing so we attribute to ourselves a prerogative that belongs only to God. The point is that to “remove the log” from our own eye we need that humility that comes from being aware that we are sinners who continually need God’s forgiveness. Only those who have the courage to realize their own “log,” what they need to convert from, will be able to understand without judging and without exaggerating the frailties and weaknesses of themselves and others.
However, Jesus does not invite us to close our eyes and let things go by. He wants his followers to help each other to advance along the path of a new life. The apostle Paul also insists that we care for others: to correct the undisciplined, comfort the faint-hearted, support the weak and be patient with everyone (cf. 1 Thess 5, 14). Only love is capable of such a service.
"How is it that you look at the speck of dust in your brother's eye, but pay no attention to the log in your own eye?».
How to put this Word of Life into practice?
In addition to what we have already said, starting with this time of Lent, we can ask Jesus to teach us to see others as He sees them, as God sees them. And God sees with the eyes of the heart, because his gaze is a gaze of love. Then, to help each other, we could re-establish a practice that was decisive for the first group of Focolare girls in Trento.
«In the beginning,» Chiara Lubich told a group of Muslim friends, «it was not always easy to live the radicality of love. […] Even among us and in our relationships, a little dust could settle, and unity could languish. This happened, for example, when we noticed the defects and imperfections of others and judged them, so that the flow of mutual love grew cold. To react to this situation, one day we came up with the idea of sealing a pact between us, and we called it «a pact of mercy.» We decided, every morning, to look anew at the neighbor we met – at home, in class, at work, etc. – and not to remember their defects at all, but to cover everything with love. […] It was a strong commitment, which we all made together and which helped us to always be the first to love, in imitation of the merciful God who forgives and forgets.»[1].
Augusto Parody and the Word of Life team
[1] C. Lubich, «Love of one's neighbor», Chatting with a group of Muslims, Castel Gandolfo 1-11-2002. Cf. Reciprocal love, Ciudad Nueva, Madrid 2013, pp. 109-110.
