YOUR WORD IS TRUTH, O LORD, CONSECRATE US IN THE TRUTH(1 Timothy 1:1-2,12-14/Psalm 16:1-2,5,7-8,11/Luke 6:39-42)

YOUR WORD IS TRUTH, O LORD, CONSECRATE US IN THE TRUTH

(FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2019
The Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church)

The face of mercy invites each of us to receive the mercy and love of God and to be instruments of that received mercy for others; to be disciples of mercy after encountering Christ as our merciful brother.
St. Paul’s letter to Timothy points us in this direction when he writes about his former life as “a blasphemer and a persecutor and an arrogant man.” Paul, indeed, has a lot to make up for, and it all begins here with his insight into himself as a sinner. Despite his virulent pursuit of Christians to put them in jail for their violation of the Law, he is able to see clearly the truth about himself after his conversion as he says “but I have been mercifully treated. The grace of mercy he receives is “abundant along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.”

Paul’s words and realities in his life become a fine expression of the role of mercy in our lives. Just as Paul had acted out of “ignorance in his unbelief,” so God’s grace sets straight that ignorance and unbelief. We know the rest of the story: Paul becomes God’s voice to the Gentiles in his preaching and founding of communities of faith in the known world. What a gift that is that we have inherited from him through God’s love which results in his life as a missionary for Christ despite his life as a persecutor of the church. God’s love and mercy are, to be sure, so much greater than Paul’s lack of insight and the arrogance he speaks of to his friend, Timothy.
What is our arrogance and blasphemy? How does God find us and to what does he call us? God’s mercy takes us as we are and invites us to see the fuller picture. God’s mercy does not recount our past sinful life or behaviour but transforms us into better persons if and only if we open our hearts like St. Paul to receive this mercy of God offered to us gratuitously.

St. Paul did not get stuck in his arrogance but became the face of God’s care and concern for the churches he founded. He became an apostle. As we consider our failings and sinfulness we do not want to get stuck there either. We are invited to go even deeper: to see that we have been “mercifully treated” just like Paul.

Thus, we desire to look much deeper than our shortcomings and failings, to observe how God treats us, to see the mercy he extends toward us despite our sins and shortcomings. God’s grace is clearly so much more powerful than our particular and peculiar form of selfishness. Like Paul, we can be freed up to be a source of mercy for others. Paul the apostle can show us how to become the disciple we called to be by encountering Jesus who invites us to be part of the universal face of mercy (love) in a world that cries out for compassion, mercy and love.

The parable from today's gospel reminds us what a difficult task it is for the blind to lead the blind. Both will be at a disadvantage, although one can imagine and recall stories of those with physical impairments who rise above their apparent limitations and do wondrous things. I don't think Jesus is questioning the power of the human spirit to overcome such obstacles. Of course, the blindness Jesus is talking about is figurative rather than literal.

The focus in this gospel is that Jesus calls us to consider our spiritual blindness.
The worst kind of blindness, which is almost incurable, is the judgmental spirit. Moreover, judgmental people tend to mix only with their own kind, reinforcing each other’s prejudices, hence Jesus’ warning in the gospel that both will end up in the pit.

Those in the biggest danger of the trip to the pit are those people who are constantly trying to fix others’ faults, trying to remedy others’ blindness, when they themselves cannot see clearly. Trying to take a speck from someone else’s eye is not appropriate or feasible until the log is removed from your own eye.
Let our prayer be that our own blindness be cured. Then, like Paul, God might be able to use us to help others.

Let Us Pray: Lord Jesus, help us to try our best to live good lives so that we could be good examples to those who look up to us. Amen.