Gospel (Mt 6:24-34)
Jesus said to his disciples:
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day.”
Commentary
Jesus speaks about a topic people all times have been concerned about: their worries. Today, as in the first century, although in a different way, we have many reasons to be worried: about getting a decent job, about having something to eat and a roof over our heads, about guarantees for the future.
Our Lord's approach could seem a bit imprudent to us. How can we not worry about tomorrow? Who is going to be concerned about getting what we need to live, if not ourselves?
But the point is not that we shouldn’t be involved in all those things, or that we should neglect the material concerns of each day. Rather the point is how we do these things. The worry Jesus is referring to is a lack of trust and abandonment in the hands of our Father God.
In another moment, a very human one, during a meal among friends, our Lord will say to Martha: “you are anxious and troubled about many things; one thing is needful” (Lk 10:41-42).
The only thing truly necessary is to trust in God, to receive from his hands what is good and what may seem bad to us. That is how the spiritual path of Saint Joseph was, “not one that explains, but accepts.” In our lives too, “acceptance and welcome can be an expression of the Holy Spirit’s gift of fortitude. Only the Lord can give us the strength needed to accept life as it is, with all its contradictions, frustrations and disappointments” (Francis, Patris corde, no. 4).
Saint Paul, in one of his letters, points to the solution to life’s worries: “Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Phil 4:6).
Our faith in God’s care for us is expressed in prayer: asking with faith for God's help amid difficulties and expressing continuous gratitude for all the gifts he gives us.