THERE IS ONLY ONE MASTER

 

Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C

Introduction

Like all those who teach the way of God—as the doctors in the temple that the twelve-year-old Jesus went to listen to (Lk 2:46), as John the Baptist (Lk 3:12), like Nicodemus (Jn 3:10)— Jesus is also called master by the people. If we exclude the mentioned cases, this term (which occurs 48 times in the Gospels) is always referred to and only to him.

Jesus, however, is an original master. He speaks and behaves differently from the others. He does not give his classes in a school; he teaches along the way. He does not require a fee from his listeners and does not reserve his training for an elite group of intellectuals. He addresses the poor of the earth, whom the masters of Israel despised by saying: “How can a man who guides the plow become wise, he whose pride lies in snapping a whip and talks of nothing but cattle?” (Sir 38:25). Jesus is a free master in both the interpretation and in the practice of the Torah. Still, he surprises because instead of inviting the disciples to follow the precepts of the Law from the beginning of his mission, he asks them to follow him. The Law is his person, his life, not the predicament of rabbinical discussions.

The masters of Israel explained what should be done to please God, relying on their knowledge of the Torah. They presented their teachings, derived from the scriptures, in words also used by the prophets: ‘Thus says the Lord.’ Jesus, the Master, speaks differently. He introduces his teachings with the expression: “I tell you,” placing his words alongside those of God.

In the Gospels, the apostles are never called masters, but always only pupils. Following the only Master, the disciples should learn not a lesson but a life.

First Reading: Sirach 27:4-7

When a sieve is shaken, the husks appear; so do one’s faults when one speaks. As the test of what the potter molds is in the furnace, so in tribulation is the test of the just. The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had; so too does one’s speech disclose the bent of one’s mind. Praise no one before he speaks, for it is then that people are tested. —The Word of the Lord.

 

When someone who, for a long time, plotted against us in the shadows and always got away is finally brought to light, we satisfactorily exclaim: ‘One day or the other, all the bad things that someone has done in the past will come back to haunt the individual.’ Indeed, the teeth of the comb may be sparse or dense. We, perhaps, use a large comb for ourselves, while we prefer a fine one for others. Sirach does not use the comparison of the comb but those of the sieve and the furnace.

At that time, before grinding grain, the women placed it in a sieve, and they carefully sifted to separate the grain from impurities, leaves, specks, and chaff. Potters do not even boast of the beauty of their vessel before having it cooked in the fire, having passed it through the heat of the furnace that could reduce it to pieces.

Today’s reading begins by saying that, in comparison to others, often we behave as women who sift the wheat: we turn and toss them, shake them well, we throw them in the air, exposing them to the wind as long as we cannot bring out all defects, all the waste, all the flaws they have. We act as potters: we subject them to the test of fire, keep them for months and years in the furnace of our strict controls. Only those who are immune to any defect can remain or resist.

If we judged ourselves with the same rigor, we would discover the boundaries of others and our many shortcomings (v.4). There are situations where one cannot avoid expressing judgment and making objective assessments of others. It is a must to get a correct idea of the authentic values of the persons to whom one must entrust tasks of great responsibility. So too, a girl who blindly trusts the first young man she meets is naive. But what are the criteria to follow to make informed judgments?

Sirach gives wise advice: we should not be influenced by the first impression. To know what people have in their hearts, we must let them talk because “a man is tested by his conversation … a man’s feeling can be detected in what he says” (vv. 5-6). In conclusion, the rule to follow is: “Praise no one before he has spokensince this is the acid test” (v. 7)

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:54-58

Brothers and sisters: When this which is corruptible clothes itself with incorruptibility and this which is mortal clothes itself with immortality, then the word that is written shall come about: Death is swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. —The Word of the Lord.

 

For the fourth consecutive Sunday, a passage from the first letter to the Corinthians chapter 15 is proposed to us: Today, it is the final one, and the theme is always the same: the resurrection.

Paul sums up what he has said: entering the new life, people simply do not recover the body they have in this world, but they receive a new one, covered with incorruptibility and immortality (v. 54). So—he says—the word of the Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death has been swallowed up by victory. Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?”(vv. 54-55). The status of the “resurrected” is not comparable to that of one who lives in this world. Death, with all its allies—pain, disease, hunger, violence, hatred—will never have any more power over people because Christ’s victory will be total and definitive (vv. 56-57).

After this statement, we would expect Paul to recommend to the Corinthian Christians not to set eyes on this world but look to heaven where real life awaits them. Instead, he said nothing! He urges them not to contemplate the wonders that await them, but to work, to engage in this world, in the certainty that all the good they build and the love they spread will not be lost. “Be steadfast—he says—and do not be moved. Improve constantly in the work of the Lord, knowing that with him, your labor is not without fruit” (v. 58).

Gospel: Luke 6:39-45

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.

“A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thornbushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles. A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.” —The Gospel of the Lord.

 

In the Gospel of the last two Sundays, we listened to a message that is in stark contrast to the world’s logic: all who were considered unhappy people (the poor, the hungry, those who cry, and the persecuted) are proclaimed blessed. The successful persons (the rich, the satiated, and those who enjoy life) were disowned. There could be no overturning more radical than this.

