From: Matthew 6:24-34

Trust in God’s Fatherly Providence (Continuation)

(Jesus said to His disciples,) [24] “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.

[25] “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? [26] 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? [27] And which of you by being an-
xious can add one cubit to his span of life? [28] And why are you anxious about
clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin;
[29] yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
[30] 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?
[31] Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we
drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ [32] For the Gentiles seek all these things; and
your Heavenly Father knows that you need them all. [33] But seek first His King-
dom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.

[34] “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.”

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Commentary:

24. Man’s ultimate goal is God; to attain this goal he should commit himself en-
tirely. But in fact some people do not have God as their ultimate goal, and instead
choose wealth of some kind—in which case wealth becomes their god. Man can-
not have two absolute and contrary goals.

25-32. In this beautiful passage Jesus shows us the value of the ordinary things
of life, and teaches us to put our trust in God’s fatherly providence. Using simple
examples and comparisons taken from everyday life, He teaches us to abandon
ourselves into the arms of God.

27. The word “span” could be translated as “stature”, but “span” is closer to the
original (cf. Luke 12:25). A “cubit” is a measure of length which can metaphori-
cally refer to time.

33. Here again the righteousness of the Kingdom means the life of grace in man
—which involves a whole series of spiritual and moral values and can be summed
up in the notion of “holiness”. The search for holiness should be our primary pur-
pose in life. Jesus is again insisting on the primacy of spiritual demands. Com-
menting on this passage, Pope Paul VI says: “Why poverty? It is to give God,
the Kingdom of God, the first place in the scale of values which are the object of
human aspirations. Jesus says: ‘Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness’.

And He says this with regard to all the other temporal goods, even necessary
and legitimate ones, with which human desires are usually concerned. Christ’s
poverty makes possible that detachment from earthly things which allows us to
place the relationship with God at the peak of human aspirations” (”General Au-
dience”, 5 January 1977).

34. Our Lord exhorts us to go about our daily tasks serenely and not to worry
uselessly about what happened yesterday or what may happen tomorrow. This
is wisdom based on God’s fatherly providence and on our own everyday experi-
ence: “He who observes the wind will not sow; and he who regards the clouds
will not reap” (Eccles 11:4).

What is important, what is within our reach, is to live in God’s presence and
make good use of the present moment: “Do your duty ‘now’, without looking back
on ‘yesterday’, which has already passed, or worrying over ‘tomorrow’, which may
never come for you” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 253).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible by Darton, Longman & Todd

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green.

First reading
2 Chronicles 24:17-25 ©

After the death of Jehoiada, the officials of Judah came to pay court to the king, and the king now turned to them for advice. The Judaeans abandoned the Temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, for the worship of sacred poles and idols. Because of their guilt, God’s anger fell on Judah and Jerusalem. He sent them prophets to bring them back to the Lord, but when these gave their message, they would not listen. The spirit of God took possession of Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood up before the people and said, ‘God says this, “Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord to no good purpose? You have deserted the Lord, now he deserts you.”’ They then plotted against him and by order of the king stoned him in the court of the Temple of the Lord. King Joash, forgetful of the kindness that Jehoiada, the father of Zechariah, had shown him, killed Jehoiada’s son who cried out as he died, ‘The Lord sees and he will avenge!’

When a year had gone by, the Aramaean army made war on Joash. They reached Judah and Jerusalem, and executed all the officials among the people, sending back to the king at Damascus all that they had plundered from them. Though the Aramaean army had by no means come in force, the Lord delivered into its power an army of great size for having deserted him, the God of their ancestors.

The Aramaeans treated Joash as he had deserved, and when they retired they left him a very sick man; and his officers, plotting against him to avenge the death of the son of Jehoiada the priest, murdered him in his bed. So he died, and they buried him in the Citadel of David, though not in the tombs of the kings.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 88:4-5,29-34 ©

I will keep my love for him always.

‘With my chosen one I have made a covenant;

I have sworn to David my servant:

I will establish your dynasty for ever

and set up your throne through all ages.

I will keep my love for him always.

‘I will keep my love for him always;

with him my covenant shall last.

I will establish his dynasty for ever,

make his throne endure as the heavens.

I will keep my love for him always.

‘If his sons forsake my law

and refuse to walk as I decree

and if ever they violate my statutes,

refusing to keep my commands;

then I will punish their offences with the rod,

then I will scourge them on account of their guilt.

I will keep my love for him always.

‘But I will never take back my love,

my truth will never fail.’

I will keep my love for him always.

Gospel Acclamation	Mt4:4

Alleluia, alleluia!

Man does not live on bread alone,

but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Alleluia!

Or	2Co8:9

Alleluia, alleluia!

Jesus Christ was rich,

but he became poor for your sake,

to make you rich out of his poverty.

Alleluia!

Gospel	Matthew 6:24-34 ©

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘No one can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or treat the first with respect and the second with scorn. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.

‘That is why I am telling you not to worry about your life and what you are to eat, nor about your body and how you are to clothe it. Surely life means more than food, and the body more than clothing! Look at the birds in the sky. They do not sow or reap or gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they are? Can any of you, for all his worrying, add one single cubit to his span of life? And why worry about clothing? Think of the flowers growing in the fields; they never have to work or spin; yet I assure you that not even Solomon in all his regalia was robed like one of these. Now if that is how God clothes the grass in the field which is there today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, will he not much more look after you, you men of little faith? So do not worry; do not say, “What are we to eat? What are we to drink? How are we to be clothed?” It is the pagans who set their hearts on all these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all. Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on his righteousness, and all these other things will be given you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.’