The Gospel of Matthew, chapter 6:34

The lesson in today’s scripture is that God provides for all those in His care; even the birds of the air, even the flowers of the fields. Jesus was concerned, not only with people’s spiritual health, but also with their physical well-being. Once He wondered aloud how He would feed those who had been listening to Him in the hot sun all day long, and He fed them with five loaves and two fish.

In today’s scripture, Jesus tries to put people’s minds at rest concerning all the ‘stuff’ that they fret and fuss about. Such worrying, He assures us, doesn’t “add a moment to your lifespan.” He urges us to replace anxious care about what doesn’t matter with thoughtful care over what does matter. What does matter, is putting His kingdom first in our lives; that is, following Jesus’ example of love.

The Prophet, Isaiah, also cut to the chase when he came across the anxious fuddy-duddies of his day by making it clear that God is more committed to us than a mother to her child: “Even should she forget, I will never forget you.” Why worry then, if God is on your side? Everything is ordered, in the long-run, according to His plan. So why worry?

The theological truth is that we are not ignored, we will always remain at the center of God’s concern. If a great chasm exists between us and God, it is we who have moved, not God. When people put material concerns before God and His approval, they have put the cart before the horse; they have put mammon before God.

Today’s scripture invites us to think about God’s providential care. If we tell ourselves and our families that we are working for mammon, maybe we are taking material care of them but maybe we’re not. Maybe we are accumulating something else– money, power, prestige, an image. Maybe our families have caught on to this but do not know how to tell us, or maybe they are swept away in the same mania of materialism.

The people who first listened to Jesus fretted over what little they had just as much as we fret about what we have or lack, regardless of how much or little that may be. We need to take inventory and jettison those attitudes that are not consistent with our human vocation to be God’s own people. Then our souls will be at rest for we will find ourselves right at home where we belong. Thus the Lord says:
“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you besides.”

Fr. Hugh Duffy

* * * Do not miss tomorrow’s blog on 5th Beatitude * * *