Saving Rules

 The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today warn us of the obstacles we may encounter when we attempt to “save others” in our own way.

Prepare our Encounter with Others

The Reading from the Second Book of Kings presents the roles of Sennacherib, Hezekiah, and Isaiah as God promises to shield and save the city.

c. [19:15] Ex 25:17–22; 1 Kgs 6:23–28; 8:6–7.

d. [19:19] 1 Kgs 18:36.

f. [19:34] 2 Sm 7:12.

g. [19:35] 1 Mc 7:41; 2 Mc 8:19. (2 Kings, CHAPTER 19 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 48 praises the holy city as the invincible dwelling place of God

* [Psalm 48] A Zion hymn, praising the holy city as the invincible dwelling place of God. Unconquerable, it is an apt symbol of God who has defeated all enemies. After seven epithets describing the city (Ps 48:2–3), the Psalm describes the victory by the Divine Warrior over hostile kings (Ps 48:4–8). The second half proclaims the dominion of the God of Zion over all the earth (Ps 48:9–12) and invites pilgrims to announce that God is eternally invincible like Zion itself (Ps 48:13–14). (Psalm 48, PSALMS | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus expresses in the Sermon on the Mount teaching about Pearls Before Swine, The Answer to Prayers, The Golden Rule, and The Narrow Gate.

* [7:1–12] In Mt 7:1 Matthew returns to the basic traditional material of the sermon (Lk 6:37–38, 41–42). The governing thought is the correspondence between conduct toward one’s fellows and God’s conduct toward the one so acting.

* [7:12] See Lk 6:31. This saying, known since the eighteenth century as the “Golden Rule,” is found in both positive and negative form in pagan and Jewish sources, both earlier and later than the gospel. This is the law and the prophets is an addition probably due to the evangelist.

* [7:13–28] The final section of the discourse is composed of a series of antitheses, contrasting two kinds of life within the Christian community, that of those who obey the words of Jesus and that of those who do not. Most of the sayings are from Q and are found also in Luke.

* [7:13–14] The metaphor of the “two ways” was common in pagan philosophy and in the Old Testament. In Christian literature it is found also in the Didache (1–6) and the Epistle of Barnabas (18–20). (Matthew, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB, n.d.)

Edward Morse comments that part of the Lord’s answer also had a mystical and futuristic element, mentioning a “remnant” and “survivors” that would “strike root below and bear fruit above.” (See verses 30-31). Not only would the people be saved from domination, but they would be saved for a fruitful future. That is more than Hezekiah asked for – the kind of generosity that is characteristic of the Lord, always building a future plan. The Lord knows what he is doing, even when we cannot see the end.

It is evident that Jesus expects his disciples to exercise discernment. Despite caution about the perils of judging others harshly, he also expected them to exercise discernment over such matters as false prophets, rotten trees, and bad fruits. We should expect resistance in this world. We will face challenges that are not so obvious as a massive army threatening a siege. Most of our battles are on a smaller scale, but they require similar courage, patience, and prudence, accompanied by faithful prayer.

The second teaching emphasized here, concerning the narrow gate and the wide road, also calls for discernment and directs us in our prayer. Not all roads lead to life with God. Some lead to destruction. Jesus is the narrow gate. His way can be trusted, even though other paths may look more promising. He knows what he is doing and where he is leading us, even when we may not be so sure. Lord, give us the wisdom we need for discernment, and the faith we need to trust you. Thanks be to God. (Morse, 2026)

Don Schwager quotes “Unreadiness to receive Godly teaching,” by Augustine of Hippo, 430-543 A.D.

"Now in this precept we are forbidden to give a holy thing to dogs or to cast pearls before swine. We must diligently seek to determine the gravity of these words: holy, pearls, dogs and swine. A holy thing is whatever it would be impious to profane or tear apart. Even a fruitless attempt to do so makes one already guilty of such impiety, though the holy thing may by its very nature remain inviolable and indestructible. Pearls signify all spiritual things that are worthy of being highly prized. Because these things lie hidden in secret, it is as though they were being drawn up from the deep. Because they are found in the wrappings of allegories, it is as though they were contained within shells that have been opened.(1) It is clear therefore that one and the same thing can be called both a holy thing and a pearl. It can be called a holy thing because it ought not to be destroyed and a pearl because it ought not to be despised. One tries to destroy what one does not wish to leave intact. One despises what is deemed worthless, as if beneath him. Hence, whatever is despised is said to be trampled under foot... Thus we may rightly understand that these words (dogs and swine) are now used to designate respectively those who assail the truth and those who resist it." (excerpt from SERMON ON THE MOUNT 2.20.68-69)

(1) The interpretive task is to crack through the shell of the language to its inner spiritual meaning. (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on 2 Kings 19:9-11, 14-21, 31-36 comments that how Hezekiah reacted serves as a model for us… even if our challenges don’t rise to the level of international diplomacy!

