Temptation and Treasure

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to contemplate the distractions that tempt our tuning away from the treasure we find in Jesus Way.

Tempted Away from the Treasure

The Reading from the Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians describes the Paradox of the Ministry.

* [4:7–5:10] Paul now confronts the difficulty that his present existence does not appear glorious at all; it is marked instead by suffering and death. He deals with this by developing the topic already announced in 2 Cor 3:3, 6, asserting his faith in the presence and ultimate triumph of life, in his own and every Christian existence, despite the experience of death.

* [4:7] This treasure: the glory that he preaches and into which they are being transformed. In earthen vessels: the instruments God uses are human and fragile; some imagine small terracotta lamps in which light is carried.

* [4:8–9] A catalogue of his apostolic trials and afflictions. Yet in these the negative never completely prevails; there is always some experience of rescue, of salvation.

* [4:10–11] Both the negative and the positive sides of the experience are grounded christologically. The logic is similar to that of 2 Cor 1:3–11. His sufferings are connected with Christ’s, and his deliverance is a sign that he is to share in Jesus’ resurrection.

* [4:12–15] His experience does not terminate in himself, but in others (12, 15; cf. 2 Cor 1:4–5). Ultimately, everything is ordered even beyond the community, toward God (2 Cor 4:15; cf. 2 Cor 1:11).

* [4:13–14] Like the Psalmist, Paul clearly proclaims his faith, affirming life within himself despite death (2 Cor 4:10–11) and the life-giving effect of his experience upon the church (2 Cor 4:12, 14–15). And place us with you in his presence: Paul imagines God presenting him and them to Jesus at the parousia and the judgment; cf. 2 Cor 11:2; Rom 14:10. (2 Corinthians, CHAPTER 4, n.d.)

Psalm 116 is a thanksgiving for divine rescue.

* [Psalm 116] A thanksgiving in which the psalmist responds to divine rescue from mortal danger (Ps 116:3–4) and from near despair (Ps 116:10–11) with vows and Temple sacrifices (Ps 116:13–14, 17–19). The Greek and Latin versions divide the Psalm into two parts: Ps 116:1–9 and Ps 116:10–19, corresponding to its two major divisions. (Psalms, PSALM 116, n.d.)

The Gospel of Matthew presents Jesus Teaching About Adultery in the Sermon on the Mount.

* [5:27] See Ex 20:14; Dt 5:18.

* [5:29–30] No sacrifice is too great to avoid total destruction in Gehenna. (Matthew, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB, n.d.)

Car­ol Zuegner comments today is also the feast day of St. Antho­ny of Pad­ua, whom many of us have called upon when we have lost our keys or an impor­tant doc­u­ment or some­thing. St. Antho­ny also can help those who lose their way in the faith.

Accord­ing to the Catholic Ency­clo­pe­dia, one mir­a­cle ascribed to St. Antho­ny links today’s Gospel and St. Antho­ny.  A young man - in a fit of anger - kicked his moth­er. The young man con­fessed to St. Antho­ny, who said to him: “The foot of him who kicks his moth­er deserves to be cut off.” The young man ran home and cut off his foot. St. Antho­ny learned of this and restored the young man’s foot. Even if we lose our­selves to sin, we can repent and we can find our way back to God.

Jesus’s words are stark, a reminder of the dan­ger of sin. We will lose our way, but we can find our way back to God with repen­tant hearts.

Our table at the 12th Men’s Cursillo was named “St Anthony’s Lost Now Found” and this weekend exploration of our faith marked the increase in my active involvement in piety, study, and action. (Zuegher, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “The fuel of adultery,” by Chromatius (died 406 AD)

"Because adultery is a serious sin and in order to uproot it, lest our conscience be defiled, he [Jesus] forbade even lust, which is the fuel of adultery. According to the words of blessed James in his epistle, 'Lust when it has conceived gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full-grown brings forth death' (James 1:15). The Holy Spirit speaks concerning this to David: 'Happy shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock' (Psalm 137:9). The symbolism here is that the blessed and truly evangelical person roots out the desires and lust of the flesh arising from human weakness. He does this immediately before they grow, at the onset, through faith in Christ who has been described as a rock" (1 Corinthians 10:4) (excerpt from TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 23.1.6-7)

[Note: Chromatius was an early Christian scholar and bishop of Aquileia, Italy. He was a close friend of John Chrysostom and Jerome. He died in 406 AD. Jerome described him as a "most learned and most holy man."] (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on 2 Corinthians 4:7-15 comments that Paul reminds us that true discipleship is not about being impressive or garnering praise. It’s about carrying the presence of Christ to others. Jesus has chosen to dwell in earthen vessels like us, despite our weakness and fragility. Our call is to point people to Jesus, the treasure within us. This is the good news of the gospel that Paul proclaimed: Jesus takes us as we are and fills us with his presence, a treasure more valuable than gold. He turns our views of greatness upside down and helps us become like him in humility and love.

