MATTHEW 7:1-6

[Jesus said:] "Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother: 'Let me remove that splinter from your eye,' while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother's eye." 

Gospelthink: I tell you that you must clearly see other people to understand them. In my understanding of people, do I make false judgments?

“I had some help. It ain’t like I can make this kind of mess all by myself.  Don’t act like you ain’t help[ing] me pull that bottle off the shelf.  Been deep in every weekend if you couldn’t tell.  They say teamwork makes the dream work.  You think that you’re so innocent.  After all the stuff you did, I ain’t an angel; you ain’t heaven-sent, can’t wash our hands off this.  It takes two to break a heart in two, you blame me and I blame you.” 

One of the guides that Jesus used in his life as he taught his followers about the kingdom was the guide of seeing clearly. It had to do primarily with how he wanted people to treat others, how he wanted everyone to be united in one way or another. He knew that the block to love and unity was the way people went about judging others. He also knew that when people judged others, they often forgot about the fact that they themselves were guilty of the very thing that they were judging in others. And so he used his splinter/beam image to bring his point home.

Our human  natures do not like to blame ourselves. When it comes to a situation that has created some problems, our tendency is to place the cause on something or someone else. It is especially clear in romantic situations when something has gone wrong and we cannot feel good about it.

So, with the case of the couple in the song "I Had Some Help," they tend to see the other as having caused the problem.  The man in the relationship sings: “You blame me and I blame You” as if to say that each of them are innocent of anything wrong. They both want to be together as it was in their past, but both think that the fault lies with the other and not with themselves.

When Jesus spoke his condemnation of those who could not see clearly during the Sermon on the Mount, he was not speaking of romantic situations as such. But it was part of his thought. He was speaking of the many situations in which the beam in our own eyes blocks the clear sight of what is really happening. Love situations easily fit into what he said.

In the song, both will remain unhappy as long as they do not consider themselves to be the possible source of the problem.    

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we do not like to blame ourselves. Your Son realized that fact. Consequently, he spoke his revealing words that we often do not look at the beams in our own eyes when it comes to seeing clearly. Give us the grace to study the possibility that we have caused some of the problems in our lives. Be with us, we pray. 

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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: When we place blame, we must look at ourselves.
 
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What does the song "I Had Some Help" teach young people?
2. In your opinion, is "judging others" a common fault among people?
3. Is being "alone" always something bad?  Yes or no and why?
4. In our lives, what can we do to better "see clearly"?
5. Is it a true statement that most people will not place the blame of something wrong on themselves? Yes or no and why?
6. If you were counseling this couple in the song, what would be some of the things that you would suggest?
7. Why is the future for this couple an "unhappy" one?

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America