Righteousness and Riches

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to consider the themes in society that lead us away from using our time, treasure, and talent for the benefit of others in need.

Riches and Righteousness 

The reading from the Book of Judges presents the cyclical pattern that characterized the relationship of the Israelites with God.

* [2:10–19] This long thematic passage establishes the cyclical pattern for the stories found in the rest of the book. When the Israelites are secure, they forsake the Lord and worship other gods. In punishment the Lord places them in the power of a foreign oppressor. But when they cry out in distress, the Lord takes pity on them and raises up a judge, who delivers them from the oppressor. The Israelites remain faithful to the Lord during the lifetime of the judge, but when the judge dies they again abandon the Lord, and the cycle begins anew.

* [2:11] The Baals: the title “Baal,” meaning “lord” or “master,” belonged to a large number of Canaanite, Phoenician, and Syrian deities, including especially the great storm god Hadad Baal, widely revered as lord of the earth. The plural form, which occurs here, was used by the biblical writers to refer to foreign gods in general.

* [2:13] The Astartes: Ashtoreth, or Astarte, was an important Canaanite and Phoenician goddess. The plural form used here probably refers to foreign goddesses in general. (Judges, CHAPTER 2|USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 106 invites Israel to praise God.

* [Psalm 106] Israel is invited to praise the God whose mercy has always tempered judgment of Israel (Ps 106:1–3). The speaker, on behalf of all, seeks solidarity with the people, who can always count on God’s fidelity despite their sin (Ps 106:4–5). Confident of God’s mercy, the speaker invites national repentance (Ps 106:6) by reciting from Israel’s history eight instances of sin, judgment, and forgiveness. (Psalms, PSALM 106 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus advises the Rich Young Man.

* [19:16–30] Cf. Mk 10:17–31. This story does not set up a “two-tier” morality, that of those who seek (only) eternal life (Mt 19:16) and that of those who wish to be perfect (Mt 19:21). It speaks rather of the obstacle that riches constitute for the following of Jesus and of the impossibility, humanly speaking, for one who has many possessions (Mt 19:22) to enter the kingdom (Mt 19:24). Actual renunciation of riches is not demanded of all; Matthew counts the rich Joseph of Arimathea as a disciple of Jesus (Mt 27:57). But only the poor in spirit (Mt 5:3) can enter the kingdom and, as here, such poverty may entail the sacrifice of one’s possessions. The Twelve, who have given up everything (Mt 19:27) to follow Jesus, will have as their reward a share in Jesus’ (the Son of Man’s) judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Mt 19:28), and all who have similarly sacrificed family or property for his sake will inherit eternal life (Mt 19:29).

* [19:16] Gain eternal life: this is equivalent to “entering into life” (Mt 19:17) and “being saved” (Mt 19:25); the life is that of the new age after the final judgment (see Mt 25:46). It probably is also equivalent here to “entering the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 19:23) or “the kingdom of God” (Mt 19:24), but see notes on Mt 3:2; 4:17; 18:1 for the wider reference of the kingdom in Matthew.

* [19:17] By Matthew’s reformulation of the Marcan question and reply (Mk 10:17–18) Jesus’ repudiation of the term “good” for himself has been softened. Yet the Marcan assertion that “no one is good but God alone” stands, with only unimportant verbal modification.

* [19:18–19] The first five commandments cited are from the Decalogue (see Ex 20:12–16; Dt 5:16–20). Matthew omits Mark’s “you shall not defraud” (Mk 10:19; see Dt 24:14) and adds Lv 19:18. This combination of commandments of the Decalogue with Lv 19:18 is partially the same as Paul’s enumeration of the demands of Christian morality in Rom 13:9.

* [19:20] Young man: in Matthew alone of the synoptics the questioner is said to be a young man; thus the Marcan “from my youth” (Mk 10:20) is omitted.

* [19:21] If you wish to be perfect: to be perfect is demanded of all Christians; see Mt 5:48. In the case of this man, it involves selling his possessions and giving to the poor; only so can he follow Jesus. (Matthew, CHAPTER 19 | USCCB, n.d.)

