March 3, 2019: 8th Sunday C

March 3, 2019: 8th Sunday C

Do you know of a good rule of thumb to use when you are about to share with others your opinion about a person? For me, the rule of thumb that comes to mind is to ask the question: is it true, is it necessary, and is it kind? Do you personally practice this rule? For the most part, we all have difficulty controlling our desire to say what is not needed to be said. Who of us has not given into gossiping, bragging, putting others down, exaggerating, flattering, complaining, and lying? Unintentionally we have all made “Freudian Slips” when we unwittingly revealed in our speech what we truly felt inside. A Freudian Slip is nothing new though. Even Sirach wrote: “When a sieve is shaken, the husks appear; so do one's faults when one speaks.” Sometimes we are surprised or even shocked by what comes out of our mouths. Intended or not, when we speak, our words reveal the inner disposition of our hearts regarding others. There is a tendency in us, due to our original sin, to distrust, to criticize, and to presume guilt about others. Yet Jesus was explicit in the Gospel about the dangers of rationalizing our own sins by pointing out the same mistakes in others.

Jesus said bluntly, “Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?... You hypocrite!  Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother's eye.” Think about the reasons for which we criticize others. Do those reasons reveal the same weakness or faults in us? It happens often that when we have a gathering of community members, our family, or our church, we notice little things that bother us about others--our envy, jealousy, prior hurts. If we took the time to look within, we would realize that we have more in common with our neighbor than differences. It’s often a temptation of pride from the evil one to place ourselves above others, to look down upon another person’s weaknesses. The evil one is quite good at pushing all the buttons in us to cause us to be irritated, disappointed, and angry. In those moments of temptation, we have to call upon God’s help to open our eyes to see our neighbors and family in a whole new light. We must recognize that it is our willful choice to ask Our Lord to help us see our neighbors as our beloved brothers and sisters. St. Faustina’s prayer may help us see the goodness in those we sometimes struggle loving. She wrote: 

Help me, O Lord, that my eyes may be merciful, so that I may never suspect or judge from appearances, but look for what is beautiful in my neighbors’ souls and come to their rescue.

Help me, O Lord, that my ears may be merciful, so that I may give heed to my neighbors’ needs and not be indifferent to their pains and moanings.

Help me, O Lord, that my tongue may be merciful, so that I should never speak negatively of my neighbor, but have a word of comfort and forgiveness for all.

Help me, O Lord, that my heart may be merciful so that I myself may feel all the sufferings of my neighbor. (Diary of St. Faustina, #163)

Lent is an excellent time to refocus our thoughts and speech toward love of God and neighbor. We know from our own experience how a few words spoken in anger or our presumptions about someone can destroy a relationship that took years to build. God has already given us all that we need to break away from the trap of our narrow-hearted judgment about others. 

We can grow in our understanding of God’s goodness through the reading of scriptures, our commitment to prayer, and frequent reception the Holy Eucharist. 

Back at the beginning, I mentioned a helpful reflection question--is it true, is it necessary, and is it kind. I’d like to add one more. Will, what I’m about to say, make that person’s day? Is it going to lift up, build up, strengthen, and encourage the person? This conscious effort needs to be our small, intentional offering we make to Jesus in building up God’s Kingdom on earth. As St. Paul exhorts us, “My beloved brothers and sisters, be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”