The Kingdom of God
Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 49:14-15
Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me; my LORD has forgotten me.” Can a mother forget her infant,be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget,I will never forget you.
1 Corinthians 4:1-5
Brothers and sisters:
Thus should one regard us: as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Now it is of course required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. It does not concern me in the least that I be judged by you or any human tribunal; I do not even pass judgement on myself; I am not conscious of anything against me,but I do not thereby stand acquitted; the one who judges me is the Lord. Therefore do not make any judgement before the appointed time,until the Lord comes,for he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will manifest the motives of our hearts,and then everyone will receive praise from God.
Matthew 6:24-34
Jesus said to his disciples: “No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,what you will eat or drink,or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns,yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the field,which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow,will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?' or ‘What are we to drink?'or ‘What are we to wear?' All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.”
In this Sunday's Gospel reading, Jesus gives us a seemingly easy teaching but in actual fact is very hard to live out: "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil."
For people of today, this teaching may very well be harder to follow than the Ten Commandments. In today's society, everyone focuses on personal goals and accomplishments in an effort to accumulate money, power and status ― treasures of the world ― at the expense of heavenly treasures such as God's righteousness and labours of charity.
Using the parables of the "birds of the air" and "flowers in the fields" as examples, Jesus proclaims to us God's providence and eternal love for us. His teaching centers around the choices that we as His followers must make: to place ourselves unreservedly in His providential care and rely on Him completely in our daily lives. In the first reading, Isaiah clearly testifies to this point:
"Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me;
my LORD has forgotten me.”
Can a mother forget her infant,
be without tenderness for the child of her womb?
Even should she forget,
I will never forget you."
To be able to do this, we must first strengthen our faith and relationship with God in order to trust in His plans absolutely; and second, we need to follow His will for us to realize His Kingdom here on Earth. Of course, in seeking out His Kingdom, we must pray continually (1 Thess 5:17) , examine our thoughts and actions, and never act in such a way that is contrary to the spirit of the teachings of Christ and the Church!
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