Larry Hopp comments that in today’s Gospel, Jesus provides us with further insight into the question of “how do we live our lives for our Lord”.

So - is it really possible to give our lives over completely to our Lord and Savior and to live for Him? I do not believe Jesus was baiting the young man – or us – with the impossible. The young man was likely a fairly “good” individual, at least in the eyes of the world. Yet Jesus saw past the young man’s outward image and gazed into his heart.

Thinking we are pretty “good” just will not cut it. It is only through surrendering our heart completely to Jesus that we can look forward to eternal life with Him. Jesus knew that even when we have given our heart to Him, we would still stumble – that is why He gave himself up for us on the cross. Such love is incomprehensible – the best reason of all for surrendering our heart completely to our gracious Lord and Savior.

Dear Heavenly Father, help me to avoid the lies and temptations of this world and to keep my eyes and heart focused continually and completely upon my precious Lord and Savior. 

In the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen. (Hopp, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “Seek the life that endures,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"The Lord said to a certain young man, 'If you would enter life, keep the commandments.' He did not say 'If you would have life' but 'If you would enter life,' defining that life as eternal life. Let us first consider then the love of this life. For this life is loved, whatever its quality - and however troubled it is, however wretched, people are afraid to end it. Hence we should see, we should consider, how much eternal life is to be loved, when this miserable life that must at some time be ended is so loved. Consider, brothers, how much that life is to be loved when it is a life you never end. You love this life, where you work so much, run, are busy, pant. In this busy life the obligations can scarcely be counted: sowing, plowing, working new land, sailing, grinding, cooking, weaving. And after all this hard work your life comes to an end. Look at what you suffer in this wretched life that you so love. And do you think that you will always live and never die? Temples, rocks, marbles, all reinforced by iron and lead, still fall. And a person thinks that he will never die? Learn therefore, brothers, to seek eternal life, when you will not endure these things but will reign with God forever." (excerpt from Sermon 84,1) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Judges 2:11-19 comments that the stories in the Book of Judges show us what happens when we lose sight of the life God calls us to live.

None of us have to feel trapped in a downward spiral of sin—neither us nor any of our loved ones. Jesus’ hand is always outstretched, ready to lift us up. His Spirit is always ready to pour God’s love into us. Every sin can be forgiven. Every broken heart can be mended. Jesus, our Lord, has saved us!

“Jesus, Lord of the covenant, thank you for rescuing me!” (Meditation on Judges 2:11-19, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler reflects on the texts of today. Judges one of two books speaking of the conquest. In Joshua, triumphant Israel is portrayed and here the people turn to Baal, god of fertility and rain and abandon worship of Yahweh. The people called upon God to return to them and “judges” assisted the people to be faithful. Judges were called charismatically and would rescue the people temporarily. A Young Man seeks to inherit eternal life. Jesus calls him to perfection in the context of the “Shema Israel” where possessions are linked to our strength. Friar Jude reminds us that we need perspective on the role of wealth and be as generous as possible.

Fr Richard Rohr, OFM, suggests how we might honor our emotions without overly attaching to them. Emotions are, first of all, a gift from God so that we can touch reality by a way other than our brain.   

Pastor Peter Scazzero affirms that our emotions are central to our humanity and to our relationships with God and people.

To feel is to be human. To minimize or deny what we feel is a distortion of what it means to be image bearers of God. To the degree that we are unable to express our emotions, we remain impaired in our ability to love God, others, and ourselves well. Why? Because our feelings are a component of what it means to be made in the image of God. To cut them out of our spirituality is to slice off an essential part of our humanity. [1] (Rohr, n.d.)

Father Richard considers the risk of overemphasizing the importance of our feelings:  

Because emotions were so repressed and denied and thought to be always faulty, it’s probably one of the major reasons we moved into overly heady Christianity. We’re rediscovering the value of emotions now, but this has the danger of swinging the pendulum to the other side—assuming that emotions are always right, always good. But when taken at face value, emotions don’t have any cognitive balancing. We aren’t asking “Is that a sensible response? Is that a reasonable response?” So, we have a lot of sentimentality and drama, the pumping up of emotions about nothing. We spend hours creating outer dramas, particularly when there’s no inner drama, no inner aliveness or contentment. Inside the frame of the smaller self, we tend to make everything a big deal. (Rohr, n.d.)

