Daily Gospel Reflection
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June 22, 2024
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.”
Reflection
Like many parents and spouses, I have lived to serve and protect my family and household. Whenever I’ve seen their eyes of trust in me, I’ve gained a sense of purpose. Over time, however, life brought inevitable challenges that exposed my inadequacies.
I could not protect my children from bullies or provide material things to put them on par with their peers. In the downtrodden neighborhood where we first lived, I imagined worst-case scenarios when my children simply went out to play alone. In short, I worried. Hence, I sought better career opportunities, imagining that our lot in life would improve with more wealth and status. Rather than remove problems, however, it simply brought out new ones.
My children were getting a better education but learning less about themselves as African Americans. New neighborhoods and schools brought new bullies as well as new forms of racism, drugs, and materialism. My kids had entered worlds unfamiliar to me in which I felt even less prepared to provide for or protect them. In short, I worried more.
In our gospel today, Jesus says we must choose to serve God or mammon, but we cannot serve both. Strong’s Concordance defines mammon as “the treasure a person trusts in.” Jesus’
concern is our tendency to trust in ourselves or worldly wealth and power over God. I’ve learned that security and joy do not grow as wealth or power accumulate. Indeed, incessant worry about what to eat or how to compete will earn us nothing but more worry and an early grave.
Instead, Jesus urges us to have unceasing faith that God always knows what we need. God will
provide “our daily bread” for us just as God provides faithfully for the tiniest of birds. As my
children have grown up and moved out, new issues have arisen—relationships, parenting,
employment, and a pandemic. During their struggles, my favorite go-to song and prayer has been “His Eye is on the Sparrow.” I have finally come to trust that God is with them even when I am not, providing for them and protecting them—and that is all the joy and security we need.
Prayer
O God, we can be anxious about so many things, even though Jesus your Son counseled us to be free of worry. Assist us to trust you in all things and to be mindful of your providential care for us. Might we thus receive your abundant gifts openly, cherish them reverently, and share them generously, confident in the inexhaustible concern you show.
We make this prayer through Jesus your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen.