2 Cor 4:7-15 / Matthew 5:27-32
It is in the human nature to admire what is beautiful and attractive.
In our admiration, we acknowledge that God is the Creator who makes all things good and beautiful.
And we also acknowledge that God created us in His image and that we are also good and beautiful.
But the reality of sin has distorted our human nature and also the way we look at things and people.
From initial admiration, we begin to desire and even want to possess what we see as beautiful and attractive.
In the gospel, Jesus addressed the sin of lust, and from that sin we develop perverse desires for people and even want to possess and use them for sexual motives.
But in the 1st reading, St. Paul reminds us of who we are and what we are made of.
No matter how good, how beautiful or attractive, human beings are like earthenware jars that are fragile and delicate.
But God has poured His love into these unworthy earthenware jars and we carry this divine treasure and dignity in us.
It is God’s love that makes us good, beautiful and even attractive.
May we see this treasure in ourselves and in others, so that in our admiration for what is good and beautiful, we will also see God who is the Creator of all that is good and beautiful.