We ponder the distractions and attractions in our environment today that propose life styles that put our success and aggrandizement as a priority over the care, compassion, and mercy modelled by Jesus for fullness of life.

References

Hopp, L. (n.d.). Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved August 18, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-august-19-2019 

Judges, CHAPTER 2|USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings. Retrieved August 18, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/judges/2?11 

Matthew, CHAPTER 19 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved August 18, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/19?16 

Meditation on Judges 2:11-19. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved August 18, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/?utm_content=buffer5c902&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer 

Psalms, PSALM 106 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved August 18, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/106?34 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved August 18, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/a-gift-for-experiencing-reality/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Give - and You Will Have Treasure in Heaven. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 18, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=aug18 

Perfect Love

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to examine how we express our love through our giving generously to assist others with the time, talents, and treasure we have been given to share.

Our call to help

In the reading from the Second Letter to the Corinthians, Paul exhorts us to Generosity in Giving

* [8:1–24] This is a letter of recommendation for Titus and two unnamed companions, written from Macedonia probably at least a year later than 1 Cor 16. The recommendation proper is prefaced by remarks about the ideals of sharing and equality within the Christian community (2 Cor 8:1–15). Phil 4:10–20 shows that Paul has reflected on his personal experience of need and relief in his relations with the community at Philippi; he now develops his reflections on the larger scale of relations between his Gentile churches and the mother church in Jerusalem.

* [8:1–5] The example of the Macedonians, a model of what ought to be happening at Corinth, provides Paul with the occasion for expounding his theology of “giving.” (2 Corinthians, CHAPTER 8 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 146 praises our merciful God.

* [Psalm 146] A hymn of someone who has learned there is no other source of strength except the merciful God. Only God, not mortal human beings (Ps 146:3–4), can help vulnerable and oppressed people (Ps 146:5–9). The first of the five hymns that conclude the Psalter. (Psalms, PSALM 146 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus exhorts us to Love our Enemies.

* [5:43–48] See Lv 19:18. There is no Old Testament commandment demanding hatred of one’s enemy, but the “neighbor” of the love commandment was understood as one’s fellow countryman. Both in the Old Testament (Ps 139:19–22) and at Qumran (1QS 9:21) hatred of evil persons is assumed to be right. Jesus extends the love commandment to the enemy and the persecutor. His disciples, as children of God, must imitate the example of their Father, who grants his gifts of sun and rain to both the good and the bad.

* [5:46] Tax collectors: Jews who were engaged in the collection of indirect taxes such as tolls and customs. See note on Mk 2:14.

* [5:47] Jesus’ disciples must not be content with merely usual standards of conduct; see Mt 5:20 where the verb “surpass” (Greek perisseuō) is cognate with the unusual (perisson) of this verse.

* [5:48] Perfect: in the gospels this word occurs only in Matthew, here and in Mt 19:21. The Lucan parallel (Lk 6:36) demands that the disciples be merciful. (Matthew, CHAPTER 5, n.d.)

Cindy Mur­phy McMahon comments that Today’s gospel, Matthew 5: 43-48, is a por­tion of the Ser­mon on the Mount, where­in Jesus imparts illu­mi­nat­ing and ground­break­ing ideas.

But his words in the last line of today’s gospel, “So be per­fect, just as your heav­en­ly Father is per­fect,” have always jolt­ed me. The man­date always seemed so unreach­able that I won­dered why Jesus even said it.

But I didn’t real­ize that Matthew used the Greek word teleois for “per­fect” in this quote from Jesus, which refers to being com­plete or whole. To me, striv­ing to be com­plete or whole in God, while not easy, is pos­si­ble and is what being a Chris­t­ian is all about. It’s a dai­ly process of steps and mis­steps, with love for God and love for our fel­low humans, even our ene­mies, our goal through the pow­er of the Holy Spirit. (Murphy McMahon, 2025)

Don Schwager quotes “Pray for those who persecute you,” by John Chrysostom, 347-407 A.D.

