Gospel Reflection Sunday 2nd March 2025 | 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time | Luke 6:39-45

Anyone wanting to draw close to the person of Jesus (to ‘encounter him’ as Pope Francis tells us) need look no further than the Gospels we have read over the past three weeks to find a clever, observant, witty and articulate person. His many ‘sayings’ – and remember, the Gospels record just a fraction of what he said – are sharp, often humorous, and spring from the ordinariness of what he observed around him. There is something quite funny in imagining two blind men leading each other over the edge of a pit, yet the message is wonderfully clear: Be sure that those you trust to lead you are themselves not blind (politicians take note!). Likewise, the mental picture of a person with a log in their eye attempting to take a splinter out of someone else’s eye is humorous, yet the huge exaggeration Jesus uses truly does make the point that we need to look closely at our own habits and lifestyle before we dare tell others how to live their lives! The cleverness of these sayings lie in the images Jesus uses to portray them. While we might forget the message, the mental picture of ‘log and splinter’ or ‘two blind men happily leading each other into a pit’ will remain with us, helping us to recall the message when we need to do so.

At heart Jesus was a ‘country boy’, more comfortable in the wheat fields and olive groves of rural Israel than in the busy streets of Jerusalem or Samaria. He centred his mission around small towns and fishing villages and seemed to avoid Jerusalem unless forced to be there to observe religious feasts and rituals.
It is not surprising, then, that his images and stories spring from nature and agriculture. The idea of finding figs growing on a thorn bush or grapes growing on a bramble bush would have brought a smile to the faces of those who listened to Jesus. Being farmers themselves they would have recognised how ludicrous the idea was, and therefore recognised that what we speak and how we act come from what is inside us, just as good, healthy figs can only come from good, healthy fig trees.

The ability to weave difficult and challenging messages into easily understood images taken from the everyday experiences of those listening is by no means easy. It takes sharp intelligence, shrewd observation and clever use of words to do so. As with everything we do, what comes across as simple and easy, is usually complex and difficult. If you want to find out exactly how difficult it is, try taking the same message – ‘that good and evil can only come from what is within us’ – and instead of figs growing on thorn bushes and grapes growing on bramble bushes, see if you can find a simple and easily understood urban image to make it clear to city listeners. (See how difficult it is!)

The call of Jesus in all of these ‘sayings’ is to a lifestyle that is honest, open and authentic. Hypocrisy in all its guises was, without any doubt, what angered Jesus most. The poor Pharisees, probably because of the place of trust they held in their communities, were top of his hit list, but, as today’s Gospel shows us, he gave the same warning to all those who heard them.
In Matthew’s Gospel (Ch.7) we are told that after listening to Jesus speak, “the crowd were amazed at what he said, because he spoke with authority and not like the Scribes and Pharisees.” I have often wondered what it was that the crowd saw in Jesus that gave him this ‘authority’ and made him so different from the Scribes and Pharisees? The conclusion I came to, the only one that makes sense to me, was that what they saw in Jesus was exactly what he calls for in today’s Gospel – honesty, openness and authenticity.
Whatever Jesus said came from what was within him. There was no hint of contradiction between what he said and the way he acted. When he said, “you cannot serve both God and wealth.” every person listening to him, no matter how cynical they might be, could see that his own lifestyle reflected what he said. He never owned any property so far as we know; he relied on the good will of others to live; he did not dress like one who had wealth; he was as content to be seen with the poor, sick and sinners as he was to be seen with Pharisees, tax collectors or others with wealth.
When Jesus’ enemies tried to turn people against him, they were reduced to looking for tiny details of Law (like plucking an ear of corn to chew as they walked on the Sabbath). Why was this? It can only be because they could not find anything else to throw at him. We don’t have to look far to see that today every tiny fault and blemish is found, exaggerated and then hurled into the face of an opponent. Why would it be any different in Jesus’ day? If the Jewish authorities could have found any flaws or weaknesses in what Jesus said, they would, I am certain, have delighted in throwing them in his face. But they had no more to throw at him than tiny, obtuse details of Law.
I find it interesting that those who heard Jesus speak recognised and appreciated that his ‘authority’, his ‘power’, came from his sincerity, his transparency, and his authenticity. Yet, in our world, ‘power and authority’ are generally accepted as coming from wealth, success, influence and domination.

