March 2, 2005

The Things We Wished Jesus Hadn’t Said

Taking the “I” Out of your Eye

Matthew 7:1-5

Introduction

Can I confess a little secret to you? Every time I walk into a sanctuary for the first time I have to walk into the pulpit. Every pulpit has a certain feel. Pulpits are differences sizes. Some are taller than others. Some are more spacious than others. Some are set in the middle of the chancel, to emphasize the preaching of the word. Some pulpits are set to the side to have an open chancel, to emphasize service as the primary task of the church. Every pulpit has a certain feel so I must experience that feel for myself.

Several weeks ago I walked into a sanctuary of a United Methodist Church in our area for the first time. As I stood in the pulpit a voice suddenly came out of the silence. A woman’s voice said, “What do you think?” I smiled and said, “I have never met a pulpit that I didn’t like.” We introduced ourselves and she told me about the history of the church and the various symbolism of the sanctuary. We were having a nice talk when she suddenly stopped and said, “Look at that!” “What?" I said. She pointed to a cobweb up in the corner of the choir loft. I said, “The sanctuary is so nice I didn’t even notice it.” She said, “This happens all the time.” I said, “Why don’t we just knock it down?”  She said, “This must be reported.” She saw the problem and decided that someone must pay.

Let me ask you a question this evening. Does anyone here this evening know a cobweb spotter?” Is your neighbor a cobweb spotter? Does anyone here this evening work for a cobweb spotter? Does anyone here this evening have a family member who is a cobweb spotter? Is anyone here this evening married to a cobweb spotter? Is anyone here this evening a cobweb spotter? A cobweb spotter is anyone who identifies a problem and assigns fault. If so, then this message is for you.

Body

We are in the seventh chapter of Matthew. We are in the middle of a sermon series I have called, The Things We Wish Jesus Had Not Said.”  We are looking at some difficult passages. I wish Jesus had not said these difficult words. The Master is talking about judging other people. It begins with the very first verse. It says, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” That single verse dominates the rest of the passage. It summarizes the rest of the passage. It turns the judge into the judged. That verse is shocking. It pushes us back and makes us look at ourselves warts and all. These are difficult words from Jesus lips. Can anyone here this evening claim these words as their favorite words in the Bible?

This evening I want to talk about our limitations as judges. This evening let us look at two words. Each word begins with the letter I. Both words eliminate us from judging other people. They are the planks that rest within our own eyes, which blind us. Let us look at them one at a time.

Ignorance: One of the reasons we are horrible judges is that we are ignorant. Webster defines ignorance as, “lacking in knowledge or training; unlearned.”  One of the great privileges and responsibilities of the ministry is that people share parts of their lives with us. We know the details of many lives, which can not be shared with the general public. That information is important because it explains why people make certain choices in their lives. Without that knowledge sometimes those people do look foolish, but with those pieces of information the same person can look wise.

Stephen Covey tells the story of riding a train one Sunday morning. He was just reading his newspaper, when a father and his two young children got on the train. The father sat their emotionless but the children were running up and down the train. Covey tried to ignore them but one of the youngsters ran into him and tore his paper. Covey looked at the father and thought, “What kind of parent are you?” He yelled at the man by saying, “Can you watch your wild Indian kids?” The father replied, “I am sorry. We are just leaving the hospital. My wife (their mother) has just died. I guess I am handling it in my way and the children are handling it in their way.” Suddenly, Covey was the one who looked like a fool.

Jesus says in verse five, “You hypocrite, take the plank out of your own eye and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Do you really know the whole story? If you think you can learn a little more then say, “Amen!”

Illogical: The second reason we are horrible judges is that we are illogical. Webster defines illogical as, “unreasonable.”  We base our entire case on things that just make sense. How many judgements do you make that are based on stereotypes and assumptions?

A woman by the name of Edna boarded a jet to fly to Florida with her granddaughter. They found their seats and discovered they would be sitting next a businessman. Edina knew he was a businessman because he was wearing an expensive suit. She assumed by his looks that he was a big time banker from New York City. The jet took off and Edina and the little girl were having a great time. She brought some games and puzzles to play. In time the stewardess came and asked them what they wanted to drink. The grandmother and granddaughter got a Coke and a bag of pretzels. The big time banker from New York City ordered a scotch and water. Edina tried to protect her granddaughter from this terrible alcoholic so she acted like a human shield. When the big time banker from New York City ordered second scotch and water she almost called security. Edina was so upset and was relieved to see the flight come to an end. When the grandmother and granddaughter stood up to leave,the big time banker said to Edina, “Can I give you something?” He handed them a beautiful characacher of the two of them. He captured their essence. It was only then that Edina discovered that he was not a big time banker from New York City. He was an artist, who worked for Disney. Edina took that picture home and had it framed.

Jesus says in verse five, “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” What stereotypes do you hold in your life that need to go, so you can see? If you have something that needs to go then say, “Amen!”

Illuminated The one thing that we really need to judge others is the third I word, illuminated. Webster defines illuminated as, “to supply with light.” In other words, the only ones who are really qualified to judge other people are those people who reflect Christ’s love. Jesus doesn’t judge us to put us in our place. Jesus judges us to improve and protect. As you judge the people in your life are you illuminating Christ’s love or promoting yourself?

Within these guidelines judging can be a good thing! When I sit on a plane and am ready to fly over the ocean, I am thankful that someone has evaluated the work of the mechanic and the pilot. When you are ready to head into surgery aren’t you thankful that someone has evaluated the surgeon? When you drive over a bridge aren’t you glad the state has inspected it first? Christ’s love improves and protects. As you judge the people in your life are you illuminating Christ’s love or are you promoting yourself?

Conclusion

Let me end with a quick story about a teacher who judges one of her students. An important part of any teacher’s job is to evaluate, but she went too far. She became frustrated with the student and stopped illuminating Christ’s love. She was angry with the student and those emotions found their way onto his evaluation. She said, “This young man is the worst student in the class. He does not follow the rules and refuses to pay attention. He is uneducable.” Do you know the name of that student? He went by the name of Albert Einstein. She had Albert Einstein as a student and she missed it because she had a plank in her eye.

Do you have a plank in your eye this evening? If Jesus was sitting next to you would you miss him? Would you miss Jesus because he was too rich or poor? Would you miss Jesus because he was too smart or slow? Would you miss Jesus because he was not what you expected?