Jesus the teacher presents lessons as insightful today as they were when he taught his disciples two thousand years ago. In a few days we will be beginning the season of Lent, when we will be reminded of the lessons Jesus taught us as he anticipated his eventual death. But today we hear Jesus in the course of his ministry, teaching everyday wisdom for ordinary times in our lives. As we transition from Ordinary Time to Lent, let us relearn the lessons that guide us at any time of the year.
It’s timely that today we hear Jesus use the word “hypocrite” when teaching his disciples for we will hear him say that word again and again in Ash Wednesday’s Gospel. There is something very distasteful about pretending to be something that we’re not, whether it’s pretending to be a better person than we really are or refusing to see our own flaws. Further, the hypocrite imagines that everyone else must be faking it just as they are, so rationalizes that they are doing just what everyone else does. In fact, they are happy to find splinters in others’ eyes, for blinded by their own pride, they confirm their apparent superiority. Let us learn the lesson a few days early. Hypocrisy blinds us to both the goodness in others and the flaws in ourselves.
On the night before he died, Jesus told his disciples that he was the vine and they were the branches and that they would bear much fruit if they remained in him and he in them. Jesus remains in us as well and if we remain in him, if we remain committed disciples, we too can bear much fruit. May our Lenten observances produce fruit that causes our family, friends, coworkers, classmates, and strangers to appreciate what we generously provide.
Love, Peace, Joy,
-Fr. Bob
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