This Sunday can fall either before Lent or after the Easter season, so it is not often celebrated.
THE GOSPEL IS A STRONG CHALLENGE to the lifestyle that prevails in most of our cities in the so-called developed world. Jesus puts it bluntly: “You cannot at the same time be the slave of God and “mammon.” What Matthew is pointing out is that since human beings are not self-sufficient, we are dependent on something outside ourselves. It should be God, not the material goods we own. Matthew concludes by reminding us to use our “one day at a time” confidence and remember that we are in God’s loving care. The graces we need will be there when we need them. We can’t stock-pile graces for a rainy day.
What is in question is our attitude towards “things.” Lent is a good time to review the contents of our closets and other possessions. Jesus is teaching us that our only real security is total trust in God. We have to make a choice between God’s vision of life and a preoccupation with possessions. That involves different goals and visions of what is most important in life. We can wear a veneer of Christian practice, but it won’t penetrate below the surface of our skin.
Jesus preaches something akin to “holy indifference” toward material goods. It should be obvious that some material things — like food and clothing and shelter — are necessary for daily living and everyone has a right to have these things. The attitude of ‘holy indifference’ is not to be confused with an attitude of not caring about anyone or anything. On the contrary, a person who practices holy indifference cares much and deeply and says ‘yes’ only to what is needed.
In the ordinary run of things, worry is a waste of time and psychic energy because it’s all about being uneasy about what might happen and will probably never happen. (Father) Tony de Mello quotes the Buddhist axiom: “Why worry? If you don’t worry, you die; if you do worry, you die. So, why worry?” Fr. Tony continues: “Be yourself. Be here. Be now.” God has provided you with everything you need right now to be happy.” Our lives would be transformed if only we could really take Jesus’ advice: “Do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself.”
If you tend to be a worrywart, Jesus has a remedy for you. He says, look at the birds of the air and the flowers in the field. They do nothing except be themselves and God takes care of them. People are often so busy regretting the past or fretting about what MIGHT BE in the future that they can’t enjoy life.
Sounds so logical but you and I both know that everyone here worries about something. Some of us probably only worry every now and then. Some of us could win the prize for the world’s “expert worrier”. If we find ourselves with nothing to worry about, we worry that there’s nothing to worry about… so we worry until we figure out what that “nothing” is. Right?
You know, worry is almost always about assuming control over things. That’s a control that God never meant for us to have. Assuming control for the future is just not part of what we’re designed to do. Jesus says, “Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?” We don’t have that kind of power. But we can come into the peace of “the birds of the air and the flowers of the fields” when we are content with just being a human being and stop trying to be God. “Let go, let God!” This Gospel lesson reminds us that we are called to trust in God who knows what we need and when we need it. We are called to believe that God will give it to us, when we need it.
~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB
Prepare ye that way for the good Lenten experience.
God bless!
