A woman had a son and a daughter. They were both married and living in different cities. One day, the woman’s friend visited and asked, “How is your son doing?” The woman replied, “My son is not doing well at all. I don’t know for which of his sins God is punishing him this way.” She continued, “You won’t believe this: his wife is a stay-at-home mom. My son wakes her up in the morning. My son prepares breakfast for her and the kids, and he takes the kids to school on his way to work. He then brings them home on his way back. I just don’t know why he still loves that lazy girl he calls a wife.” The woman’s friend paused for a moment and said, “I am so sorry.” She then asked, “And how is your daughter doing?” The woman smiled from ear to ear and said, “I cannot thank God enough for my daughter. She is the luckiest girl on earth.” She continued, “Her husband loves her to the moon. You won’t believe this: her husband is the CEO of his company. He doesn’t let my daughter work. She only takes care of the home. Her husband wakes her up in the morning. He prepares breakfast for her and the kids, and he takes the kids to school on his way to work. He then brings them home on his way back. I wish my son were as lucky as my daughter.”
What an “impartial judge!” When someone else’s daughter receives the love, you call her “lazybones,” but when your own daughter receives the same love, you call her “the luckiest girl on earth.” But are we not sometimes like the woman in this story? Do we not blame others for what we excuse ourselves?
Today’s readings are full of nuggets of wisdom, and each wise saying can stand on its own as a homily. These nuggets of wisdom are products of careful observation of patterns in human life over a long period. Today, I am focusing on one of the things Jesus said in the Gospel passage. He said, “Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye but 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.’”
When I was in the Seminary, one of my professors would always say, “My dear seminarians, if you find yourself complaining a lot about somebody, try to look inward, it is possible that you are more guilty of whatever is bothering you about them, and the presence of that person reminds you of that side of you that you don’t like and you are not bold enough to address.” We express double standard judgments as individuals and as groups. What we condemn in others, we justify in ourselves. In the same way, when a person of another gender, race, religion, political party, etc, does something wrong, we call for their punishment. But if the same comes from a person of our gender, race, religion, political party, etc, we quickly find justifications for them.
When we point an accusing finger at others, it may be a smokescreen to distract us and others from our own faults. When I was much younger, I heard from some elders in my village that when an elephant goes to drink water from the pond, the first thing the elephant does is to unsettle the water. Ordinarily, one would expect the elephant to let the water remain still to drink from the clean surface, instead, the elephant unsettles the water and brings up the sediment before drinking the water. According to the elders who told me the story, the elephant behaves this way because when the surface of the water is still, it acts like a mirror, and when the elephant sees its image in the water, the elephant thinks it is a beast in the water coming out to attack it so, it unsettles the water to keep the image away. That is what we do when we spend more time condemning other people than the time we spend improving ourselves.
This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. It is an invitation for us to courageously look in the mirror and address the person in the mirror; then, it will become easier to be a good example to others. In Jesus’ words, “Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.”
Homily for 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C 2025
This is what we experience in our daily life especially from our spouse, what ever they do is always right but as a husband try the same you will be repreminded. But for peace to reign one swallows a every bitter taste in a family set up.
Great homily Father. Love the irony of this gospel. The splinter and the plank.
Good reminder,for me, to look more inward this season of Lent. Praying for more compassion, patience and kindness.
Thank you.
I’m throwing my wooden beam into the fireplace!
Keith