Friday of the Second Week of Holy Lent

The Gospel according to St. Luke (6:39-49)

   “39 And He spoke a parable to them: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher. 41 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye? 42 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye. 43 “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. 45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil [a]treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. 46 “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? 47 Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. 49 But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.””

    This Gospel is part of the Sermon on the Mount according to Saint Luke the Evangelist.

    The Lord asks: “Can the blind lead the blind?” And the answer to this question does not require a thought. But the Lord, using this obvious parable, highlighted the danger of judgment and its painful end, once the blind think they can see and can correct the mistakes of others. They can see the speck in the eyes of others, but the plank in their eyes they are unaware of. And this, sadly, is the condition of many of us. The mistakes of others we see clearly… yet this vision is not real or true because with the plank in my eye, it is impossible for me to have true vision, because the plank blinds me.

    And thus the Lord calls everyone who adopts this behavior a  “Hypocrite”, it is the epitome of hypocrisy and deception. Saint Paul wrote “Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.”(Romans 2:1), and he also wrote “and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law. You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal?” (Romans 2:19-21). This was the behavior of the Pharisees, therefore many times the Lord scolded them and said to them “Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, Hypocrites!”, “You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup.”

    Therefore the Lord warned our souls by saying, “First remove the plank from your own eye.” This work has to be done first according to the Lord’s commandment. I return to myself and to my eyes, and image and vision. Fix them first… I regain the integrity of my vision and return to the simple eye because “If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light…If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:22,23)

    O Lord grant me and renew the light of my eyes, my simple, luminous eye and we are aware “For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.” (John 5:20). Christ has opened the eyes of the blind and said “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.” (John 9:39)

    “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit.” (Luke 6:43,44). The matter then is not just words or sayings that are repeated. The separating judgment is the fruit… As in the works are what manifests the truth and shows it… “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

    The heart is the keeper and in it are the ways of life, if it is full of goodness, it will bring forth good, but if it is full of evil, it will bring forth evil. The language of man exposes him.

    O Lord purify my heart so my mouth may proceed with goodness..

Fr. Louka Sidarous

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