"For neither did Christ simply command to love but to pray. Do you see how many steps he has ascended and how he has set us on the very summit of virtue? Mark it, numbering from the beginning. A first step is not to begin with injustice. A second, after one has begun, is not to vindicate oneself by retaliating in kind. A third, to refuse to respond in kind to the one who is injuring us but to remain tranquil. A fourth, even to offer up one's self to suffer wrongfully. A fifth, to give up even more than the wrongdoer wishes to take. A sixth, to refuse to hate one who has wronged us. A seventh, even to love such a one. An eighth, even to do good to that one. A ninth, to entreat God himself on our enemy's behalf. Do you perceive how elevated is a Christian disposition? Hence its reward is also glorious. (excerpt from THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 18.4) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 5:43-48 comments that we all know we’re imperfect human beings. Part of our challenge is with the word “perfect.” We tend to think it means being flawless in everything we say and do. But the Greek word in this passage, teleios, actually means mature or attaining the purpose for which something was created. So according to Jesus, we are perfect when we fulfill God’s purpose in creating us. Of course, even this can seem impossible at times. But like a good teacher, Jesus didn’t just issue his “impossible” commands from heaven and then step back to watch us fail. No, he entered into creation, took on our human weakness and frailty, and showed us what perfection looks like. 

What “impossible” thing has been weighing on you? Is there someone you are struggling to love or to forgive? Don’t keep trying to do it by yourself! Ask Jesus, the “perfect” teacher, to soften your heart. Ask him to help you become perfect in the same way that he is—perfect in love.

“Jesus, teach me how to fulfill your call to live in love.” (Meditation on Matthew 5:43-48, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments that the passage in 2 Corinthians is part of the letter requesting a collection to take to the Church in Jerusalem. Gentile Christians are being asked to remember the poor in Judea. It is the first “Peter’s pence” to be generous to those in need. Friar Jude notes the difference between the Gospel of Matthew and the Hebrew Testament interpretation of Love. Everyone is a child of God. Evil is a symptom of brokenness that we need to help heal. Love is not a commercial relationship. We want to change hearts. Friar Jude asserts that we are not seeking perfectionism but to be as loving as God.

One of Dr. Barbara Holmes’ (1943–2024) final teachings for CAC’s Living School: Essentials of Engaged Contemplation, focused on joy as a practice and presence. She reveals how our egos keep us from experiencing true joy.

Finding your joy may also require that you dismantle the false construct that your life is about you. Now, it’s not our fault that we believe that the journey is all about us. From the moment we’re born, all eyes are on us. Attention is necessary to make certain that we’re breathing, that we have a safe passage through the womb, and adoring parents who continue that focus or not. Somehow, we begin to believe that everything is about our comfort, our future, our well-being, our pain. As I’m entering the latter phase of my life, I’m finally beginning to realize that the scaffolding of self that was erected from birth was a necessary but temporary support. It was a place I could hang my dreams and my visions, but it was never meant to be permanent. It’s only by faith and by our journey through a few dark nights of the soul do we relinquish the overwhelming chatter of ego, a feat that is all struggle and many setbacks. (Holmes, n.d.)

We consider the meaning of the call of Jesus to be perfect, not in the sense of perfectionism, but implore the Spirit to activate our Baptismal anointing as priest, prophet, and leader to inform our action to practice perfect love for all the people we encounter.

References

Holmes, B. (n.d.). Joy: An Embodied Presence. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved June 17, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/joy-an-embodied-presence/ 

Matthew, CHAPTER 5. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 17, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/5?43 

Meditation on Matthew 5:43-48. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved June 17, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/06/17/1307881/ 

Murphy McMahon, C. (2025, June 17). Daily Reflection June 17, 2025 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved June 17, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-june-17-2025 

Psalms, PSALM 146 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 17, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/146?2 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Love Your Enemies and Pray for Them. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 17, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=jun17 

2 Corinthians, CHAPTER 8 | USCCB. (n.d.). Readings. Retrieved June 17, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/2corinthians/8?1