Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Friday of the 11th Week of Easter, Cycle A - June 20, 2014

Friday of the 11th Week in Ordinary Time
June 20, 2014      8:30am


Jesus gives us some nuggets of practical wisdom today.
He is trying to motivate us to live wisely and avoid shallow and foolish living.

Jesus knows that we can get caught up in nice, comfortable material things.
And so, he cautions that moths can eat holes in our finest clothing.
Metals are subject to corrosion and rust.
Anything we own can be lost – in a fire, in a theft or fraud, or in a stock market crash.
But, Jesus adds, there are some things that are not vulnerable to being lost in these ways.
And those things are the things of the spirit: our relationship with God that comes from faith and prayer, the fulfillment that comes from giving of ourselves for the well-being of others, and the inner peace that comes from living out of the way of love taught by Jesus.
No thing and no one can take these inner spiritual treasures away from us.
They are lasting and they will last.
In fact, we will take them with us when it is our time to go home to God.

And so, Jesus cautions us about the use of our eyes.
What we look at is usually where we look for our treasures.
So, instead of looking at some lewd internet site, look at a site with a spiritual reflection for the day.
Instead of shopping and looking at all kinds of clothes or gadgets that we really don’t need, spend some time looking at a book and reading about how to communicate better or how to deal with anger.
As Jesus says, “If your eye is sound, your whole body [your whole self] will be filled with light.”

And, of course, that light will be part of the lasting treasure “Where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal.”