Today’s Epistle reading from the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians tells us about the great treasure we have received from God. St. Paul underlines once again that Jesus IS the Son of God as He taught, during His ministry on earth. "God, Who commanded light to shine out of darkness […he points here to God as the Creator of the Universe –FJS], has shone in our hearts to give the light of knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Cor. 4:6). Therefore, through Jesus Christ we get to know God the Father and His glory.
The Apostle calls "this light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" the treasure (2 Cor. 4:7) that is put into earthen vessels. Therefore, God has put His treasure in our human nature, which like earthen vessels is weak. He did not hesitate to do this because every believer is under His protection therefore this earthen vessel – "human nature" – remains strong and unbreakable. It is by the power of God that we are able to keep this treasure – "the knowledge of God" – within ourselves, as we do not possess the natural ability to come close enough to God to understand His ways, because we our nature is weak and temporal.
God did not want us to remain on our own without any hope of getting this treasure; therefore, because of His great loving nature, He gives it to us within the person of Jesus Christ. Since Jesus’ Resurrection, those who became His followers in the true sense of the word, receive the power to keep this light of the knowledge of the glory of God, despite persecutions and other hardships of life. Christianity is victorious but not trouble-free. However, nothing can permanently break our earthen vessels as long as we keep the treasure of God within ourselves. This teaching of St. Paul encourages us to stay firm in our faith and not to tremble under any difficulties. This aspect of our faith – firm confidence in God’s power that we receive through the knowledge of Christ – maintains the rest of our Christian teachings and is one of the essential elements of Christianity.
In addition to the benefit of being a vessel for the treasure of God on earth, we receive eternal life with our God after the resurrection of all. In order to assure Christians of this, St. Paul writes, "Knowing that He Who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you" (2 Cor. 4:14). Death is unavoidable for every person born on earth; however, Christianity looks at it as at the doorway to eternal life with Christ, after the process of growing up spiritually on earth, to the standards of the Heavenly Kingdom.
Positive spiritual development has always been a concern for those who see their well being with God only. In today’s Gospel reading, we witnessed the conversation between Jesus and a lawyer on this topic. Although the lawyer intended to test Jesus, this conversation made a positive impact on the listeners. For their edification, Jesus summarizes the law of God and brings it down to the two most important commandments: love God and love your neighbor. Actually, the entire law reveals these two essential commandments, and all the prophets continually referred to them in their preaching. Jesus and the prophets had to explain the law in the correct way because the Pharisees – the historical teachers of the people – had failed to do this. In fact, because the Pharisees themselves did fully learn the Law of God they were unable to properly teach, nor could they find reasonable answers to many of the questions presented to them.
Today’s Gospel reading shows us the two different positions people find themselves in. The first is WITH Christ and, therefore in His glory and power because of the knowledge they receive from Him; and the second, is WITHOUT Christ and His light of the knowledge of God. The Pharisees who were of the highest rank in the society could not comprehend the fullness and simplicity of Jesus’ words because their earthen vessels (2 Cor. 4:7) were closed and unable to receive God’s treasure. On the other hand, the ordinary people were able to receive this treasure because they opened their hearts to God fully. We have to say that neither a higher nor a lower rank of society brings anyone closer to God by itself. The secret is in our personal attitude to Jesus Christ and to the work He completed on earth for our sake and for salvation. Only by making room for Him to abide within us, will we become strong, unbreakable vessels for His treasure. Only then, can we say with St. Paul the Apostle, "We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed…" (2 Cor. 4:8-9).
Therefore, let us keep the faith of our fathers, the faith that had been started by Jesus Christ himself. Let us open our hearts for God to place His treasure of the knowledge of God. Let us thoroughly study the way of Jesus for the sake of our spiritual growth and later reunion with our Savior in His Heavenly Kingdom. Let us spread the grace of God to the rest of the world through our own example. Let us give thanks to the Lord for His marvelous and at the same time simple way of preserving us through all our hardships. May His Holy Name be glorified forever! Amen.
After Pentecost 
