Something in my teeth

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/091225.cfm

I sometimes enjoy a stupid comedy, and I don't think there are many more stupid than Ace Ventura, Pet Detective with Jim Carrey. In the movie, there is a scene where he shoves an unimaginable number of asparagus spears under his upper lip only to ask 'Do I have something in my teeth?' I bring this up because I think that Jesus is showing his humorous side in today's Gospel. He is the master of hyperbole and today's example is poignant.

Jesus encourages us to laugh at ourselves when we are nit-picking our neighbor's faults, but I think it is more than that. I think that He is also calling us to recognize another human failing: we react most strongly when other's actions mirror the actions we dislike in ourselves. I actually thought for quite a while that this was just me, but after owning up to it among others, I have found that many others, when being honest, observe the same thing. It goes something like this: you feel like you can be a bit untidy, so you find that you have little patience when people leave things laying around. Jesus is like that good friend that says: "Man you can't be so hard on him, you do that all the time!!"

When we receive this humbly, we laugh at our hypocrisy. So when we approach a brother or sister, it has to be in a sense of humility and love. Knowing and acknowledging that we are sinners is a necessary step in the process.

What Jesus is not saying, however, is to ignore the splinter in your friends eye. He wants us to engage in conversations with humility, to strive WITH them. This is the essence of our Christian journey together. Comfortable struggling together, encouraging one another, always with humility, often with humor, never without love.