In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, there is a very famous line which is, “This above all, to thine own self be true.” We would probably say, “Of course that is obvious.” But is it? Are we actually truthful with ourselves?
This Wednesday starts Lent. It is a time to look deeply and truthfully at ourselves regarding how we live our lives. We are reminded as we receive ashes that our time here on earth is temporary when we hear the words, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” We may instead hear the words. “Repent and believe in the Gospel”, which reminds us of our sinfulness. It is a reminder that sin is the outcome of us not being truthful, honest or upright at all times.
Jesus not only came to save us from our sins but to bring out the best in us. He believes we can do this. It is up to us to live up to what he knows we were created to be. He wants us to start with being truthful with ourselves. The first step as stated in the Gospel today is to remove the beam from our own eye. People have a tendency to criticize others on how they live. But Jesus said to his disciples, “Can a blind person guide a blind person?” We cannot guide someone toward discerning right from wrong if we cannot see clearly ourselves.
Even though Pontius Pilate condemned Jesus to death, we hear in that Gospel reading that he questioned spiritual blindness when he asked Jesus, “What is Truth?” Jesus was condemned unjustly because truth was clouded. When there is a disagreement between yourself and someone else, it is said that there are three truths, your truth, their truth, and God’s truth.
The various truths come for our personal perspective. Of course God’s truth is the actual truth, but as much as each person may believe their truth matches God’s, the reality is that our truths may be tainted by self-seeking outcomes due to our personal blindness. This is where we need to take the beam out of our own eye and look through the eyes of Jesus.
We are all called to spiritual growth throughout our lives, but it is highlighted during Lent. We must search for our inner truth. We must work to see our inner faults clearly, the beams in our own eyes, before we can address them. Once we see them clearly, we can work to remove them. Then and only then will we be able to recognize how to help others to look clearly at themselves and take action in their own lives to remove the obstacles to their personal spiritual growth.
There is a story that St. John Vianney got lost on his way to his new parish in Ars. He crossed path with a young man and said to him, “If you show me the way to Ars, I will show you the way to Heaven.” The young man responded, “How can you show me the way to Heaven? You don’t even know the way to Ars”.
If you seriously think about this and apply it to yourself: could you show someone the way to Heaven? If you believe that you could not properly guide someone, how do you know that you are on the right path to heaven?
The very last line of the Gospel today is very telling. It states: “… from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.” Haven’t you caught yourself holding your tongue out of respect, when speaking in front of someone like your grandparents, parents, children, anyone you feel may be offended, or it may be situational, where you feel it may not be appropriate, but when you are around your friends your tongue is free-wheeling. When you feel unencumbered is when you speak what is in your heart. You may gossip, make judgements on others, tell off color jokes, etc.
Take to heart the teachings of our Lord. In Ephesians 4:29-31 it states: “No foul language should come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for needed edification, that it may impart grace to those who hear. … All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice.” In Luke 8:8 it states: “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”
Do you actually take these words to heart? If you look closely at this you begin is see the beam in your own eye. This Lent is an opportunity to make a positive step in removing that beam. What is more important to you, finding the correct path in life that leads you to heaven or continue to fool yourself that all paths lead to heaven because you might be saying to yourself that God forgives all sins so there is no need to worry.
If you feel this way, there is a beam in your eye blinding you to the truth. You are only half correct. God does forgive all sins but there is a very important caveat. You must be honest with God when asking for forgiveness that you are striving for a true change of heart that you truly want to change and will try not to commit those sins.
Take the time this Lent to maybe change what you typically give up. As an example, instead of giving up chocolate, maybe give up talking down about anyone. When you are tempted, try not saying anything at all as a start and then try to progress to saying something positive about the person as you think Jesus would. They may have faults in your eyes, but if you do not judge them and look for the good in them, you may see them differently.
This would be the beginning of removing the beam in our own eye. This is the beginning of losing our blindness and seeing more as Jesus would see. The more we dislike someone the harder this can be. No one said it would be easy. But there is no greater goal in life then finding the path that Jesus walked and making that path our own.