From the Taizé Community and the Focolare Movement.

Bible texts with commentary

These Bible meditations are meant as a way of seeking God in silence and prayer in the midst of our daily life. During the course of a day, take a moment to read the Bible passage with the short commentary and to reflect on the questions which follow. Afterwards, a small group of 3 to 10 people can meet to share what they have discovered and perhaps for a time of prayer.

September 2014

Matthew 6:19-21: True Wealth

Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)

A treasure can refer to something we desire deeply or something precious we hold on to. A treasure gives us joy in the present and security for the days to come. It is natural that our hearts long for what they desire or become attached to what they possess.

Jesus invites us to look at our treasures with discernment. He invites us to distinguish a futile search and transitory pleasures from what can be more lasting.

Perhaps we have already had the experience of having waited impatiently for the weekend to arrive, for some special event. But we quickly realized that it could only be a short-lived experience and that nothing fundamental had changed. Or perhaps we have worked for a long time to get a certain job, or saved a lot of money to buy a specific object. But then we realized that by the time we acquired them, the job or the object had already lost its importance for us.

It can even happen that what we thought was a treasure that would give us security for the future had lost its value. A fall in the stock market can depreciate a portfolio of shares just as radically as “moths and vermin” can destroy a harvest. An unfavorable economic climate can even cause real estate and land values to collapse.

In the face of this, the Bible never ceases expressing confidence in God’s faithfulness. Life is fragile, but God’s word never fails (cf. Isaiah 40:8). People die easily, but God’s love is everlasting (cf. Psalm 103:16-17).

Where is our treasure? Where do we find joy and security? What is our heart attached to?

For Martin Luther, this question is equivalent to: Who is our God? He writes, “Whatever you cling to in your heart is your God.” It is from him that you expect everything good, in him you find refuge in times of distress. When God tells us in his commandments not to have other gods but him, “it is as if he were saying: look to me for whatever is lacking and seek it from me. I will give it to you. Make sure that your heart does not remain attached to other things and finds no rest anywhere else.”

God is the one who deserves to be sought after and loved. He is the sure value that never changes. His love for us remains the solid ground that will never give way. On him we can build a house made of faith, hope and love. Saint Paul calls these the “three things that last” (1 Corinthians 13:13). They are also called the “theological virtues” because they are given by God and lead us to him. He and they are our “treasures in heaven.”

 Where do I look for joy and security?

 What kind of seeking do I think is worth continuing?

 What helps me to trust in God?

‘Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.’ (Rom 15:7)

These words are some of Paul’s final guidance in his letter to the Christians in Rome. This community, like many others spread throughout the Graeco-Roman world, was composed of believers who came partly from pagan and partly from Jewish origins. Therefore their mindsets, their cultural backgrounds and their spiritual sensitivities were very different. Such diversity gave an opening to judgements, prejudices, discrimination and intolerance towards others that were certainly not in accord with the mutual welcome that God wanted them to have.

To help them overcome these difficulties, Paul found there was no better way than to make them reflect upon the grace of their conversion. The fact that Jesus had called them to faith, giving the gift of his Spirit, was tangible proof of the love with which he had welcomed each one of them. Despite their past lives and the difference in their backgrounds, Jesus had welcomed them together into one body.

‘Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.’

Paul’s words remind us of one of the most moving aspects of Jesus’ love. It is the love that, during his life on earth, led Jesus always to welcome everyone, especially the most marginalized, those most in need, the furthest away. It is the love that led Jesus to offer his trust, confidence, friendship to everyone, breaking down, one by one, the barriers that human pride and selfishness had built in the society of his time. Jesus was the manifestation of the Father’s totally welcoming love for each one of us, which we, in our turn, ought to have for one another. This is the first thing God wills from us. For this reason we can give the Father no greater glory than by trying to welcome each other in the same way that Jesus welcomed us.

‘Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.’

 How can we live the Word of Life this month? It draws our attention to one of our commonest forms of selfishness and, let’s face it, one of the most difficult to overcome: the tendency to isolate ourselves, to discriminate, to marginalize, to exclude the other because he or she is different and could disturb our tranquillity.

Let’s try to live this Word of Life first of all inside our families, associations, communities, groups at work, by ridding ourselves of our judgements, discrimination, prejudice, resentment, intolerance towards one neighbour or another. These things come so easily and so often, chilling and spoiling human relations. Like a pall of ill will, they block mutual love.

And then in society in general, let’s resolve to witness to the welcoming love of Jesus to any neighbour the Lord puts next to us, especially those social selfishness most easily tends to exclude or marginalize.

Welcoming the other, the one different from us, lies at the basis of Christian love. It is the starting point, the first step to building the civilization of love, the culture of communion, that Jesus is calling us to above all today.

Chiara Lubich