Friday 18 June

 

Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

 

WHERE IS OUR TREASURE?

 

Introduction

      In defending his ministry, Paul boasts of all he has done and suffered in the service of the Gospel of the young Christian communities. These sufferings affect and hurt him, for they bring out his human frailty. But he goes on single-mindedly, because God is his strength and his treasure, the light brightening his whole being.

      What are the things that preoccupy us, that are constantly on our minds? The answer to this question will indicate what our values are, “where our heart is.” For many high-minded and dedicated Christians, these values will rarely be as crude as mere pleasure seeking and a hunger for material wealth and comfort, though these too are not always ruled out completely. But what about the ambition for power and promotion, the tendency to dominate others and to shape others in our own image and likeness rather than God’s? What about making ourselves the center of the world? Where do we look for “the one thing necessary”?

 

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,
you are the origin and purpose of all,
the meaning of our existence
and the goal of all we do.
We pray you today:
draw us out of our little self-created worlds
and open us to you and your kingdom.
Be yourself the precious pearl of our lives
and let each person around us be
the oyster shell in which we find that pearl.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

 

Reading 1: 2 Cor 11:18, 21-30

Brothers and sisters:
Since many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast.
To my shame I say that we were too weak!

But what anyone dares to boast of
(I am speaking in foolishness)
I also dare.
Are they Hebrews?  So am I.
Are they children of Israel?  So am I.
Are they descendants of Abraham?  So am I.
Are they ministers of Christ?
(I am talking like an insane person).
I am still more, with far greater labors,
far more imprisonments, far worse beatings,
and numerous brushes with death.
Five times at the hands of the Jews
I received forty lashes minus one.
Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned,
three times I was shipwrecked,
I passed a night and a day on the deep;
on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers,
dangers from robbers, dangers from my own race,
dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city,
dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea,
dangers among false brothers;
in toil and hardship, through many sleepless nights,
through hunger and thirst, through frequent fastings,
through cold and exposure.
And apart from these things, there is the daily pressure upon me
of my anxiety for all the churches.
Who is weak, and I am not weak?
Who is led to sin, and I am not indignant?

If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

 

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

(see 18b) From all their distress God rescues the just.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. From all their distress God rescues the just.
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
R. From all their distress God rescues the just.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R. From all their distress God rescues the just.

 

Alleluia: Mt 5:3

Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are the poor in spirit;
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel: Mt 6:19-23

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal.
But store up treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

“The lamp of the body is the eye.
If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light;
but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness.
And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.”

 

Intercessions

–                   For those who worry much about money, that they may learn to be concerned about those who lack the bare essentials, we pray:

–                   For those who have become the victims of greed and intolerance, that good people restore their faith in God and humankind, we pray:

–                   For all of us, that we may be grateful that God has given us faith in him and in his love and mercy, we pray:

 

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God,
you let us gather around the table
of your Son Jesus Christ.
The Eucharist is for us
a great and precious treasure.
Let us appreciate Jesus’ presence
and let it always enrich us
with a deep sense of his nearness.
Let us learn from him
to be present to one another.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

 

Prayer after Communion

Lord our God,
from the Words and the presence of Jesus
we learn that nothing is more precious
than your love for us
and the kingdom you want to build with us.
Be our joy and our treasure.
We thank you that you have found us.
Let us always keep finding you
in the different ways you manifest yourself
in the goodness of people
and in the treasures of our faith.
Thank you through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Blessing

Our prayer and our whole worship is service of God and neighbor, not service of oneself in the sense of showing off and boasting of what we do for God and neighbor. That is worship in spirit and truth. May God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

 

Commentary

Strength and weakness. To boast or not to boast. Paul today views features of his life about which he might justifiably boast. With his former co-religionist, he is able to stand on equal ground. A Hebrew and a descendant of Abraham, he is moreover a member of Christ. But he does not boast of these things; rather he speaks of the trials he has endured: beatings, shipwreck, dan­gers from Jew and Gentile, sleepless nights, hunger and thirst. It is through these moments, when he was most weak, that the power of God is made manifest in Paul. This is his boast.

The Gospel continues along the same line. It is not treasures or human accomplishments that count but rather the spiritual treasures that are stored in heaven. These are the goods that will endure because there is no earthly force that will destroy them. And of this bounty it can be said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Many people we know in life never gain prominence, never are seen in a newspaper headline. Yet their willingness to do good is boundless. They see a need and respond spontaneously. They wear themselves out for the Gospel and ask for nothing in return. Their passing away may be largely unheralded, but they have lived lives of limitless good. The grace of God in them has not been fruitless, and now a treasure in heaven awaits them.

 

Points to Ponder

Glorying in our weakness

Our spiritual treasure

What makes true greatness?