Meditation Minute

My Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

“Can a blind person guide a blind person?”

Gospel Reading: Luke 6:39-42

Jesus told his disciples a parable: “Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,’ when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.”

We are all called to be disciples of Christ. As a disciple of Christ, your job is to proclaim the liturgy of the Word and to lead others to Christ. How can you proclaim what you do not know? In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus questions his disciples, “Can a blind person lead a blind person?” He is telling us that we must not only read the Scriptures, but we must study the Scriptures. We need to know the message of God and know what God teaches us through his message. This does not mean that you need to memorize Scripture passages, but that you must know the meaning of message. Once we know the meaning of the message, we must learn to live the message. By living the message, are we not teaching others? St Francis of Assisi tells us to preach the Gospel daily and if necessary to use words. Jesus is telling us to get trained so that by our own lives we can lead others. We need to remove “beam” from our eyes which blinds us so that we can clearly see the message of Christ. Once we have done that, our example will lead others to the message. When we teach the Scriptures, we must not judge our fellow man or use the Scriptures to condemn. When we condemn others through the Word of God, are we not placing ourselves above others. Each of us is a sinner and is no better than the next. We are each a gift from God who loves us unconditionally. When we teach the Scriptures, we must teach with unconditional love and compassion. The message we give through our actions and our words should lead others to the banquet table.

A Simple Prayer

God, open my eyes to the Scriptures.

Allow me to be a instrument of our love and compassion.

Allow me to become your disciple.

Yours in Christ

Michael Marcon