June 10, 2025
Tuesday of the Tenth
Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 360
Reading 1
Brothers and sisters:
As God is faithful, our word to you is not "yes" and "no."
For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed to you by us,
Silvanus and Timothy and me,
was not "yes" and "no," but "yes" has been in
him.
For however many are the promises of God, their Yes is in him;
therefore, the Amen from us also goes through him to God for glory.
But the one who gives us security with you in Christ
and who anointed us is God;
he has also put his seal upon us
and given the Spirit in our hearts as a first installment.
Responsorial
Psalm
Psalm
119:129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 135
R. (135a) Lord, let your face shine on me.
Wonderful are your decrees;
therefore I observe them.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
The revelation of your words sheds light,
gives understanding to the simple.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
I gasp with open mouth
in my yearning for your commands.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
Turn to me in pity
as you turn to those who love your name.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
Steady my footsteps according to your promise,
and let no iniquity rule over me.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
Let your countenance shine upon your servant,
and teach me your statutes.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Let your light shine before others
that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said to his disciples:
"You are the salt of the earth.
But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?
It is no longer good for anything
but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
You are the light of the world.
A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.
Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket;
it is set on a lampstand,
where it gives light to all in the house.
Just so, your light must shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds
and glorify your heavenly Father."
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/061025.cfm
Commentary on 2
Corinthians 1:18-22
It seems that Paul has incurred a certain amount of
criticism from the Corinthians and is coming to his own defence. In the verses
just preceding today’s reading, he admits that he had intended paying them a
double visit. On his way to Macedonia, he intended passing through Corinth and
then pass through Corinth again on his way back. He did not do this, and it
seems he was accused of being two-faced, of being a ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ person at
the same time. Feelings seem to have been so strong against Paul that he had to
deal with the problem at a distance through letters and delegations (internal
conflicts among Christians are nothing new!).
Unable to deny the change in plans, Paul nonetheless asserts
the firmness of the original plan and claims that it does not indicate in any
way a lack of constancy in his behaviour and work. He grounds his defence in
God himself, who is utterly firm and reliable. So he claims that this quality
can be expected to be found in varying degrees in all those who are associated
with God. Christ, Paul and the Corinthians all participate in analogous ways in
the constancy of God.
So he goes to his own defence and denies that he was in any
way two-faced:
As surely as God is faithful, our word to you is not “Yes
and No.”
Like Jesus, his Lord, he claims that he together with his
missionary companions, Timothy and Silvanus, were never anything but ‘Yes’.
However many God’s promises are, they are always an
unequivocal ‘Yes’—not ‘No’ or ‘Maybe’. Similarly, an ‘Amen’ (‘So be it’) from
Paul and his helpers goes through Jesus to God for his glory. The real source
of Paul’s security in the Corinthians and the one who anointed him and his
companions for their work is the same God. Their guarantee of that is their
total endorsement of Jesus.
In turn he says:
…it is God who establishes us with you in Christ and has
anointed us, who has put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts
as a down payment.
The Corinthians should be assured, then, that his failure to
make the promised visit was not due to any insincerity on Paul’s part.
We might note that a number of the terms in the passage,
which appear related only in concept in Paul’s Greek or an English translation,
would be variations of the same root in a Semitic mind, such as Paul’s. These
include the words ‘yes’, ‘faithful’, ‘amen’, ‘gives us security’, ‘faith’, and
‘stand firm’.
Integrity is an essential quality in our Christian life:
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (Matt
5:8)
People need to be confident that what they see in us and
hear from us comes from deep within us. Paraphrasing the slogan, we should be
able to say of ourselves, “What you see is what there is”. Falsehood or
hypocrisy of any kind will seriously diminish the effectiveness of our
Christian witness.
Parents and teachers and others responsible for the
formation of the young have a special responsibility here. We are not to be
like the Pharisees who teach one thing and do differently.
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Commentary on
Matthew 5:13-16
We may be totally filled with the spirit of the Beatitudes,
but it will not do very much good unless their effects are clearly seen in our
lives. To be a Christian, it is not enough to be good; we must be seen to be
so. It is not enough to ‘have a spirituality’ that fills us with a feeling of
peace and tranquillity. The spirituality of the gospel is outreaching. We have
not only to be disciples of Christ but also need to proclaim him.