As Christians, as followers of Jesus, we are called to let our authenticity, both as individuals and as Christian communities, be the source of our power and authority. It is a terrifying prospect because it is so utterly counter-cultural. We may even think it impossible because it flies in the face of all we know and accept as true.
Yet, it is exactly the call of Jesus to us, and more importantly, it is exactly what Jesus himself lived every day, every minute and every second of his own life.

And this brings us to the very heart of what it means to be Christian.
Start with this question: How well would you have to know someone to let them change the way you live? (and I restrict the question to how you live as an adult, not how you lived as a child)
Might a parent do it? Might a respected teacher do it? Might a good friend do it? Might peer pressure do it? Might a loving husband/wife/partner do it?
Having answered that question change it slightly to read: How well would you have to know someone to let them significantly change the way you live?
My guess is that there are very few people (if indeed, any), who would be able to convince you to significantly change the way you live. It would involve a level of trust and confidence in that person which would take a long time to develop.
Yet the Gospels call us unambiguously to a lifestyle that is counter-cultural and difficult. A truer restatement of that sentence might read: Yet Jesus calls us unambiguously to a lifestyle that is counter-cultural and difficult. He said himself to us, starkly, “Unless you take up your cross every day and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.”
The conclusion must be obvious. Unless we constantly strive to come to know the person of Jesus (unless we ‘encounter’ him), changing the way we live will always be a step too far for us.

Christianity is not about adherence to a set of laws, commandments, or beliefs. Nor is it a moral or ethical set of principles leading to an ability to live a ‘good life’. No, Christianity begins and ends with the person of Jesus. Coming to know this ‘person’; coming to meet him as a person talking to us in the Gospels and showing himself to us in his words and actions is what Christianity is about.
Anyone who tells you it is easy has never tried it! Likewise, anyone who tells you it is impossible has never tried it! It is not easy because, like in any relationship, it involves commitment, trust, work and patience. It is not impossible because Jesus wants us to enter this relationship with him; he invites us to meet him and he promises to be there, waiting for us.

It is in the Gospels that we first meet the person of Jesus. They are, as Mark tells us in the opening verse of his Gospel, “The Good News about Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God.” The Gospels begin and end with Jesus. Each Gospel we read and reflect on, allows us to meet, and hear and see Jesus in a new and exciting way.
Today’s Gospel is a good example of it. In these ‘sayings’ of Jesus we encounter a person who is clever, observant, witty and articulate. These are attractive qualities in a person. They help to see how Jesus became popular and enable us to appreciate why some people ‘left everything and followed him’.
Reflecting on the Gospel allows us to go a bit deeper and realise that Jesus is inviting us to live a life that is honest, open and authentic, because this is how he lived. His own authority and power, and his attraction to people, came from a recognising of these qualities within him. In turn, this leads us to see that the message of Jesus is counter-cultural, and therefore always challenging and with crosses to carry.

There are, of course, other levels at which we can come to meet Jesus. In our Church and local Christian Community we meet the person of Jesus; in the Sacraments Jesus comes to us in a profoundly personal way; in prayer, meditation and contemplation we, as St. Teresa of Avila tells us, “Gaze in wonder at the one who gazes in wonder at us.” Each one of these offers us ever new ways to deepen our encounter with the person of Jesus. The journey we begin in and through the Gospels never ends, leading us ultimately to the Kingdom of God.

There is one final level that must be, at least, mentioned. In John’s Gospel Jesus says to us,
“He who sees me sees the Father…”
This opens our way into the deepest mystery of all: Our relationship with our God.
The incredible, fantastic reality is that every time we encounter Jesus, we also, mysteriously, encounter God. It is what God wishes for us. It is simply LOVE.

We begin with the Gospels; we come to know the person of Jesus; and through him our God is revealed to us.
How incredibly blessed we are, through, with, and in the person of Jesus!

Many thanks,
Brian.

If you have any thoughts or comments that you would like to share with me on this reflection, please send me an email: b.maher@oblates.co.uk 

‘Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.’