My dear sisters and brothers,
All the readings for today’s Sunday are about trusting our Heavenly Father. Trust in the Lord! That is the strong message of the readings that we have heard today.
In God’s few words from the Book of Isaiah we learn of His Fatherhood. “I will not forget you” says the Lord God.
We have a heavenly Father. Not only is He our Creator, but He also wants to be our Father. While we struggle here on earth, awaiting the day when we will be united with the Heavenly Father, we are told in different words that God is watching over us. He has not forgotten us. If we think that He has forgotten us, it is all in our minds.
The second Reading from the First Letter to the Corinthians concerns the ministry of the Apostles. We heard the author say, “Brothers and sisters: ‘Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy.’”
In today’s Gospel Jesus said, to His disciples “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.†Disciples, followers of Christ, cannot have a divided loyalty.
Changing the subject, Jesus said in today’s Gospel, “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”
Today, Jesus reminds us who follow Him that we are more important than flowers, than the grass, than swallows. His promise to us is that He will take care of us even more than He does of the plants and birds. This teaching of Jesus reminds us that we are called to a distinct way of life, not a worldly way but a spiritual way. We are called to trust in God who knows what we need and to believe that God will give it to us. Blessed is he who places his trust in the Lord Jesus!
We are called can pray for a deeper commitment to God for ourselves and for others. This week my brothers and sisters in Christ let us pray for each other, that we may receive the gift of faith that is necessary to trust in our Heavenly Father so we may not worry about tomorrow.