[In contentious times, the first casualty is usually the truth. There is lots of misinformation and “fake good news” out there. Sadly this has found its way into the Church. Check out the video by clicking here.
Today, we enter the third part of Luke’s “Sermon on the Plain.” Here we are given three parables to contemplate. So what’s going on? Quite simply, Jesus is helping the disciples move from attitudes to action, from doctrine to discipleship.
Two of the parables have to do with logs and trees, so I figured some lumberjack stories were in order.
Did you hear about the lumberjack who worked overtime?
He logged a lot of hours.
A lumberjack went into a magic forest to cut a tree
When he got there, he started to swing at a tree when it suddenly shouted, Wait! I’m a talking tree!
The lumberjack laughed and said, And you will dialogue.
When he finished the tree asked, “Why did you cut me down, lumberjack?”
Lumberjack: Oh, you really don’t know why?
Tree: Sorry, I’m stumped.
What do lumberjacks do when they’re about to finish work?
They Log off.
Okay, back to the Gospel.
The first parable is about the blind being unable to lead the blind. This is an indirect reference to the false teachings and hypocrisy that was so prevalent in his day. There is a lot of misinformation out there these days. Sometimes we call it “false news.” Sadly, this has also found its way into the Church. There are many false and “alternative magisteriums” out there. By this I mean well-meaning Catholics who make a habit of making bold pronouncements about how one should be living the faith. In truth, the only authentic magisterium in this Archdiocese is the Archbishop, who has been appointed by the Holy Father himself. Yet these self-appointed defenders of the faith make a habit out of criticizing him and others, and quite often they are quite wrong.
It is this critical nature lacking all charity that Jesus warns against when he tells the parable of pointing out the splinter your brother’s eye while ignoring the beam in your own. Note that Jesus does not rule out fraternal correction, but before we point one finger at another, we should remember that the other four are pointing at ourselves. The truth without compassion is the hammer that destroys.
In the last parable about the good tree producing good fruit and the bad tree producing evil, Jesus helps us discern where we should look for guidance. What are the fruits that they produce? You can tell a lot about people simply by watching them. As Jesus points out, good produces good, evil produces evil. If a person, or group of people produce nothing but vitriol and criticism, you can be pretty sure their hearts are in the wrong place. If there is no joy, get out of there. Otherwise, you are just doom-spiraling.
Archbishop Bellisario once said that we can get our energy from one of two places. Being negative and critical is powerful and seductive, but it always burns out quickly and leaves us frustrated, isolated. By contrast, striving for virtue and charity is not always all that exciting, but does provide a steady source of positive grace that leads us to deeper communion with God and others. We need to be careful where we get our information. We need to go to the authentic source first. We need to strive for personal holiness of life before being critical of others. We need to be wary of those who produce bad fruit.