Our eyes are incredibly sensitive, even the smallest particles can be unbelievably painful. Our reflexive reaction is to close our eye the second we perceive anything getting near it. For some of us, even trying to put eye drops in becomes a challenge. The eye just wont stay open.
Let something get in our eye and, no matter how small, it feels enormous. Our eyes start to water and we can’t see. Jesus takes this painful common experience and expands on it.
In the parabole, the tiny speck is not in our own eye, but in the eye of our brother or sister. In our own eye is a dokos, a support beam, the kind one uses in construction.
It is interesting how Jesus plays with “charity”. Except it is not real charity, it is that fake charity which is really judgement. We claim to be concerned for our brother or sister because they (not we) are on the wrong path. We claim to want to help them.
Jesus once again reminds us that we have to start with ourselves. We must remove the beam from our own eye. Our vision must be healed before we can presume to see and remove the speck from the eye of our brother or sister.
The process requires several steps:
First, we must feel the pain of the plank in our own eye.
Then we must get it removed. Often this will require the help of others.
But then there will be a hole and much damage to our vison. The hole must be healed which can only be done by the grace of God.
Then having lived the experience of conversion, we can lead other.
In the upcoming season of Lent. We are each called to examine our lives, to find the plank, the beam, in our eye. If you think you don’t have one pray harder for God to reveal it or ask a loved one who will tell you the truth.
We all have them.our tendency is to reverse the story. We put the beam in the other person’s eye and the speck in our own. Lent is a time for honesty.
Prayer, fasting, and charity. Those are the tools we need to pry the board loose. And then God can fill the space created with love giving Grace.
