7th Sunday in Ordinary Time 24 February 2019

The story of a blind man goes as follows. Father and son were travelling in a train. Son was excited as they traveled. He was screaming like a child as he saw landscape with beautiful trees in it. He narrated to his father like a little child. Everything he saw made him excited and every time he was excited he screamed with joy. Co-passengers were terribly annoyed at this behavior since although an adult he behaved like a child. They inquired with his father as to why his son behaved in such a manner. They told him that he should discipline his son in a proper way. At this, father explained to co-passengers that his son was blind from birth and they were returning after an eye transplant. His son was seeing the world for the first time after 25 years and hence, he was excited to see the beautiful and lively world.

Have you been judged by others? Have you been victimized by someone? Have you judged someone? Have you gossiped about someone? In today’s scripture Jesus emphasizes on an important life lesson, ‘treat unto others as you want them to treat you.’ We have heard this umpteen times yet in reality we are either topic of gossip or we indulge in talking behind someone’s back. In the former, we feel let down by people who treat harshly towards, in other words, when we feel terrible when we are judged for who we are.

We are twice affected when we indulge in gossip. When we bad-talk about someone our reputation is jeopardized and also subject of the bad-talk’s reputation is also jeopardized. It has dual effect. Gossip can break both persons. If we indulge in gossip, we might be also be gossiped behind our back. Jesus’ warning is so true if we treat others badly, we will be treated badly. If we treat others well, we will be treated well. Every action has a boomerang effect. We must not allow ourselves to be sucked into the gossip clicks. We must be cautious about people who indulge in this. We must try to keep them far for we don’t need a friend who talks about others and not themselves. If you have nothing to say about someone don’t say anything. When someone gossips with you, just make sure you are not interested in someone else’s business. It would be appreciative of you if you can let them know that you don’t want to be around the person who gossips. Rest assured the person will try to avoid you for you don’t match the click.

As we read our scripture, let us internalize the message of Jesus. Let us begin treating others with respect and dignity. Everyone deserves to be respected. We learn to respect each other at home. This will help us to respect people in our work places and in the society. We must keep away from people who try to destroy and be closer to people who try to build.

Amen.