You may feel lacking as a disciple, like a cracked clay pot. That’s okay! You carry Jesus Christ himself. He delights to live in you and minister through you!

“You are my treasure, Lord!” (Meditation on 2 Corinthians 4:7-15, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on Paul in 2 Corinthians referring to the Gospel treasure in earthen vessels that can be broken and persecuted but in which the truth is manifested. This reflects the cliche that “no good deed goes unpunished”. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus extends His consideration of sin to adultery and we consider what we do with the temptation that is leading to sin. Friar Jude reminds us that Gehenna was a place of shame, the Temple dump and cutting off one’s members is not literal but underlines our need to have custody of our senses. Unlawful marriage, in the Jewish concept, was concerned in a too close relationship as a means of land possession.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Spiritual teacher Christine Valters Painter who writes that visio divina is a contemplative practice of receiving God’s presence through what we see. 

What is the place on the image that is calling to you—is it a symbol, color, or expression? Take a few moments to simply be present to this in a gentle way….  

Slowly begin to notice if an invitation begins to emerge from these memories, feelings, and images moving in you. In the concrete circumstances of your life right now, what awareness or action is God calling you to? What is my invitation in this moment of my life? How am I being called to respond?…

As you become more comfortable with praying in this way and allowing visual elements to be a “text” for prayer, you can begin to bring this spirit of visio divina with you even as you are out walking.… As you receive your images, pay attention to moments that seem to shimmer and make space within your heart to be with whatever feelings or memories these stir, trusting that God is at work in the process. Over time, you might discover that there is an invitation being offered to you in this time of slowing down and deepening your way of seeing in the world…. (Rohr, n.d.)

We implore the Spirit to guide our decisions as we address temptation with STOP, (Stop, Take a breath, Observe, Proceed) allowing time to decide based on WWJD. (What Would Jesus Do).

References

Matthew, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 13, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/5? 

Meditation on 2 Corinthians 4:7-15. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved June 13, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/06/13/1305393/ 

Psalms, PSALM 116. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 13, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/116?10 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved June 13, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/visio-divina-a-practice-of-sacred-seeing/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). If Your Eye Causes You to Sin. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 13, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=jun13 

2 Corinthians, CHAPTER 4. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 13, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/2corinthians/4?7 

Zuegher, C. (n.d.). Daily Reflection June 13, 2025 of Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-june-13-2025 

Destination for Life

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to seek the life presented to us by the Spirit that is governed by love for all those we encounter on our journey.

Journey to Life

The reading from the Prophet Zechariah declares that many Peoples are drawn to Jerusalem.

* [8:3] Faithful city: a unique biblical epithet for Jerusalem, signaling the importance of the holy city and its leaders for establishing justice in society (see also vv. 8, 16, 19). Holy mountain: Jerusalem and its Temple, the sacred center of the holy land (2:16) and of the whole world. (Zechariah, CHAPTER 8, n.d.)

Psalm 87 expresses the Joy of Living in Zion.

* [Psalm 87] A song of Zion, like Ps 46; 48; 76; 132.

* [87:2] The gates: the city itself, a common Hebrew idiom.

* [87:5–6] The bond between the exile and the holy city was so strong as to override the exile’s citizenship of lesser cities. (Psalms, PSALM 87, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Luke, a Samaritan Village refuses to receive Jesus.

* [9:51–55] Just as the Galilean ministry began with a rejection of Jesus in his hometown, so too the travel narrative begins with the rejection of him by Samaritans. In this episode Jesus disassociates himself from the attitude expressed by his disciples that those who reject him are to be punished severely. The story alludes to 2 Kgs 1:10, 12 where the prophet Elijah takes the course of action Jesus rejects, and Jesus thereby rejects the identification of himself with Elijah. (Luke, CHAPTER 9, n.d.)

Barbara Dilly comments on people who seem to think that they have received the Lord’s favor to do things they think God wants them to do that are often just what they want to do or think things they want to think.  While that might not seem particularly problematic, their process of prayerful discernment often does not consider the negative effects of their decisions on others.  When met with opposition, rather than work through a process of negotiation and mutual understanding, they hold their positions arguing that God is on their side.  Further, they condemn those who disagree with them as unbelievers.  They justify all this with religious thinking that seems to me to reflect more judgement thinking often found in the Old Testament than the good news of the Gospel found in the New Testament.

