Third Sunday of Matthew: Matthew 6:22–33

The passage Matthew 6:22–33 is part of the Sermon on the Mount and reveals the ethos of the Kingdom of God. Christ does not simply offer moral advice for a calmer life, but discloses a new way of being, in which the human person is called to turn wholly toward God and to be set free from inner division, bondage, and anxiety.

At the beginning of the passage, the “eye” is described as the “lamp of the body.” Here, the eye does not refer only to physical sight, but chiefly to the inner vision of the soul, the manner in which a person sees God, the world, and his neighbor. When the eye is “single” or “sound,” that is, pure, whole, undivided, and free from deceit, then the whole person is filled with light. By contrast, when it is “evil,” darkened by self-love, greed, and the passions, then the whole person is plunged into spiritual darkness. Christ, therefore, directs our attention to the inner condition of the heart. From there begin either illumination or downfall.

Then the Lord declares that “no one can serve two masters.” This phrase reveals the radical incompatibility between God and “mammon,” that is, wealth when it becomes an object of trust, devotion, and absolute…