If that was not enough, the principle of absolute non-violence was also established. A Christian cannot respond to evil with evil but must always be willing to love even the enemies. These are shocking statements. It is inevitable then that some people attempt to sweeten them, even in the Christian community, to make them less harsh and a bit more compatible with human weakness.

Someone says, for example, that it is true that one cannot resort to violence; however, in some instances, one has to forgive, yes, but not to the point of being considered naive and inexperienced. If one teaches children to be generous at all costs, not to compete, to take the side of the weak, they are placed in a position to be overpowered by the wicked and unscrupulous people.

Even if they are Christians, those who speak in this way act as false teachers, perhaps without realizing it; with skillful distinctions and subtle reasonings, they deprive the message of Jesus of its explosive power. Today’s Gospel, consisting of a series of the Lord’s sayings, is directed to them. It starts with a well-known proverb: “Can a blind person lead another blind person?” (v. 39). One day, the disciples told Jesus that the Pharisees were offended by his words. He responds: “Pay no attention to them! They are blind leading the blind” (Mt 15:14). All Jews considered themselves masters capable of guiding the blind, that is, the Gentiles (Rom 2:19-20).

In today’s passage, the Lord’s dramatic warning recipients are neither the Pharisees nor the Jews but the disciples themselves. Even they are in danger of acting like blind guides. In the Church of the first centuries, the baptized were called the enlightened ones because the light of Christ had opened their eyes. Christians should be those who see well, know how to choose the correct values ​​in life, and can indicate the right path to those who grope in darkness.

But this does not always happen, and Jesus warns his disciples of the danger of losing the light of the Gospel. They can fall into darkness and be led, like the others, by false reasoning dictated by human “common sense.” When this happens in front of them, a deadly chasm opens in which those who have trusted them also fall. Christian false teachers can commit another error, believing that everything they think, say and do is wise, just and in conformity with the Gospel.

They feel to have the right to issue instructions in the name of Christ, with such surety as to give the impression that they substitute the Master, and even more, that they are superior to him. They demand titles, privileges, honors, and powers that even the Master never claims to have. To anyone in the community who feels invested with such authority, Jesus recalls another proverb: “A disciple is not above his master; but when fully trained he will be like his master” (v. 40).

The danger against which Jesus warns is above all to identify their own ideas, beliefs, and projects with his thoughts. It is a reckless presumption and thoughtlessness. They forget that they are only disciples; they feel like masters. Indeed, they behave as if they were superior to the Master. It is not over. These false teachers claim a right even more absurd; they do something that Jesus himself never wanted to do (Jn 3:17): they judge, pronounce sentences against their brothers. For them, the parable of the speck and the log is told (vv. 41-42).

It is an invitation to be wary of Christians who always feel right, always sure of what they say, teach and do. They do not realize that they have in their eyes huge logs that prevent them from seeing the light. Which ones? Passions, envy, desire to rule over others, ignorance, fear, and psychological disorders from which no mortal is wholly exempted. All these are big ‘beams’ that prevent to clearly grasping the demands of the Word of God. We must take this into account and act humbly in a less presumptuous way; be less strict in imposing our vision of reality and less confident in judging others’ performance.

Here is an example to help us understand. For many centuries, Christians have claimed that there are just wars and that, in certain situations, it is even a duty to take up arms. They even waged wars in the name of the Gospel. How could this happen if Jesus spoke so clearly of loving the enemy? The explanation is that Christians had the logs of pride, intolerance, dogmatism in their eyes, and they do not even realize it.

Suppose today we are forced to admit that on many occasions, we were blind. In that case, we must be very cautious in judging, imposing our beliefs, and condemning those who express different opinions. It may be that what we think is right; maybe it is genuinely evangelical. However, Jesus wants that the Christian proposal is made with great humility, great discretion and respect and, above all, never judge those who cannot understand it and those who do not feel like accepting it. The possibility of having a log in the eyes is not remote, and it must not be forgotten!

To conclude this first part of the Gospel, Jesus calls these ‘judges,’ these Christian “masters” so sure of themselves, hypocrites. Hypocrites mean ‘actors,’ ‘people acting in theaters.’ Those who judge others, for Jesus, are actors. They are also sinners, but “they recite”; they sit in court as judges and pronounce terrible judgments.

Luke is worried about what is happening in his communities, divided by criticisms, gossips, and negative judgments. To respond to the situation, he recalls the harsh words of the Lord. How can one distinguish the good from the bad teachers in the Christian community? How to know whom to trust and whom not to? How to recognize those who are blind or have logs in their eyes?

The last part of today’s Gospel provides the criteria to judge: “The good person draws good things from the good stored in his heart and an evil person draws evil things from the evil stored in his heart. For the mouth speaks from the fullness of the heart” (v. 45).

We are used to interpreting these words of Jesus as an invitation to evaluate people based on the works they perform. This is the meaning they have in the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 7:15-20), but in the Gospel of Luke,they have a different purpose. It is clear from the context that ‘the fruits’ are the message that the Christian teachers announce. This message can be good or bad.

Like Sirach—we heard him in the First Reading—Jesus too invites us to evaluate teachers according to their words: “For the mouth speaks from the fullness of the heart” (v. 45). What they announce must constantly be confronted with the Gospel. Then we can evaluate if what is proposed is nutritious food or poisonous fruit.