＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

１Timothy 1:1-2, 12-14

From Paul, apostle of Christ Jesus

By a command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,   to Timothy, my true son in the faith. May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy and peace.

 I give thanks to Christ Jesus, our Lord, who is my strength, who has considered me trust­worthy and appointed me to his service,  although I had been a blasphemer, a persecutor and a rabid enemy.

How­ever he took mercy on me because I did not know what I was doing when I opposed the faith;  and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, together with faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

 

Ps 16:1b-2a & 5, 7-8, 11

You are my inheritance, O Lord.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊    

Luke 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 then you will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your neighbor’s eye.

 

Gospel Reflection：

 Leaders need to have something more than the ordinary followers. They cannot be just the same. For leadership is a responsibility and not an achievement of honor or prestige. It is not meant to fill a lack or encourage the ego.

It is a task for which we will be answerable to God in the future. And so Jesus says that the blind cannot lead the blind. They must possess a qualification that others do not possess. The willingness to learn at the feet of a master is a good preparation for leadership roles.

Hence time with those who know helps for the task of leading later. The student might be as qualified as the master after a given time. In the meantime, while accompanied by the master, the student should not presume to know more than the master.

Do not try to remove the speck from the eye of others, for you are in the same situation yourself. One day, when the apprenticeship is completed, you may be qualified to do so, having undergone the thorough formation of self.