Matthew 7:1-5

Our engraving by Daniel Hopfer illustrates how we often observe the 'splinter in our brother's eye and never notice the plank in our own'. We see a figure on the right with his right arm pointing at the splinter in the eye of the gentleman in front of him, whilst having a large beam in his own eye. The onlookers are watching at the scene in amazement. The lavish, grand interior church setting makes the beam look even more prominent. 

Jesus is very clear that we shouldn't judge others, but only ourselves. He is aware of the hypocrisy which we spoke about a few days ago. He is aware of our hypocrisy in our judgment towards others, when we have our own major issues to deal with. He is calling us in today's reading to self-reflection: what are my sins, what are my shortcomings, what are my weaknesses… what is in our own hearts? If we address our own sins first, we can remove that plank in our own eye and therefore better see, with both eyes, the other's person's needs, rather than his or her shortcomings.