Filters
If you are going to follow someone, you kind of want to be sure they know the way.
He also told them a parable: “Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully qualified will be like the teacher. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye. “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; for each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks. “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you? I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them. That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, immediately it fell, and great was the ruin of that house.” - Luke 6:39-49
Jesus covers a lot of ground in today's reading from Luke's Gospel.
He warns us about being followers. We choose who we are going to follow, and in that choice, we can fall victim to the appearance of things.
The modern day version of this warning might be about filters rather than logs and specks in our eyes.
We tend to see what we want to see, and that is not necessarily a good thing. But worse than that is seeing what we imagine we are going to see. That's worse.
When the word spread from a prophet that the Messiah had arrived, people had great expectations. Each had a vision of what and who that Messiah would be.
A king. A divine entity. A warrior.
No one expected what they got, a man who called himself the Son of Man, one of them.
When Jesus spoke to them about the foundation of their home, he was really talking about faith. How strong is your faith, your belief? How solid is that foundation?
What can it hold up?
Can it support anything at all?
When we set our expectations on a vision we imagine, we build a filter to keep out some or all other possibilities. Thus we see what we expect to see.
This is the main problem Jesus had with the Pharisees, Scribes and Priests. Their vision was so solidly implanted in their minds, they could see nothing else.
So, what is the message of Christ?
Maybe it is to remove the log from our eye, or just the filter.
More to come..