The Gospel Reading from Sunday speaks of a parable of Jesus concerning people with beams in their eye.  They should not worry about the mote or speck in the eyes of other people.  This is from the Gospel according to Luke chapter 6.  There are a couple of things that I want to note about this passage. 

First, this is not a parable as we usually think of parables.  I think of a parable as being a story which has a lesson for the listener.  When I think of a parable, I think of examples such as the Good Samaritan or the Prodigal Son, or the wise and foolish virgins or even the parable of the lost coin.  I looked up a definition of a parable.  The first two definition I found are as follows:

A general definition of "parable" is a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, as told by Jesus in the Gospels.

Merriam-Webster gives the following definition for parable: "a usually short fictitious story that illustrates a moral attitude or a religious principle."

This seems to fit with what I think of as a parable – a story with a moral or spiritual lesson.  It is nice to have your beliefs of understanding confirmed.  However, lets put that aside and see what lesson it may contain for us.    What we have is a series of punch lines – we don’t have the story, but we do have the moral or spiritual lessons, as there are a number of lessons which Jesus gives us in quick succession.  We have the blind leading the blind not leading to good results; the disciple is not above his (or her) master; and finally, the lesson about not worrying about the mote the other person’s eye and ignore the beam in your own eye.  All wise saying which we should all pay attention to. 

I want to explore the last spiritual lesson – the one about the mote and the beam.  First let’s clarify the language.  What is a mote?  It is an old-fashioned word for something tiny – some versions of the bible translate the Greek word as speck.  So, we have a small thing - a speck of dust in your eye.  Well, what about a beam?  We have different types of beams.  We have beams in a house which support it and hold up the structure – when I looked up types of beams on-line a found one list of 14 different types if beams used in construction.  There is also a beam of light like a moon beam.  I found some illustrations of this passage on-line.  They generally had a beam made of wood or other material such as concrete.  In the illustration this was in the eye of the person pictured – not a comfortable image to say the least.

It is hard to imagine that anyone could not be aware of such an immense thing as a beam stuck in their eye.  Of course, if we think of this literally it could be impossible.  So, we need to think of it metaphorically or symbolically.   Doing this the basic message is clear.  Pay attention to the large thing in your eye getting in the way of seeing things clearly and don’t worry about the little speck in your neighbour’s eye.

Let’s consider what is happening here as a case of projection.  Psychologist Carl Jung speaks of projections this way, “Projections change the world into the replica of one’s own unknown face.”  One source notes that projections “occurs when we attribute an element of our personality residing in our unconscious to another individual or group. While it is possible to project both positive and negative characteristics, there is generally a greater tendency to project the latter.” https://www.jungian-confrerie.com/phdi/p1.nsf/supppages/8209?opendocument&part=15

In the case of the parable, the person with the beam in their eye, i.e. a large impediment to seeing the world as it is, is projecting that state on someone in their field of vision and seeing them as having that issue or characteristic.  In effect we are seeing the “other” not as they truly are but in a way that reflects something about ourselves.  The writer of the Gospel, Luke wouldn’t have thought in these modern terms, but the lesson is the same.   Be aware that the way you are seeing the other person can say more about yourself than about the other person.

One sign that this is happening is that you have an illogically strong reaction to someone – it might be their behaviour or even their appearance.  Perhaps they have a crazy hairstyle like dreadlocks or perhaps they dress inappropriately for an occasion.  Perhaps it is someone who is loud or bossy or just plain annoying.  Whatever it is just makes you see red and never want to have anything to do with them.

May we all be blessed to know ourselves more fully and to see others as they truly are on our journey.