Reflection for June 19 Saturday the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time: Matthew 6:24-34

Gospel: 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 splendour 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.”

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Reflection:

The story is told about a man who was able to read the gospel of Matthew today. He thought carefully about this and said to himself. “Why don’t I test Jesus? If He really means what he says in the gospel He will provide for me no matter what.”  

So He went camping in a secluded mountain without bringing anything.  While already there he prayed to Jesus to give him food for he was going hungry already. As he turned his head he saw an edible fruit so he ate it. When he was full already he became thirsty and he prayed again to Jesus for water, soon after he heard a sound of flowing stream so he stood up and walked a few steps and saw a very clean creek so he  went there and drank water there.       

Radical dependence in Him is what Jesus is offering us today. Jesus tells us not to worry about our life, what we will eat or drink, or about our body, what we will wear. For life is more than food and the body more than clothing (Matthew 6:25).   

Then on the latter part of the gospel Jesus tells us: “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 (Matthew 6:30-32).  

We often times worry about so many things in our lives that we forget that Jesus is there for us always offering Himself to us. Why is this so? Why are we lacking in faith and trust in our Lord?  This is for the reason that we are slowly allowing the devil to take us away from Jesus. We may not know this but the devil through his worldly enticements is slowly but surely is snatching us away from the love of Jesus.  

For example, in the observance of Sunday Holy Mass. Many of us are not anymore able to go to Holy Mass or piously watch online Mass because we have our many worldly preoccupations. Therefore instead of making ourselves present at Holy  Mass we do our many worldly activities. Which most of the time bring us away from Jesus and even influence us to commit sin.  And the end result is our faith is diminished then we gradually begin to trust not anymore in Jesus but on ourselves and in this world.

What would happen to us if we lose our faith and trust in Jesus? If we love this world than Jesus?  - Marino J. Dasmarinas