Jesus was not going to make this a power play about who he was and what they needed to do.  He rebuked the disciples and moved on because he addressed problems like this at a much higher level.  There are a lot of complex political issues that surround the context of this story found in Luke, and there are plenty that surround our lives today as well.  But I don’t think they are about which nation God favors or which people God loves.  And they certainly don’t justify calling down fire power to consume our enemies, though we so often do that.  Fortunately for us, Jesus moves us to a new place in history with his story.  He addresses these problems at a much higher level.  His story is about God’s love for all people, not just those who think like us.  It seems to me that when we think and act from the perspective of God’s love for us and all people through Jesus, God is with us. (Dilly, 2023)

Don Schwager quotes “Jesus gave power and authority to his apostles,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).

"It would be false to affirm that our Savior did not know what was about to happen, because he knows all things. He knew, of course, that the Samaritans would not receive his messengers. There can be no doubt of this. Why then did he command them to go before him? It was his custom to benefit diligently the holy apostles in every possible way, and because of this, it was his practice sometimes to test them... What was the purpose of this occurrence? He was going up to Jerusalem, as the time of his passion was already drawing near. He was about to endure the scorn of the Jews. He was about to be destroyed by the scribes and Pharisees and to suffer those things that they inflicted upon him when they went to accomplish all of violence and wicked boldness. He did not want them to be offended when they saw him suffering. He also wanted them to be patient and not to complain greatly, although people would treat them rudely. He, so to speak, made the Samaritans' hatred a preparatory exercise in the matter. They had not received the messengers... For their benefit, he rebuked the disciples and gently restrained the sharpness of their wrath, not permitting them to grumble violently against those who sinned. He rather persuaded them to be patient and to cherish a mind that is unmovable by anything like this."(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 56) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 9:51-56 comments that some of the deepest wounds we carry come from times of rejection, when someone chose not to love us. Because of these encounters, we may feel justified in responding like James and John. While it’s understandable that we might feel pain in these moments—and even afterward—by God’s grace, we don’t have to call down “fire from heaven” (Luke 9:54). Instead of lashing out, we can look to Jesus, who blesses those who curse him.

Like James and John, we struggle to understand a God who allows us—or anyone else—to reject him. We can’t fully grasp God’s enduring love. It’s a love that tenaciously seeks us out and then humbly and tenderly waits for us to respond. Today, let’s thank Jesus for enduring so much in order to save us. Let’s praise him for his mercy. And let’s show that mercy to the people around us.

“Lord, thank you for loving me so patiently!” (Meditation on Luke 9:51-56, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler explains the blessings that God will provide in Jerusalem for the exiles returning from Babylon after 539 BCE. Nova Scotia coal miner, Josh, is cited as an example of being a witness to his faith to the people in his environment. Friar Jude reminds us that the Samaritans, like many today have not received the gift of faith so we must reject the response of the Sons of Thunder in the Gospel.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that today we commemorate the Transitus of St. Francis of Assisi (1182–1226), the date he passed from death into eternal life.

Oct. 3rd: Transitus of St Francis (Evening Prayer)

7:00 pm at St Catherine of Siena Church Bayer’s Road Halifax

- Evening Prayer will be chanted by candle-light to commemorate the transition of St Francis from earthly to heavenly life.

 

 Father Richard introduces us to the “wholemaking” life and death of Francis. Francis held many opposites together in himself, embodying what Fr. Richard calls a “unique wholeness”.

Francis had a unique wholeness. He was at once very traditional and entirely new in the ways of holiness, and he is still such a standing paradox. He stood barefoot on the earth and yet touched the heavens. He was grounded in the Church and yet instinctively moved toward the cosmos. He lived happily inside the visible and yet both suffered and rejoiced in what others thought was invisible. Again and again, he was totally at home in two worlds at the same time, and thus he made them into one world.

He, like all saints, delighted in both his Absolute Littleness and his Absolute Connection in the very same moment. Of course, they totally depend on one another. He and Clare died into the life that they loved instead of living in fear of any death that could end their life. They were both so very eager to love, and they somehow knew that dying to the old and unneeded was an essential part of living this love at any depth.

When we experience living in the present moment, away from the events of the past and our apprehension of the future, we are reachable by the Spirit to celebrate life and love.

References

Dilly, B. (2023, October 3). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved October 3, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/100323.html 

Luke, CHAPTER 9. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved October 3, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/9?51 

Meditation on Luke 9:51-56. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved October 3, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/10/03/798139/ 

Psalms, PSALM 87. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved October 3, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/87?1 

Rohr, R. (2023, October 3). A Wholemaking Saint — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved October 3, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/a-wholemaking-saint/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved October 3, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=oct3 

Zechariah, CHAPTER 8. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved October 3, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/zechariah/8?20