EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - A

WORRY-FREE!

“Look the at the birds of the sky… God feeds them.  Look at the flowers of the fields… God clothes them” (Mt. 6:26, 28).  But Lord, I am not a bird, and surely not a flower either.

“Do not worry about what you are to eat… to drink… to wear” (v. 31). Why are you telling me not to worry, Lord? In this world, I cannot survive without worrying. If I don’t do that, who will keep me and my loved ones afloat in these trying times?

These thoughts raced through my head as I read today’s gospel. Here Jesus seems to be prohibiting us to worry and to start acting like objects in nature. This may sound very pious but it is not practical and workable.

Reflecting more, I realized that the Lord is not telling me, and all of us, not to worry at all. The Lord is inviting us to something even more positive and great. He is telling us that all our needs, in fact, the whole of our lives, are connected to the Kingdom of the Father. This kingdom, if i seek it sincerely, will illumine even the essential and the trivial things about me. “Seek first the kingdom of God…” (v. 31).

God is not giving me a license to slump in bed and watch television while waiting for food and clothes to be delivered right outside my door. I must work for that because it is my share in the Kingdom, my contribution to a productive world.

As a Christian, as a follower of Christ and a child of God, my goal is first of all to belong to the kingdom of God, marked by a great relationship that originates from my heavenly Father. “Can a mother forget her infant…” (Isa. 49:15).

God certainly does not forget his children. But I, enveloped by worry and fears, forget that relationship. I forget my real master.  I forget when I just accumulate things and riches. But God does not forget. He is an eternal Father who loves even the stubborn, wandering child.

We worry too much that we suffer sleepless nights, bad moods, and tantrums. Even if we get what we want, don’t we feel empty and unsatisfied?

Jesus is teaching us the secret to peace, joy and most specially, trust in the Father. If I am only focused on material needs, I will not discover these things. I need to recover a sense of being not just an appendage to nature, but a special member of God’s family and of his kingdom. I thank you, Lord for reminding me that I am first of all, God’s child.

Lord, I come to you today with worries for my self, my family, my health, my finance and my relationships. You know what I need each day. You know my heart. I will work hard for all these things but only after I offer myself to you and renew my relationship with you… for you are my Father. Amen.