The Beam you got !

 

First, remove the beam from your eye, and then you will see clearly!

 

This statement of Jesus has always baffled me because here is an analogy that one may find it difficult to understand. However, we know, that analogies are used to express something difficult to comprehend, and yet there is something here that can become a little confusing.

Two years ago, when I started reading Carl Jung, I didn't know that in my reading of his writings I was trying to figure out what Jesus told us so long ago. In many ways during my years of study I realized that I was filled with so much of weakness myself, but I was busy passing judgements over others.

In his writings, Jung writes about the 'shadow'. The ‘shadow’ is that a part of our lives that we are not aware of. We encounter this part of the ‘shadow’ in our lives when we are disturbed and when life situations become a little heavy for us. What do I mean by this? The shadow in simple words is that part of our lives that we choose to ignore, however it remains with us and deeply affects our lives. Shadow is that part of our life that we've chosen to ignore because it can be difficult to correct ourselves before correcting others. Just like the publican, we try to look at others and find faults without realizing the emptiness and sorrow that we are filled with. We consider ourselves as perfect though sometimes we pretend to be humble.

A simple way to understand this shadow aspect of our life would be by looking at how we speak of others, especially those who hurt us the most. Do I find myself getting angry and disturbed at what others are doing? It is precisely here that we will encounter our shadow.  Is my life surrounded by tension and worries with no time to appreciate the other person? A good way to understand this would be by getting in touch with ourselves and accepting our own weaknesses. When we continuously judge others, we canonize ourselves declaring ourselves saints or sometimes even God. However, when we accept our own weakness we become more understanding and sympathetic towards others.

Jesus in inviting us to look at the beam in our own eyes invites us to look at the shadow. He makes us realize that many of our problems aren't on the outside, but are inside us. Only when I start examining myself and start growing from within will I be able to live at peace with myself and others.

An easy way to understand this would be to ask myself: How do I look at the world and the people around me? Do I criticize more than appreciating it? Do I struggle and keeping fighting more than bringing peace and unity?  What are the words used in my writings and speeches?  Am I happy and content with myself or am I on a constant journey to find faults in the world that in many ways reflect my sowing.

Jesus calls us to be compassionate and to look at how and where we have placed Him in our lives. Jesus knew his disciples very well, he knew their weakness. He also knew how stupid and sometimes even unjust and selfish they would turn out to be. Yet Jesus gave them the time and the freedom to grow. None of us are perfect though some of us might claim to be. All we got to do is to confess our own failures and work towards being like our compassionate Lord. Jesus asks us to be responsible but he also asks us to avoid judgement and let Him do his work. We need not play God as this would also mean breaking the first commandment. For when we let him take charge we can be sure that we can never fail. Let us be merciful and understanding for many in this world are fighting for justice for without first fighting the journey within.