The Eye of Discernment

Gospel: Matthew 6: 19-23

There are two different paths of religion.  The first is the dominant one with which we are all too familiar.  It speaks of obedience, but the obedience they speak of is to the leaders of the religion.  The teaching involved in this model is solely to listen to whatever interpretation or position of the anointed leader of the community.  The voice of God is reduced to the voice of humans who claim that divine voice for themselves.

In the model Jesus proposes today, we are given a more authentic model of religion.  Here, we are taught to discern, to cultivate the eye of the soul to see rightly - to distinguish authentic light from false lights and to see darkness for what it is.  This discernment is like Samuel learning to hear the voice of God in his light and to follow that voice wherever it leads.  This path leads to an authentic relationship with God, one that cannot be manipulated by the false path noted above.

Jesus gave us an example of how to model this discernment in our lives.  He gave us a pathway of love and mercy which he lived in his life.  This path becomes our model for discernment - how are we to live out this path of love and mercy in the life settings given to me? How can I help others in their path of love and service to others as well?  This is the path of authentic religion and authentic relationship with God.