Perspective

Jesus said, “Why do not see the speck in your neighbour’s eye but do not notice the log in your own eye” (Luke 6:41).

            Some time ago, I was driving along Highway 401 between Tilbury and Windsor. It was a hot summer day and the road was straight and flat. Off in the distance, it looked like the highway was covered with water. Yet, when I reached that location the pavement was dry. The experience was an example of an illusion. The heat rising from the highway made it appear to be covered in water when in fact it had none. It was another instance of how the proper perspective enables us to see things clearly.

            In this passage from Luke, Jesus warns his Disciples against seeing the faults of others while they are blind to their own. By doing so, he demonstrates the importance of perspective in a Disciple’s life.

            Within the New Testament, several Authors examined the influence of perspective on the Faith Life of people. Matthew’s Gospel, which recorded Christ’s criticism of how the Pharisees manipulated the Jewish Law through Human Traditions, showed how personal standards skewed one’s Religious Practices. In Mark’s Gospel, the Disciples asked about why Jesus used parables when he taught. His response revealed how his stories tested the openness of those who listened to them to God’s message and the changes it required in their lives. John’s Story of how Christ healed a blind man on the Sabbath demonstrated the Pharisee’s rigidity in their observance of the Jewish Law which ignored an act of Divine Mercy. Such influences were likely what Jesus had in mind when he warned his Disciples about their own biases when they made judgments about others. The Human Traditions prized by the Pharisees were subjective interpretations of the Law which met their own standards. Were they what God intended? When the Disciples judged others were their standards those of God or their own? The Parables used by Christ answered questions but also posed them. They probed one’s existing ideas and required an openness of mind to new options. In their judgments of others, were the Disciples open to other ways of understanding the situation? The rigidity with which the Pharisees observed the Jewish Law meant their view of the healing of the Blind Man placed limitations on God’s Acts of Mercy. As they judged others, had the Disciples put similar restrictions on Divine initiatives? The Teaching of Jesus stressed before the Disciples drew conclusions about the sins of others, the clarity of their perspective required an examination of their own faults.

            The polarization which has developed within our world, as well as our Church, has made it hard to respond to the different perspectives of individuals and groups. There was a time when people would examine conflicting opinions on an issue with some openness. The truth in a view which differed from one’s own could be admitted. The recognition of the shortcomings of one’s own perspective could also be acknowledged. Differences of opinion challenged one’s thinking and propelled a common search for the Truth and Justice. Sadly, in our present times, the sides on most issues are so entrenched there is no recognition of the truth in an alternative opinion and any weaknesses in one’s own views are denied or covered up by distractions. This approach has infected our Discourse in Politics, the Media and the Church. The response to Covid 19 is merely the latest example of this development. There are family members and friends who have stopped talking to each other: over wearing a face mask; getting vaccinated; or avoiding large crowds. As Christ asks us in this passage, do our Human Traditions about freedom or the safety of the public ignore God’s Teachings about the Common Good and Charity; does the information upon which we base our conclusions prevent us from being open to how God may be inviting us to see it in a new way; does the rigidity in our thinking hinder us from recognizing how God’s Acts of Mercy are often done in unexpected ways by unlikely people? The issues Jesus discussed two thousand years ago haven’t changed much over the years.

            It has been said true knowledge begins with self knowledge. Each of us has a perspective on Life which contains some truth. When we fit those perspectives together the result is usually a lot more truth. As I discovered on Highway 401 that day, being aware of the imperfections of our perspective at any given moment insures what we contribute is the truth and enables us to reach our destination: a more just world.

February 27, 2022