First, Hezekiah didn’t react right away. He took hold of the letter and made a beeline for the Temple, where he could find peace in God’s presence. Rather than trust his initial reactions, he went to the Lord first.

Second, Hezekiah sought guidance from the Lord. Spreading out the letter before the Lord, he opened his heart to God and asked for help. He needed to distinguish between the thoughts arising from his emotions and the thoughts that come from a heart established in faith and trust.

In response, God assured Hezekiah that he had “listened” and that he would indeed protect Jerusalem (2 Kings 19:20). And sure enough, he did!

Hezekiah’s example shows us that we don’t have to give in to the first thoughts that come to mind—especially when we are feeling anxious, fearful, or upset. Instead, we can seek the help of the God who listens. If we learn to listen as well, we’ll find the peace that we need to move forward in confidence.

“Lord, help me always to run to you when I am in trouble and I don’t know what to do!” (Meditation on 2 Kings 19:9-11, 14-21, 31-36, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments that the passage from 2 Kings tells us about the king of Assyria sending troops to attack Judah where there is no way to defend itself. Hezekiah goes and seeks God’s intervention. The text may suggest a plague that, in those times, killed many more soldiers than war. This may be a sanitized version of the outcome that may have resulted from paying a bribe? The Gospel exhorts that we don’t give what is holy to dogs. This reminds us not to preach to those who are not ready. We may plan seeds and wait for the time for them to convert. The golden rule is proclaimed in several different cultures and is a great source of wisdom. The narrow gate implies we have to say no to illusory things that seem to be a path.  We are called to the path of life, every day of our life. Friar Jude reminds us that we have to keep working on the attitudes and motivations that are not of the Kingdom.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Grammy Award–winning artist and musician Jon Batiste who shares a response to “Where are you seeing that dehumanization right now, and how might we lean into joy as an act of resistance?”

We [can] lose hope when we don’t believe or see evidence of a positive outcome anymore, but the deepest hope is this inner knowing that the brightest light can come from the darkest moments. You find that hope … by first questioning, “What are the things that I’m hoping for? Who are they for? Who is in control of hope? What is my hope rooted in? What is my belief about the ultimate outcome?” 

I’ve started to learn that hope transcends the physical. Hope is the language of the invisible. It transcends circumstances because it transcends physicality. It’s spiritual. It’s the language of the invisible realm, which is just as real, if not more real, than the things we can see and touch. Hope is the deep inner knowing that comes from building that [foundation]. That’s why I like to say that hope is like a contact sport. You work on it. You get better at it. My house could be flooded, and the roof could be on fire, and still, there’s a sense of hope I can have. I’m going to stay in that boat. (Rohr, n.d.)

We ask the Spirit to continue to remind us that “haste makes waste” even in our effort to activate our Baptismal anointing as priest, prophet, and leader to “convert” our community.

References

Matthew, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 23, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/7? 

Meditation on 2 Kings 19:9-11, 14-21, 31-36. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved June 23, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/06/23/1597216/ 

Morse, E. (2026, June 23). Daily Reflection June 23, 2026 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved June 23, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-june-23-2026 

Psalm 48, PSALMS | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved June 23, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/48?2 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Hope Takes Practice. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved June 23, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/hope-takes-practice/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Do Not Throw Your Pearls before Swine. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 23, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/ 

2 Kings, CHAPTER 19 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 23, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/2kings/19? 

Choose the Narrow Gate

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today remind us to seek direction for our actions through prayer and awareness of the fullness of life in choosing the narrow gate that restricts distraction from our mission.

Choosing the Narrow Passage

The reading from the Second Book of Kings relates Hezekiah’s prayer and Sennacherib’s defeat and death.

Psalm 48 praises The Glory and Strength of Zion.

* [Psalm 48] A Zion hymn, praising the holy city as the invincible dwelling place of God. Unconquerable, it is an apt symbol of God who has defeated all enemies. After seven epithets describing the city (Ps 48:2–3), the Psalm describes the victory by the Divine Warrior over hostile kings (Ps 48:4–8). The second half proclaims the dominion of the God of Zion over all the earth (Ps 48:9–12) and invites pilgrims to announce that God is eternally invincible like Zion itself (Ps 48:13–14). (Psalms, PSALM 48 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew teaches about profaning the Holy, the Golden Rule and the Narrow Gate.

