Matthew 6:24-34 - Do Not Worry* (Gospel for March 2, 2014, 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time)
*See below for Gospel text

Pelicans in Flight by (c) Jeff Kinsey, Dreamstime Stock Photos 

For the third consecutive Sunday, Jesus tells us the standards that a true disciple should live by.  There are familiar verses in the gospel, and the following trivia may provide a better insight to the message of this gospel.

Note how many times the word "worry" and "anxious" appear in the gospel passage -- a total of five times.

The theme of this passage is not so much God's providence, though indeed it is there, but the attitude of the disciple: not to be anxious and to focus on Kingdom-building.  In the original Aramaic word of "anxious", the nuanced meaning refers to "being absorbed by" or "being preoccupied with." 

The "birds in the air neither sow or reap" is mentioned, but NOT to suggest passivity and idleness (for the birds do work to gather their food), but the absence of anxiety.

The "lilies in the field neither toil nor spin" refers to field labor of men and housework for women, and importantly to strenuous or stressful work.  (Don't we all know what stress can do to one's health?)

This absence of anxiety makes the choice between God and "Mammon" easier for the disciple.  ("Mammon" is derived from an Aramaic term which refers to wealth and possession.)

 Field of Blue and Yellow by (c) Kimberly Vetrano,Dreamstime Stock Photos

The phrase "hate one and love the other" does not refer to feelings, but in the biblical context refers to choices one makes.

Choose and live the Kingdom's values, and a disciple will overcome the challenges that go with it.

Sources:

- Nil Guillemette, SJ, A Kingdom for All (Makati: St. Paul's Publications), 172.
- Raymond E. Brown et al (eds), The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1990), 646.

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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.”