Reflections on God's Word: 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time A

8^th Sunday in Ordinary Time A

Set your heart on God's kingdom and his righteousness;

all things will be given you

 

Isaiah 49: 14-15. Psalm 61: 2-3. 6-9, Rv. 6. 1Cor 4:1-5.

I will never forget you.

In God are my safety and my glory.

There must be no passing of premature judgment 

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 be attached to the first and despise the second. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.

25 'That is why I am telling you not to worry about your life and what you are to eat, nor about your body and what you are to wear. Surely life is more than food, and the body more than clothing!

26 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?

27 Can any of you, however much you worry, add one single cubit to your span of life?

28 And why worry about clothing? Think of the flowers growing in the fields; they never have to work or spin;

29 yet I assure you that not even Solomon in all his royal robes was clothed like one of these.

30 Now if that is how God clothes the wild flowers growing in the field which are there today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, will he not much more look after you, you who have so little faith?

31 So do not worry; do not say, "What are we to eat? What are we to drink? What are we to wear?"

32 It is the gentiles who set their hearts on all these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all.

33 Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on God's saving justice, and all these other things will be given you as well.

34 So do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.'

Have you courage to trust?

‘Faith is the assurance of what we hope for, being certain of what we cannot see’ (Heb 11:1).  Faith is a gift. It is the source of all gifts. By it we will know that Jesus is with us and that he is the answer to all problems. We all have many problems and we don’t know the solution to many of them, but he does.

Jesus tells us that anxiety is wrong. We have a Father who is responsible for our existence. He conceived us in his heart before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:3)  He loves us so much that he sent his only Son to undergo the Cross for us (John 3:16). He is more than a father he is also a mother: even if a woman forgets her baby, I will never forget you (Is 49:15). He knows that while we are here we need so many things in order to live. Jesus gives the examples of food and clothing, but there are many more besides. He is our Creator, our Father and Mother, and responsible for us as we struggle in the sea of this life. But we are free beings. We can struggle all alone or we can rely on him. He tells us: I know you need all these things and I want to provide them for you. It is not your task to worry about them. I am here for you. You should be single minded in your search for the kingdom of heaven and in practicing justice. Then I am in a position to provide all these things for you. Trust in me.

The psalmist tells us the same: take refuge in God all you people. Trust in him at all times. Pour out your hearts before him.

The secret of God’s providential care for us is that we do not have a divided heart. “You cannot serve God and money”. God should come first and last. How do we do this? When you hear God’s Word, do not harden your hearts (Ps.95:8). We should listen to his Word day by day and rule our lives by it. ‘Let the word of Christ live in you richly’ (Col 1:16). Then, ‘Ask and you will receive’. “How much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him”

St. Ignatius said: pray as if everything depends on God and work as if everything depends on you. Everything does depend on God, but we still have to work. What he does is give us the fruits of our labours. Can you say that you wholeheartedly search for God’s kingdom and his righteousness in your actions? Having done that do you have a child’s trust in your Father to provide you with what you need?

Father, may we live for you in everything we do so that you can give us the good things we ask for.