* [7:6] Dogs and swine were Jewish terms of contempt for Gentiles. This saying may originally have derived from a Jewish Christian community opposed to preaching the gospel (what is holy, pearls) to Gentiles. In the light of Mt 28:19 that can hardly be Matthew’s meaning. He may have taken the saying as applying to a Christian dealing with an obstinately impenitent fellow Christian (Mt 18:17).

* [7:9–10] There is a resemblance between a stone and a round loaf of bread and between a serpent and the scaleless fish called barbut.

* [7:12] See Lk 6:31. This saying, known since the eighteenth century as the “Golden Rule,” is found in both positive and negative form in pagan and Jewish sources, both earlier and later than the gospel. This is the law and the prophets is an addition probably due to the evangelist.

* [7:13–28] The final section of the discourse is composed of a series of antitheses, contrasting two kinds of life within the Christian community, that of those who obey the words of Jesus and that of those who do not. Most of the sayings are from Q and are found also in Luke. (Matthew, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB, n.d.)

Tom Shanaham, S.J. (2006) comments that chapters 5 through 7, contain some key statements of Jesus given for those who would answer the call to discipleship, including the Beatitudes and the Our Father prayer. Yet the “sermon” itself is really a series of Jesus’ statements most likely said at various times during Jesus’ public life and covering a wide variety of topics.

One way of understanding the “sermon on the mount” is to see it as Jesus’ way of inviting us to incorporate into our lives the way that Jesus wants us to live so that we can “enter through the narrow gate” (of heaven). Today’s gospel reading gets our attention as it reminds us that indeed the gate is narrow and “those that find it are few!”

Am I one of those “few?” I’m afraid that I will never know for certain the answer to this most pressing question. But I do have some control in the matter. That control comes from continually taking seriously the demands of treating others as I would wish to be treated.

Today’s gospel reading has with it the call (demand?) to look outside of myself towards others and the way that I am towards them, the way that I treat them. My prayer is that I can accept this call and live it out, knowing that hearing the call may be the beginning of opening myself to the work of Jesus in my heart and in my actions especially towards others. (Shanaham, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “Unreadiness to receive Godly teaching,” by Augustine of Hippo, 430-543 A.D.

"Now in this precept we are forbidden to give a holy thing to dogs or to cast pearls before swine. We must diligently seek to determine the gravity of these words: holy, pearls, dogs and swine. A holy thing is whatever it would be impious to profane or tear apart. Even a fruitless attempt to do so makes one already guilty of such impiety, though the holy thing may by its very nature remain inviolable and indestructible. Pearls signify all spiritual things that are worthy of being highly prized. Because these things lie hidden in secret, it is as though they were being drawn up from the deep. Because they are found in the wrappings of allegories, it is as though they were contained within shells that have been opened.(1) It is clear therefore that one and the same thing can be called both a holy thing and a pearl. It can be called a holy thing because it ought not to be destroyed and a pearl because it ought not to be despised. One tries to destroy what one does not wish to leave intact. One despises what is deemed worthless, as if beneath him. Hence, whatever is despised is said to be trampled under foot... Thus we may rightly understand that these words (dogs and swine) are now used to designate respectively those who assail the truth and those who resist it." (excerpt from SERMON ON THE MOUNT 2.20.68-69)

(1) The interpretive task is to crack through the shell of the language to its inner spiritual meaning. (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on 2 Kings 19:9-11, 14-21, 31-36 comments that psychological warfare is also the preferred strategy of our enemy, the devil. Using many of the same tactics that Sennacherib used, he taunts us for trusting in the Lord. He tries to make us think that God isn’t who he says he is, thus planting doubts in our minds that the Lord will save us. He especially tries to persuade us that we should just give in to temptation because resisting it is simply futile.

So be on your guard! When you detect a lie, counter it with God’s truths. Then turn to the Lord and pray in his presence, as the great King Hezekiah did. God will help you stand firm against the lies as well as assure you of his great love for you. He alone is “God over all the kingdoms of the earth” (2 Kings 19:15)—more powerful than any enemy—and he will always protect you!

