Today’s Gospel asks us to examine our own lives. Are we a people who happily throw stones at other people? Do we regard ourselves as righteous, and others as rubbish? Do we deal in oppression? Do we demand that others dance to our tune? Or can we tolerate difference? Can we cope with others’ failings? Can we deal fairly and patiently with one another?
The work of salvation asks us to be gentle people, to be patient with others, and to strive always and everywhere for justice and peace. This will involve suffering on our part. But this is a price worth paying. It is part of the mystery of knowing Christ Jesus, and, as St. Paul discovered for himself, there is nothing that can outweigh the supreme advantage of knowing the carpenter of Nazareth.