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.
—Luke 6:39-42
The peace of the Lord be with you. We all need teachers. If we are fortunate, our first teachers will be our parents and family. Here in the U.S. most of us will have access to at least to a public school education to help us not only acquire skills, but to give us an appreciation for attaining knowledge. We also need instruction in the ways of God so that our conscience can be properly formed and to aide us in finding the role we are to play in salvation history.
Today Jesus instructs that we must also use our properly formed and informed conscience to exam our own lives. As I have said before this is not designed to make us more critical of ourselves or others. It designed to help us to know where we need grace, healing, and growth. It is suggested we do this at the conclusion of each day and then offer it up to God with a request for the grace to live more in His ways of love. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.