“Lord, I turn to you in my need. Deliver me from every evil.” (Meditation on 2 Kings 19:9-11, 14-21, 31-36, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the response of God to the prayer of Hezekiah concerning the threat from the Assyrian army of Sennacherib. We need to be aware of possible mistreatment of what is holy by people who are not yet ready to accept and protect our understanding. Friar Jude reminds us that passing through the narrow gate requires discipline to say no to things that lead us away.

Barbara Holmes comments that communal lament opens the possibility for healing stories to be told. Through the voice of educator Mary McLeod Bethune (1875–1955), Holmes points to contemporary versions of “griots,” traveling oral historians and storytellers from West Africa.

The call for lament is not an invitation to moping or sadness. It is a call for ritual reorientation. With or without tears, lament is a communal act of cosmological engagement. Ancestors on the continent of Africa knew this…. There are griots among you in this new generation. They are poets, drummers, preachers, and singers. They are found in every walk of life, and they are waiting to write and share the stories that defy the conspiracy of silence that pervades this present age. (Holmes, n.d.)

We invoke the Holy Spirit to guide us to make choices that value the sanctity of people and the elements that assist in connecting us to the Presence of God as we seek the “narrow gate” on our journey.

References

Holmes, B. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved June 25, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/lament-is-healing/

Matthew, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 25, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/7?6 

Meditation on 2 Kings 19:9-11, 14-21, 31-36. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved June 25, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/06/25/1007588/ 

Psalms, PSALM 48 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 25, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/48?2 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Do Not Throw Your Pearls before Swine. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 25, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=jun25 

Shanaham, T. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. OnlineMinistries. Retrieved June 25, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/062524.html 

2 Kings, CHAPTER 19 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 25, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/2kings/19?9 

Road to Life

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to consider our actions to preserve the peace in our relationships and to deal with the tension that may result when what we hold dear needs to be protected.

The road to...

The reading from the Book of Genesis describes how Abram and Lot part company.

* [13:2–18] In this story of Abraham and Lot going their separate ways, Abraham resolves a family dispute by an act that shows both trust in God and generosity toward his nephew. The story suggests Lot rather than Abraham is the natural choice to be the ancestor of a great family; he is young and he takes the most fertile land (outside the land of Canaan). In contrast to Lot, who lifts his eyes to choose for himself (vv. 10–11), Abraham waits for God to tell him to lift his eyes and see the land he will receive (v. 14). Chaps. 18–19 continue the story of Abraham and Lot. Abraham’s visionary possession of the land foreshadows that of Moses (Dt 3:27; 34:4). (Genesis, CHAPTER 13, n.d.)

Psalm 15 asks Who Shall Abide in God’s Sanctuary?

* [Psalm 15] The Psalm records a liturgical scrutiny at the entrance to the Temple court (cf. Ps 24:3–6; Is 33:14b–16). The Israelite wishing to be admitted had to ask the Temple official what conduct was appropriate to God’s precincts. Note the emphasis on virtues relating to one’s neighbor.

* [15:1] Your tent: the Temple could be referred to as “tent” (Ps 61:5; Is 33:20), a reference to the tent of the wilderness period and the tent of David (2 Sm 6:17; 7:2), predecessors of the Temple. Holy mountain: a venerable designation of the divine abode (Ps 2:6; 3:5; 43:3; 48:2, etc.).

* [15:5] Lends no money at interest: lending money in the Old Testament was often seen as assistance to the poor in their distress, not as an investment; making money off the poor by charging interest was thus forbidden (Ex 22:24; Lv 25:36–37; Dt 23:20). (Psalms, PSALM 15, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus addresses profaning the Holy, the Golden Rule and choosing the Narrow Gate.

* [7:6] Dogs and swine were Jewish terms of contempt for Gentiles. This saying may originally have derived from a Jewish Christian community opposed to preaching the gospel (what is holy, pearls) to Gentiles. In the light of Mt 28:19 that can hardly be Matthew’s meaning. He may have taken the saying as applying to a Christian dealing with an obstinately impenitent fellow Christian (Mt 18:17).

* [7:12] See Lk 6:31. This saying, known since the eighteenth century as the “Golden Rule,” is found in both positive and negative form in pagan and Jewish sources, both earlier and later than the gospel. This is the law and the prophets is an addition probably due to the evangelist.

* [7:13–28] The final section of the discourse is composed of a series of antitheses, contrasting two kinds of life within the Christian community, that of those who obey the words of Jesus and that of those who do not. Most of the sayings are from Q and are found also in Luke.

