Of specks and planks

Luke 6:39-49

         Did you ever hear the expression, 'me thinks you protesteth too much'? As a kid it often involved having a crush on the little red haired girl, all the while denying it and saying perhaps how stupid she was. As we get older the stakes get a bit higher. Life is a bit more complicated and the lies and denials get ever more so complicated and convoluted.

         Such is the life of many anti-gay people out there, saying how evil we are, pronouncing all the faults and immoral things "they do".  So it is almost sport to uncover these people as closeted homosexuals. They are hiding their own secret and the sport is to "out" them. It is fairly common place. I don't think it's a very nice thing to do to anyone (out them) but in light of how dramatic and vicious their anti-gay facade is, it may very well be justified. There are still others that are not closeted but straight and seem to have nothing better to do than think of their own particular version of what "gays do" denouncing them, their person hood and their rights under the law.  A recent gem was the Attorney General of Florida, Pam Bondi.  She rails against marriage equality saying it will harm the institution of marriage. It was easily pointed out and argued that she had done some pretty good damage to marriage all by herself by virtue of her 3 marriages.

          I have been quick to point out myself some of the travesties of sexuality visited on humanity not by the gay community but by the heterosexual 'lifestyle'.  They say prostitution is the oldest profession, that's a straight thing. Divorce? straight thing. Bars celebrating and encouraging drunkenness and one night stands? a straight thing. The list goes on and on.  But what good is it?

          Who wins if each side in any argument seems fit to simply throw accusations and mud at each other? Is it necessary for someone to win at all? Can't we all win through mutual respect, love and understanding?

          Today's passage points out quite appropriately that we should not be telling our neighbor about the speck in their eye when there is a 2 by 4 in our own eye.  None of us are innocent.  If we entered Yom Kippur with the thought or belief that we had nothing to atone for we are sadly mistaken.  That kind of thinking is what Jesus railed against. The bar is not stationary. We do not attain holiness by simply obeying a list of rote rules and man made laws. The bar of holiness is forever being raised. We need to try hard, achieve and see how much higher we can go.  All our journeys are different but the end result is to always try and try harder again to be the best and most that we can be. 

          We have no right to point out others faults, not even if we are doing a fine job with ourselves. We need to respect other peoples journeys, faults, mistakes and attempts.  Certainly help others be holy but without judgement, hate or divisiveness. We have to much to learn for ourselves. 

He also told them a parable: ‘Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully qualified will be like the teacher. Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbour, “Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye”, when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbour’s eye.

‘No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; for each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.

‘Why do you call me “Lord, Lord”, and do not do what I tell you? I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them. That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, immediately it fell, and great was the ruin of that house.’