Calling Ourselves Out

Luke 6:42: Calling Ourselves Out

How can you say to your brother, ‘Please, brother, let me take that speck out of your eye,’ yet cannot even see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will be able to see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

In Luke 6:39-45, Jesus tells a parable to his disciples. And in his parable, there is a clear and present theme: Judging others is wrong, especially when we are unwilling to judge ourselves. How common it is in the universal Christian church to condemn and judge others when the sins of those who condemn are just as bad or worse. It is what makes Christianity look bad. It is what causes students like the one in my English class last week to say that religion is a waste of time and full of haters.

One of the things I like to do is study the dogmas of different Christian denominations. I know; it’s weird. But I enjoy seeing the big Venn diagram of similarities and differences throughout the universal church. And although my studies are primarily in my own denomination, Roman Catholicism, they branch out into Protestant denominations as well. One of the heart-breaking realities I encounter is the struggle for one denomination to declare its truth above others. This debate is easy to find, for all we need to do is go over to Catholic Answers, a conservative Roman Catholic apologetics resource, or Christian Apologetics Resource Ministries (CARM), a conservative Protestant apologetics resource. There, we find haters on both sides. And the log-eyed hypocrites are thick as thieves, pointing at the proverbial specks in each others’ eyes.

Many Christians insist they possess the truth, and that their truth is more genuine than others’. The Pharisees, scribes, and Sanhedrin, for example, were known to stick to this point. Jesus -- his inclusivity, love, forgiveness, and rebuke of man-made religiosity -- was a target of constant ridicule, so much so that the religious establishment conspired to crucify him. Today, the Christian church is no different. Go to any church’s website and you will see belief statements that vary. Common are belief statements that condemn the LGBTQ+ community. It’s heartbreaking, especially since my son, my friends, and some students I serve are gay. They are just as much loved, welcomed, and blessed as any of the most self-righteous people in church circles. People seem to forget that we are all sinners. And no one’s sins are greater or less than others. No one, therefore, has the right to judge and exclude others. Not only is it clear throughout Jesus’ ministry, but if we search our hearts for the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, we understand God’s immeasurable love and that Jesus died for all.

So why, then, do I (and many reading this) stay in a flawed church full of self-righteous prigs who finger-point and condemn? And look at my denomination, Roman Catholicism; its history shows the worse abuse of all -- decades of child rape, clericalism, obfuscation of abusers, and refusal to take any real action to punish the guilty. It is enough to make me want to throw up my hands and say, “I give up.” The church, however, is full of love, too.

The church, no matter the denomination, is full of people who are kind, accepting, forgiving, loving, and self-giving. These same loving people pray for us, run our church ministries, support our communities in need, and welcome us with loving arms no matter our flaws. They, moreover, provide the effective counterbalance to the cancerous culture of condemnation. The humble, which is what I aspire to be, are the inspirational church. And the inspirational exist in every denomination. The humble are not perfect, though; they are just as riddled by sin as anyone else. But it is they who own up to the sight-stealing log, knowing that their lives are no better than anyone else’s. It is the humble who allow me to see Jesus active, alive, and well in and among the universal church. It is the humble, moreover, who hold me up, showing me the true meaning of God’s love for all.

Loving God, we pray to be among your humble, devoted church. And we pray for the wisdom to see and correct our own flaws and to not condemn others for theirs. In Jesus Christ we pray, amen.

Have a blessed week!

Stan