* [7:13–14] The metaphor of the “two ways” was common in pagan philosophy and in the Old Testament. In Christian literature it is found also in the Didache (1–6) and the Epistle of Barnabas (18–20). (Matthew, CHAPTER 7, n.d.)

Cynthia Schmersal finds herself easily imagining the irritations that marked their days of sharing land, a time seemingly saturated with the herdsmen’s frustrations and griping.

Mindful of the truth of our kinship, may we – when experiencing the inevitable bumping into one another that marks each of our lives – consciously choose what Love demands – the constriction of the narrow gate – and genuinely affirm in word and in deed, “Let there be no strife between us.” (Schmersal, 2023)

Don Schwager quotes “Unreadiness to receive Godly teaching,” by Augustine of Hippo, 430-543 A.D.

"Now in this precept we are forbidden to give a holy thing to dogs or to cast pearls before swine. We must diligently seek to determine the gravity of these words: holy, pearls, dogs and swine. A holy thing is whatever it would be impious to profane or tear apart. Even a fruitless attempt to do so makes one already guilty of such impiety, though the holy thing may by its very nature remain inviolable and indestructible. Pearls signify all spiritual things that are worthy of being highly prized. Because these things lie hidden in secret, it is as though they were being drawn up from the deep. Because they are found in the wrappings of allegories, it is as though they were contained within shells that have been opened.(1) It is clear therefore that one and the same thing can be called both a holy thing and a pearl. It can be called a holy thing because it ought not to be destroyed and a pearl because it ought not to be despised. One tries to destroy what one does not wish to leave intact. One despises what is deemed worthless, as if beneath him. Hence, whatever is despised is said to be trampled under foot... Thus we may rightly understand that these words (dogs and swine) are now used to designate respectively those who assail the truth and those who resist it." (excerpt from SERMON ON THE MOUNT 2.20.68-69)

(1) The interpretive task is to crack through the shell of the language to its inner spiritual meaning. (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Genesis 13:2, 5-18 asks what if Lot had adopted Abram’s attitude and agreed that relationships are worth more than possessions?

Abram and Lot’s story invites us to ask ourselves a similar question. Are my possessions hindering the relationships that matter most? It’s not uncommon for family members, friends, or even coworkers to disagree about what’s most important. It can drive a wedge between us when the desire for success or the urge to preserve material goods overshadows the time and attention that we need to spend with one another.

If you notice any areas like this in your life, be like Abram: value your relationships first, and trust God to take care of you.

“Holy Spirit, open my eyes to the attachments that separate me from my brothers and sisters.” (Meditation on Genesis 13:2, 5-18, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler reflects on the generosity of Abram in allowing his nephew, Lot, first choice of the land to which he would move to eliminate discord between their herders. We seek to be prudent about the possibility of wasting time and words when the situation is not likely to produce fruit. Friar Jude reminds us of the many modern distractions that may take us awake from the narrow gate to full life.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Catholic theologian and Carmelite Sister Constance FitzGerald who uses “impasse” to describe facing an extended experience of crisis. Despite the potential for despair, FitzGerald finds the possibility of hope and transformation amid both personal and societal impasse.

We close off the breaking in of God into our lives if we cannot admit into consciousness the situations of profound impasse we face personally and societally…. The “no way out” trials of our personal lives are but a part of the far more frightening situations of national and international impasse that have been formed by the social, economic, and political forces in our time….  

It is only in the process of bringing the impasse to prayer, to the perspective of the God who loves us, that our society will be freed, healed, changed, brought to paradoxical new visions, and freed for nonviolent, selfless, liberating action, freed, therefore, for community on this planet earth. Death is involved here, a dying in order to see how to be and to act on behalf of God in the world. (Rohr, 2023)

We have access to the enlightenment of the Spirit as we pause to allow both respect for things we hold sacred and our mission to love to be present in our relationships with others.

References

Genesis, CHAPTER 13. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 27, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/genesis/13?2 

Matthew, CHAPTER 7. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 27, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/7?6 

Meditation on Genesis 13:2, 5-18. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved June 27, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/06/27/717187/ 

Psalms, PSALM 15. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 27, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/15?2 

Rohr, R. (2023, June 27). Impasse and Opportunity — Center for Action and Contemplation. Daily Meditations Archive: 2023. Retrieved June 27, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/impasse-and-opportunity-2023-06-27/ 

Schmersal, C. (2023, June 26). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved June 27, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/062723.html 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Do Not Throw Your Pearls before Swine. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 27, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=jun27