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| “The Parable of the Blind Leading the Blind” by Pieter Bruegel (the Elder), 1568 |
Reading 1: 1
Timothy 1:1-2, 12-14
Paul, an Apostle of Christ
Jesus by command of God our savior
and of Christ Jesus our hope,
to Timothy, my true child in
faith:
grace, mercy, and peace from
God the Father
and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I am grateful to him who has
strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord,
because he considered me
trustworthy
in appointing me to the
ministry.
I was once a blasphemer and a
persecutor and an arrogant man,
but I have been mercifully
treated
because I acted out of
ignorance in my unbelief.
Indeed, the grace of our Lord
has been abundant,
along with the faith and love
that are in Christ Jesus.
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Commentary on 1 Tm 1:1-2, 12-14
“Through the graces he has
received, the virtues of faith and love have been manifested in Paul. Faith and love are fundamental virtues
characterizing the Christian. At times (as
here and in Ephesians 3:17;
Ephesians 6:23;
Philemon 5),
faith and love are mentioned alone; at other times, the virtue of hope is added
(1 Thessalonians 1:3; 1 Corinthians 13:13)”[5]
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
16:1b-2a and 5, 7-8, 11
R. (see 5) You are my inheritance, O Lord.
Keep me, O God, for in you I
take refuge;
I say to the LORD, “My Lord
are you.”
O LORD, my allotted portion
and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my
lot.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord.
I bless the LORD who counsels
me;
even in the night my heart
exhorts me.
I set the LORD ever before
me;
with him at my right hand I
shall not be disturbed.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord.
You will show me the path to
life,
fullness of joys in your
presence,
the delights at your right
hand forever.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord.
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Commentary on Ps 16:1b-2a and 5, 7-8, 11
Psalm 16 is an individual
hymn of praise. The psalmist prays that
God will shield the faithful from harm and expresses confidence in the Lord’s
salvation; closing the passage with praise for God’s loving mercy. This selection is structured to support the
Pauline ideal of placing God first in the life of the psalmist, their greatest
possession being loved by God and loving God in return.
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Gospel
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.”
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Commentary on Lk 6:39-42
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Reflection:
Today we reflect upon the two
edges of the sword of justice, judgment and forgiveness. In St.
Luke’s Gospel, Jesus teaches his disciples through the parable of the Blind
Leading the Blind. His intention is to
insure that, in light of the authority given to them as disciples of the Son of
Man, they do not become judgmental. His
teaching implicitly instructs them to look first at their own failings before
passing judgment on others.
Does this mean we should
ignore others when they behave in ways that are contrary to the Lord’s Great
Commandment? Should we meekly turn a
blind eye to our brothers and sisters who consciously fail to love God, others
or him or herself? The answer is “no.” It is more clearly expressed in St.
Matthew’s Gospel when the Lord says “’Do not … throw your
pearls before swine’” (Matthew
7:5).
We have an obligation to lead others to the promise of Christ. What we do not do is judge the person. We judge the action or act (cliché is “Love
the sinner, hate the sin”).
Once the action is
confronted, culpability for sin must be left to God alone. “The
prerogative of receiving the confession of sin and the power to forgive sin are
two things that belong properly to God alone”, as the Blessed Isaac of
Stella says in one of his sermons[7]. In that same great sermon he goes on to
describe that God in Christ, wedded to his bride the Church, has given all
things to her and one of those gifts is the delegated authority of expressing
God’s love and forgiveness (however, were his bride somehow separated from him,
there could be no forgiveness flowing from her). If this were not so, how would we come to
understand his great love for us?
We see in St. Paul
Pax
[1]
S.S Commemoratio
[2]
The picture is “The Parable of the Blind Leading
the Blind” by Pieter Bruegel (the Elder), 1568
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American
Bible with the exception of the Psalm and its response which were developed by
the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication
is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4]
See NAB footnote on 1 Tm 1:12-17
[5]
See Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall,
Inc., © 1968, 57-14 (Expanded notation and hyperlinks added)
[6]
See NAB footnote on Matthew 7:1
[7]
Sermo 11: PI. 194, 1728-1729
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