23rd Week in Ordinary Time

1st Reading: 1 Tim 1:1–2, 12–14
Gospel: Lk 6:39–42
And Jesus offered this example, “Can a blind person lead another blind person? Surely both will fall into a ditch. A disciple is not above the master; but when fully trained, he will be like the master. So why do you pay attention to the speck in your brother’s eye while you have a log in your eye and are not conscious of it? How can you say to your neighbor: ‘Friend, let me take this speck out of your eye,’ when you can’t remove the log in your own? You hypocrite! First remove the log from your own eye and when you will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your neighbor’s eye.

Commentary
The parable about removing the log from our own eye before the speck in our neighbor’s speaks to us about tackling the tough questions in interfaith dialogue between Christians and Muslims. There are many good examples from Christian history of our faith behaving with great violence in seeking to spread the word. Colonial Christianity is a centuries’ long example of this. The best way for us Christians to help Muslims address their more violent and extreme elements is to address ourselves to the violent and extreme elements within Christianity.
If Christians wish to be helpful to Muslims, who are working for greater peace and justice, they can do no better than to take on the bigots of the world, who promote a distorted and hateful, Christian attitude toward Islam. We should see Christian diatribes against Islam as fodder for reactionary elements within both religions. Those, who wish for war and not peace among religions, are mirrors of each other, actually helping each other bring about what they each claim to fear…a state of permanent war. The good news is that progressive elements in Islam and Christianity are also helping each other, by making bridges to understanding, long-term peace and stability.

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