Jesus told his disciples a parable:
"Can a blind person guide a blind person?
Will not both fall into a pit?
No disciple is superior to the teacher;
but when fully trained,
every disciple will be like his teacher.
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye,
but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?
How can you say to your brother,
"Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,"
when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye?
You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter in your brother's eye."
In today's reading, Jesus reminds us that before we judge others, we must look carefully at our own actions. Jesus reminds us that it is unhealthy to constantly point out faults in others. It hurts communities and shifts the emphasis of responsibility from ourselves to others. Jesus' parable of the Log in the eye is very similar to a zen parable where the zen master says: "one cannot smell their own pee". Here both parables remind us that we are accountable for our own actions. When we judge others harshly while failing to take into account our own actions and behaviors we become hypocrites. We must always ask God for the grace to see clearly, act lovingly, and be with us when we make mistakes. We must never forget we are sinners and it is our sin that separates us from God.