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Year B: 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 4: 13 - 5: 1
St Paul offers words of great hope in today’s reading - particularly for those who are facing illness, disability or other difficulty in life.
It is worth looking at the passage immediately before this one - in which he refers to the sufferings he and others have endured. He offers an image of spiritual treasure in clay vessels - showing that we are frail human beings but carry the power of faith.
Paul himself was growing older - he had been arrested, questioned, beaten, shipwrecked and probably guessed that he faced more imprisonment and, ultimately, execution. Yet his faith and eagerness to proclaim the Gospel is undiminished,. In fact, it seems that, as he becomes aware of increasing age and infirmity, so his determination to fulfil his mission increases.
Paul wants to explain where the power comes from - from an inner strength that increases even as his outer nature diminishes. He is aware that the trials will pass and that the weight of them is as nothing to the glory that awaits him.
He knows that all things pass - that God and the invisible world will endure forever.
For a tent-maker, the analogy of death being like a tent folded up is a natural one. Writing as he is to an urban community, this would have reminded them of the transitory nature of life. They would have lived in houses - more permanent than tents - but even they would pass away. The inheritance they have is not found in buildings but in the eternal home created for them by God in heaven.
For us, there is comfort in remembering Paul’s words. They were taken up centuries later by St Teresa of Avila:
“Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you. In times of suffering, it is good to set our sights our ultimate destiny - and remember that trials will pass and things now invisible will ours forever.
What does it mean for me?
© 2006 Wellspring | Gospel | First Reading | Second Reading | |
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