Deacon Shane Hyland, Leader of School Evangelisation at St Joseph’s Regional College reads today from the Gospel of Matthew (6: 19-23) in which Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth… But store up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where neither moth or woodworms destroy them, and thieves cannot break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also’.

Shane says, in today’s Gospel from Matthew, Jesus gives us a profound teaching about our spiritual vision. He tells us, “The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness.”

This passage comes after Jesus has been teaching about where we should store our treasures – not on earth where moth and decay destroy, but in heaven where they remain secure. Then he quite abruptly starts talking about the eye as the lamp of the body. But this transition is not random at all.

The ancients, including those in Jesus’ time, had a different understanding of vision than we do today. While we know that light enters the eye, they believed that light actually came out of the eyes. They thought the eye projected light outward, illuminating what a person saw. This is why Jesus uses the metaphor of the eye as a lamp.

This ancient understanding gives deeper meaning to Jesus’ words. When He speaks of a “sound” eye, the Greek word used is “haplous,” which can be translated as “single,” “simple,” or “generous.” A sound eye is one that is focused, undivided in its attention and purpose. It’s an eye that looks to the world with generosity and clarity.

In contrast, the “bad” eye – “poneros” in Greek – suggests not just poor vision but a malicious or evil intent in one’s gaze. It’s an eye that looks at the world with stinginess, envy, or greed. So, what Jesus is really talking about is our interior disposition – how we see and perceive the world around us. If we look at the world through eyes of faith, generosity, and love, our whole being is filled with light. But if we look through eyes of greed, selfishness, or materialism, we remain in spiritual darkness.

This connects directly back to Jesus’ teaching about treasures. Where we store our treasure – what we truly value – determines how we see the world. If material wealth is our treasure, our vision becomes distorted by greed and anxiety. But if our treasure is in heaven – in our relationship with God and in loving service to others – then our vision becomes clear and our whole being is illuminated.

What makes this teaching particularly striking is Jesus’ warning: “If the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.” This is a profound paradox. How can light be darkness? It happens when we mistake darkness for light – when we convince ourselves that our distorted vision is actually clear sight. This is the greatest deception – to believe we see clearly when in fact we are blind.

So today, Jesus invites us to examine our vision. What do we see when we look at the world around us? Do we see opportunities for accumulating wealth and status? Or do we see opportunities for love, service, and building God’s kingdom? Do we see others as competitors or as brothers and sisters? The way we see determines how we live. And how we live determines whether we walk in light or in darkness.

Shane invites us to pray: Let us pray for the grace of clear spiritual vision – eyes that are sound, single in purpose, generous in outlook. May our eyes become true lamps, filled with the light of Christ, illuminating not only our own path but brightening the world around us. Amen.