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Vocation Meditation -
February 27, 2011
Jesus taught his disciples saying, “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will 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 of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to their span of life?”
“And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothed the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you-- you of little faith?
“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Here, Jesus revealed how our Heavenly Father cares for all our needs. God’s Divine Providence offers security in our relationship with Him. Jesus forbids one thing. It is worry. He is not advocating a thriftless, reckless, thoughtless, improvident attitude to life. He is forbidding anxiety and worried fear which take all the joy out of life. He teaches us the right order of things and sees wealth and possessions in the context of God’s providence. He teaches us to face life without worry because if God gave us life surely, we can trust him for food and other blessings to sustain that life.
Worry is a characteristic of the pagans according to Jesus. Those who live like one do not know what God is like to His children! He cares for us. Worry is essentially a distrust of God. Worry may not be a grave sin, but it is indeed disabling to the child of God in us. Isaiah said it clearly long ago: ‘Those of steadfast mind you keep in peace because they trust in you, O God.’
Let us learn from the common things we see: the birds, fields, grass and flowers around us. They are fed, and grow and flourish. They bloom and are clothed in beauty. If God can give such beauty to a short-lived flower, how much more will God provide for us who are destined to live with Him forever?
Jesus promised many riches that the Heavenly Father can grant His children, but with one condition: we must seek God’s reign in our hearts and in others so that God’s peace and justice may reign in the world.
Vocation Challenge:
“Do not worry about your life.”
What worries keep my trust slipping away from God?
Dear God,
I place my daily needs in Your hand. You call me to a radical trusting in Your love. Help me to serve you fully, to constantly seek Your will and Your righteousness in all my endeavours. Amen.
For the full Gospel reading for this Sunday, visit the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops site.