Eights Sunday in Ordinary Time – March 2nd, 2025
“No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher”
In a school, there was a very experienced teacher with a vast amount of knowledge who led a simple way of life and a student with reasonable knowledge with a lot of pride in his heart. The student used to share with his friends that he is better than his master in school. As these comments reached the ears of his master, the master thought of teaching him a lesson of humility.
The next day as the class started, the master came to the classroom with a bowl of water. He called the proud student in front of the class and gave him the bowl of water. Then the conversation began as:
Teacher asked: “What is there in the bowl?” Student replied: “Water”. Appreciating the student, the teacher asked him to pour out the water from the bowl. Then the teacher asked the same question. The student replied: “nothing is there”. “You are wrong. There is air in the bowl,” said the teacher. Again, the teacher asked, “did you see anything else in the bowl” the student replied, “nothing is there just the air”. The master replied, “there is space in the bowl”. After realizing the intention of his master, and his own mistake of judging the master, the student knelt and said sorry to the teacher.
As the student learned the lesson, Jesus teaches his followers in today’s gospel “no disciple is superior to the teacher”. During the lifetime of Jesus, the Pharisees were also like the student in the story. They thought that they were far better than Jesus. They never listened to Jesus. They even thought Jesus as a senseless and mad person in the society. They did not like Jesus talking with the women and children in public places.
In turn, Jesus made them aware of their blindness in life. Jesus taught them that the splinter in your brother’s eye is smaller than the wooden beam in your eye. He strongly tells them “A blind person can never lead another blind”.
Sometimes we are also blind by our own mistakes. We try correcting others with our mistakes. Therefore, we ask God to bless us living according to Matthew 7:1 “Do not judge” any one in our society with our words and deeds. May God bless us with His Grace.
Let us pray:
Lord Jesus, You call us to a love that is beyond our human strength. Help us to love our enemies, to be merciful as You are merciful, and to give without counting the cost. Fill our hearts with Your grace so that we may reflect Your love in the world.
AMEN.