In today’s reading from the Sermon on the Mount immediately
following the Beatitudes, Jesus presents us with a number of images expressing
this. Jesus first says that his followers should be “the salt of the earth”.
Salt is an essential ingredient in almost all cooked food (even sweet food) to
provide taste. We all know what it is like to have soup that contains no salt;
we know how much part salt plays in flavouring mass-produced fast foods.
We are to be like salt; we are to give taste and zest to our
environment. We do that through the specific outlook on life which we have and
which we invite others to share. At their best, Christians have been very
effective in doing this, and have had a great impact on the values of many
societies and in bringing about great changes.
To be tasteless salt is to be next to useless. Salt that has
lost its taste is fit only to be thrown out. At the same time, in the West we
sometimes, too, put some salt on the side of our plate. That salt, however
tasty it may be, is still not doing any good unless it is put into the food.
And this is an interesting feature of salt, namely, that it blends completely
with food and disappears. It cannot be seen, but it can be tasted.
That reminds us that we as Christians, if we are to have the
effect of giving taste, must be totally inserted in our societies. We have to
resist any temptation, as Christians, to withdraw and separate ourselves from
the world. It is a temptation we can easily fall into, and there are many
places where the Church is absent nowadays. There is no salt there. For
example, in our commercial districts, in our industrial areas, in our
entertainment and media centres, where is the visible Christian presence?
Other images used by Jesus today include being the “light of
the world” or being “a city built on a hill”. There is no way it can be hidden;
it sticks out like a beacon. And what is the point of lighting a candle and
then covering it over with a tub? You light a candle to give light so that
people can see their way and will not fall. To be baptised and to go into
virtual hiding is like lighting and then covering up a candle.
Finally, Jesus gives us the reason for making ourselves so
visible—so that people may see our good works. Is it in order that we can bask
in their admiration and wonder? No! Rather, it is so that people will be led
through us to the God who made them, who loves them and wants to lead them to
himself.
It is for us today to reflect on how visible our Christian
faith is to others, as individuals, as families, as members of a Christian
group, as parishioners and as a diocese. Are there people or places in our area
where a Christian witness is for all intents and purposes absent? Can we do
anything about that?
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/o1103g/
Tuesday, June 10, 2025
Opening Prayer
God of wisdom and love, source of all good,
send Your Spirit to teach us
Your truth and guide our actions in Your way of peace.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives
and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Gospel Reading - Matthew 5: 13-16
Jesus said to his disciples: "You are
the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be
seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled
underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be
hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is
set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your
light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify
your heavenly Father."
Reflection
Today in the Gospel we receive an
important instruction on the mission of the community. It should be the salt of
the earth and the light of the world (Mt 5: 1316). Salt does not exist for
itself, but to give flavor to the food. Light does not exist for itself, but
for the service of people. At the time when Matthew wrote his Gospel, this
mission was very difficult for the communities of converted Jews. Although they
were living in faithful observance of the Law of Moses, they were expelled from
the synagogues, cut away from their Jewish past. Regarding this, among the
converted pagans, some said, “After the coming of Jesus, the Law of Moses has
become obsolete.” All this caused tension and uncertainty. The openness of some
seemed to be criticism of the observance of others, and vice versa. This
conflict brought about a crisis which led many to become adamant in their own
position. Some wanted to advance, to go ahead, while others wanted to place the
light under the table. Many asked themselves, “In the final analysis, what is
our mission?” Recalling and updating the words of Jesus, Matthew tries to help
them.
•
Matthew 5: 13-16: Salt of the earth. By using
images of daily life, with simple and direct words, Jesus makes known what the
mission is and the reason for being a Christian community: to be salt. At that
time, when it was very hot, people and animals needed to consume much salt. The
salt, which was delivered by merchants in great blocks in the public square,
was consumed by the people. What remained fell to the ground and lost its
savor. “It no longer serves for anything, but it is thrown out and trampled
under people’s feet.” Jesus recalls this practice in order to clarify for the
disciples the mission which they have to carry out.
