Join us today as we celebrate Holy Communion for the Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time, 2/27/22. To follow along at home, click here and print the Holy Communion Program. Text of today’s homily below.
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Homily for the Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time -- Sunday 2/27/22
Readings: Sir 27:4-7, Ps 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16, 1 Cor 15:54-58, Lk 6:39-45
Luke 6:39-45 American Standard Version
39 And he spake also a parable unto them, Can the blind guide the blind? shall they not both fall into a pit? 40 The disciple is not above his teacher: but every one when he is perfected shall be as his teacher. 41 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 42 Or how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me cast out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye. 43 For there is no good tree that bringeth forth corrupt fruit; nor again a corrupt tree that bringeth forth good fruit. 44 For each tree is known by its own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. 45 The good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth that which is evil: for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
Actor and race car driver Steve McQueen, the so-called “King of Cool” who was the peak of his popularity during the ’60s and ‘70s, was famous for choosing the movie scripts with the least dialogue. The iconic actor, known for popular movies like The Sand Pebbles, The Magnificent Seven, Papillon, and The Great Escape, understood that the less he said, the more his words would be heard. Steve McQueen was right. Many of you may have noticed that I limit my homilies to 500 words. An unceasing drone, like the whirring of a fan, fades into the background. But a single word uttered in silent theater echoes like a peal of thunder.
That’s how it is for a mortal actor. But God’s Word explodes into the darkness of non-existence in the book of Genesis. When God speaks time, space, and all of reality into being, do we imagine he spoke literal words from material lips? No. Rather, we understand that his Word was so perfect, so pure and so simple – so singular! – that it contained no literal words at all. A speech of infinite words has no meaning; a speech of infinite meaning has no words.
This is why those who talk the most – politicians, pundits, publicists, and pitchmen – are often the ones we perceive as the least truthful. The more someone talks, the more contradictions and lies appear, both intentional and unintentional. And we hear this echoed in Sirach 27:4, “When a sieve is shaken, the husks appear.” When nuts, seeds, and grain are crushed and placed in a sieve, the small, delicious kernels fall through out of sight, and the worthless outer covering remains caught in the screen for all to see. The idea is that the most perfect speech is the most simple, pure and truthful – this is the origin of the phrase, “a kernel of truth.”
From this we take the lesson that, as evangelists of the Word, we should emulate God and be very precise and careful in our speech. The more perfect, pure and truthful we are when we open our mouths, the more wonderful things we can speak into being – the more positive inspiration, the more motivation toward charity, the more beautiful ideas, the more words of love and encouragement toward goodness.
Now, returning to our Gospel reading for today, it should be obvious why Jesus brings together several seemingly dissimilar metaphors into a single parable. If we all take the logs out of our own eyes before trying to help remove splinters from the eyes of others – that is, if we focus our attention first on perfecting our own thoughts, desires, actions, and beliefs – we are making ourselves into trees that can’t help but bear good fruit. We’ll be people whose actions speak louder than words, and speakers of the Word whose words ring true. We will cease to be the blind leading the blind, and all become teachers in the image of our teacher Jesus Christ.