Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? – Matthew 7:3

Today's Scripture Reading (December 12, 2023): Matthew 7

The young woman sits in the interrogation room at the local police station. The police believe that she is a witness to a murder if not part of the crime itself. The conflict in this dramatic cross-examination is between a witness who speaks figuratively in every circumstance and a police officer who takes everything literally.

And so the interrogation begins. The police interrogator gets the conversation going. "Do you know Stephen Smith?" The woman answers, "I used to date him." The police officer asks, "When did you last see him?" the woman replies, "It was like a hundred years ago." The officer seriously replies, "You are lying; you are not a hundred years old yourself. What was he doing the last time you saw him."

The woman looks at the officer with disdain. "He was fighting with the tallest man in the world." The officer is puzzled. "He was fighting with Sultan Kosan?" Now, it is the woman's turn to be perplexed. "I don't know who Sultan Kosan is." The officer replies, "He is the tallest man in the world. "The conversation continues, one exaggeration after another, each taken as if it was the literal truth by the Police Officer. The scene is hard to watch without smiling. But it is also a reminder that what we say is often an exaggeration of the truth. For most of us, we know that we exaggerate. A hundred years ago just means a very long time. The tallest man in the world doesn't mean Sultan Kosan; it just means a very tall man. The problem with figurative language is that it is not very precise. Its advantage is that it emphasizes something, and often in an amusing way.

Jesus has been teaching the people. The teaching has been heavy; a lot of it has been unexpected and hard to understand. And so, Jesus chooses this moment to try some comic relief. "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" Is it an actual log? Of course not. But it is an amusing image. Jesus's point is that it is often easy to see someone else's sin and miss our own. Jesus describes this moment as being between a speck and a log.

A few years ago, I was driving in a nearby town. I am a good driver, but this wasn't one of my better days. I was lost and trying to find my way in unfamiliar territory. Amidst all of this, I cut someone off in traffic. I could see the anger rising on this guy's face. If he was a cartoon, his face would have been red, and steam would have come out of his ears. He shook a fist at me and gave me a sign that I would never give to someone else. So, I pulled over, and he pulled up beside me. Before he could get a word out, I said, "Man, I am sorry. That was my fault; I didn't mean to cut you off. I hope you can accept my apology."

It was amazing how quickly the situation de-escalated. Steam stopped pouring out of his ears, and he actually looked confused for a second until he said, "Hey, that's okay. We all make mistakes." It is amazing what happens when we recognize the log instead of chasing after a speck. Yes, it is a silly image, but it is also an image that we need to take seriously.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Luke 11