•
Matthew 5: 14-16: Light of the world. The
comparison is obvious. Nobody lights a candle and places it under the tub. A
city built on the hilltop cannot be hidden. The community should be light; it
should enlighten. It should not be afraid to show the good that it does. It
does not do it to make itself seen, but what it does can be seen. The salt does
not exist for itself. The light does not exist for itself. This is how the
community should be. It cannot remain enclosed in itself. “Your light must
shine in people’s sight, so that seeing your good works, they may give praise
to your Father in Heaven.”
•
Matthew 5: 17-19: Not one dot, not one little
stroke will disappear from the Law. Among the converted Jews there were two
tendencies. Some thought that it was not necessary to observe the laws of the
Old Testament because we are saved by the faith in Jesus and not by the
observance of the Law (Rm 3: 21-26). There are Christian groups today that
believe only this as well. Others thought that they should continue to observe
the laws of the Old Testament (Acts 15: 1-2). In each of the two tendencies
there were even more radical groups. Before this conflict, Matthew tries to
find a balance, the equilibrium, over and above the two extremes. The community
should be the space where this equilibrium can be attained and lived. The
response given by Jesus continued to be very timely: “I have not come to
abolish the law, but to complete it!” The communities cannot be against the
Law, nor can they close themselves off in the observance of the law. Like
Jesus, they must move forward and show in a practical way that the objective
which the law wants to attain in life is the perfect practice of love.
•
Jesus completes the law by His summation: to love
one another. He sums it up by example, as well as His instruction (Mk 12:
31-33). To believe in Jesus is not just believing some history, it is also
believing who Jesus is, and therefore, the importance of following His
instruction. To love, and to work in imitation of Jesus in love, demands
outward action and a sincere concern and care for every brother and sister in
the world, all of God’s children, starting with our community.
•
The different tendencies in the first Christian
communities. The plan of salvation has three stages united among themselves
from the earth to life: a) the Old Testament: the path of the Hebrew people,
orientated, guided by the Law of God. b) The life of Jesus of Nazareth: it
renews the Law of Moses starting from His experience of God, Father and Mother.
c) The life of the communities: through the spirit of Jesus, they tried to live
as Jesus lived it. The union of these three stages generates the certainty of
faith that God is in our midst. The intention to break or weaken the unity of
this plan of salvation gave rise to various groups and tendencies in the
communities:
•
The Pharisees did not recognize Jesus as Messiah
and accepted only the Old Testament. In the communities there were some people
who sympathized with the thought of the Pharisees (Acts 15: 5).
•
Some converted Jews accepted Jesus as Messiah,
but they did not accept the liberty of spirit with which the communities lived
the presence of the risen Jesus. (Acts 15: 1).
•
Others, both converted Jews and pagans, thought
that, with Jesus, had come the end of the Old Testament: from now on, Jesus
alone and the life in the Spirit.
•
There were also Christians who lived so fully
the life in the liberty of the Spirit, that they no longer looked at the life
of Jesus of Nazareth, nor the Old Testament (1Cor 12: 3).
•
Now the great concern of the Gospel of Matthew
is to show that the Old Testament, Jesus of Nazareth and the life in the Spirit
cannot be separated. The three-form part of the same and only plan of God and
give us the central certainty of faith: The God of Abraham and of Sarah is
present in the midst of the communities by faith in Jesus of Nazareth.
Personal Questions
•
Salt and light are taken for granted today. We
have salt in all of our food and electric lights at any time. What would you
choose to use instead of salt and light for examples today, and why?
•
Through modern travel and technology, our
community can be seen (observed) by those next door or by other people or
communities across the globe. Is our community a “city on a hill” for the
worldwide community? How can we be salt and light for someone nearby as well as
in another country?
•
Those Jesus sent on the mission went out and did
not sit at home or in an office waiting to be visited. How do we “go out” to
meet others and other communities near and far on our mission, as individuals,
as an individual local community, or as a larger community?
Concluding Prayer
Yahweh judiciously guides the humble, instructing the
poor in His way. Kindness unfailing and constancy mark all His paths, for those
who keep His covenant and His decrees. (Ps 25: 9-10)
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