In this section you can find a daily commentary on the Gospel of the Day.

Sunday 1 November 2020

All Saints

Word for today
The Gospel of Matthew 5:1-12a

Harsh words

I tell you, to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. They seem harsh words, marked by an irresistible sense of injustice, all the more so because they are uttered by Jesus, the Son.  In reality it is not these words that are harsh and unfair. The real harsh and unfair words are: Sir, here is your gold coin; I kept it stored away in a handkerchief, for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding person; you take up what you did not lay down and you harvest what you did not plant.  Those words show all of the hardness of a heart and mind of a man who thinks evil of life and of all its gifts, who thinks ill of himself and of his own potential, and who thinks terribly ill of God, His Creator. These are the real harsh and unjust words, words that are used to cover up complaints about everything, self-loathing, and fear of God. What is really hard and unfair in life is man's lack of love. It is harsh and unfair to hide inside a shroud - this is the literal term used in the text - the gold coin of life and to get rid of it by burying it in the ground. It is hard and unjust to accuse God of taking up what He did not lay and harvesting what He did not plant. Harsh and unjust is that evil heart which, in order to bear fruit, uses life without spending it, which exploits life without  really playing the game completely, and without multiplying the gifts and golden wealth that God has placed in the heart of each of His children. It is clear that such an evil and cold heart which accuses God and life is throwing away everything that it is and could be and it will be given nothing, absolutely nothing by anyone. That is why the Gospel reminds us: (26) o everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.