Me Before You

Taking care of ourselves before taking care of others  

Matthew 7:1-5  

Jesus said to his disciples: “Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.”   

          I really hate flying. In fact, a couple of years ago, I drove to Seattle, WA to give a retreat instead of flying there. But I did learn something important in flying, and that is in the case of a loss of cabin pressure you should always put the oxygen mask on yourself first and then help a child seated next to you. That always seemed so wrong to me – shouldn’t we sacrifice ourselves to help others first? Yes, that’s true. But if you’ve passed out from lack of oxygen, you’re no good to anyone else. I believe that short safety suggestion contains a profound spiritual truth. We are no good to others until we’re good to ourselves. It sounds so counter-intuitive, almost un-Christian, but it’s not.   

          Have you seen the romantic movie called “Me Before You”? It’s about a shy young lady who falls in love with a paralyzed man. They are both in need of healing – he needs physical healing and she needs emotional healing. In a heart-wrenching way the movie illustrates how you have to put the oxygen mask on yourself first before you can help others – hence the title of the film “Me Before You.” You can’t help others until you’ve helped yourself.   

          In the gospel today we see that this notion is not as un-Christian as it sounds, indeed, Jesus expressly teaches it. Jesus says, “Remove the wooden beam in your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.” If Jesus has been a flight attendant for American Airlines, he might have said, “Please secure the oxygen mask on yourself first and then attempt to help those seated next to you.” In other words, you will be more good to others if you have been good to yourself first.   

          Folks, let me suggest a few ways you can be good to yourself in order to help others even more. First, take care of yourself spiritually. You teach your children to pray – saying the rosary, Grace before meals – but do you take time to pray yourself? Have your children ever walked in and caught you praying? Second, take care of yourself morally with a good confession. Before you blame the Democrats or the Republicans or the environmentalists or ISIS for all the world’s problems, look into your own heart and remove the sinful wooden beams you find there. And third, always apply the H.A.L.T. rule. When I was a hospital chaplain, they told us never visit a patient if you were feeling Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tried. – H.A.L.T. Heck, I’m always feeling one of those, usually I”m feeling Hangry!

          But the point is simple: take care of yourself before taking care of others. My friends, you’re no good to anyone if you’re passed out on the floor from lack of oxygen.   

          Praised be Jesus Christ!