Jesus’ teaching about dependence on God
It’s the 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time and today’s gospel reading is a continuation of the teaching of our Lord that he preached to his disciples in the Sermon on the Mount. Last Sunday our Lord taught us what separates Christianity from the other religions in the world: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
Indeed this is a very difficult teaching as it goes against the very grain of normal human behavior. But then God sets a very high moral standard for those who want to be called Christians and those who profess to follow him. So for today’s gospel reading our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us how to be totally dependent on God. You can read it in Matthew 6:24-34.
24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. 25 “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 clothes?
26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life [a]? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—O’ you of little faith?
31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
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Allow me to start our commentary on the second verse of today’s gospel, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” What our Lord Jesus Christ is telling his disciples is that human beings are far more valuable than birds. In fact later in Matt.10: 29-31 the Lord said, “29 Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. 30 Even all the hairs of your head are counted. 31 So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
I’m using this piece of scripture because many people in Western nations have given more emphasis to animal rights than human rights, especially for the unborn babies. This is why I supported (although we cannot vote in the US) Donald Trump’s presidential bid against Hillary Clinton who represented America’s liberal thinking where they have laws making abortion legal, but makes it illegal to abuse animals. That’s because most Liberals no longer consider themselves as Christian and find the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ as meaningless or irrelevant.
The best teaching that our Lord Jesus Christ imparts on us in today’s gospel reading is the last verse which goes, “33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” You may ask how do I internalize this teaching? A devout Jew, when he wakes up in the morning, recites the Shema Prayer: “Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God, the Lord is one”. Pray this prayer before you sleep at night and when you wake up in the morning and you have acknowledge God first before you do anything else.
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For email responses to this article, write to [email protected] or [email protected]. His columns can be accessed through www.philstar.com.
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