8th
Ordinary Sunday (Year A)
First
Reading: Isaiah 49:14-15 Second
Reading: 1 Corinthians 4:1-5 Gospel
Reading: Matthew 6:24-34
“
BLESSED IS HE WHO PLACES HIS TRUST IN THE LOVING PROVIDENCE OF
GOD!”
Emperor
Frederick the Great (1712-86) of Germany, once visited a town school
in Branderburg. When he entered into a classroom, the teacher was
giving a geography lesson to the children. The emperor called on one
of the boys and asked if he knew where his town was located.
“In
Prussia,” the child replied.
“And
where is Prussia?” continued the emperor.
“In
Germany.”
“And
Germany?”
“In
Europe.”
“And
Europe?”
“In
the world.”
“And
the world?”
The
boy thought for a moment, but at last looking right at the emperor,
replied:
“The
world is in the hands of God.”
This
is an answer from a child; but how true it is – 'The
world is in the hands of God.' It
means that we all are in God’s hands and are totally dependent upon
him. That is to say that we are under God’s
loving providence and that he greatly loves
us, takes care of us and protects us; He is always with us and never
abandons us.
Today
is the 8th Sunday
in Ordinary Time and the Word of God continues to strengthen us in
our Christian discipleship. "Trusting
in God's loving providence"
is a fitting key to understanding today's Scripture Readings and to
reflect upon. In the First Reading the Prophet Isaiah,
presents the feeling of the Israelite people who are in exile that
God has forgotten them. But God assures them of a love beyond their
imagination. His love for His people is far beyond the love of a
mother for her child. In the Gospel Reading from St Matthew, Jesus
reminds us that we are God’s precious children. With tender and
enduring love, our heavenly Father really cares for us. He provides
for all our needs. Indeed, God deserves to be loved. He is worthy of
our faith and trust. Finally,
in the Second Reading St. Paul teaches the Corinthians to put their
trust not so much in human judgments, and not even in their own
judgment, but in the Lord’s judgment.
EVEN
A MOTHER FORGET HER INFANT, I WILL NEVER FORGET YOU.
In
the First Reading of today,
prophet Isaiah tells the people of Israel, who are in exile and are
crying out in despair that God has forsaken them, that God loves them
tremendously, always cares for them and never forgets them – “Can
a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of
her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.” Here
perhaps is the most touching expression of Divine love in the entire
Bible. We see God under the tender image of a mother, and the people
of God under the image of a nursing infant. How could a mother not
be compassionate to her child who is hungry. God is like that, Isaiah
says. He also makes it clear that God’s love is ever greater than
the image presented. His love surpasses that of a mother for her
child. God has always been faithful to His chosen people; He would
never forget them, nor forsake them.
Isaiah’s message is that we
are to trust God even when the days are darkest, for God does not
abandon His people.
TRUSTING
IN GOD'S LOVING PROVIDENCE:
The
Gospel Reading of today from St. Matthew begins with a strong
statement of Jesus and he puts it very bluntly, “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.” Disciples,
followers of Christ, cannot have a divided loyalty. They
require undivided faith commitment. Jesus in his sermon stresses that
a person cannot serve both God and money. By saying this, Jesus is
not criticizing the possessing of material things. What is in
question is the person's attitude towards them, how he values them,
having his life controlled by them and, above all, being unable to
share them with those in real need. Also in question is the false
illusion that, if we have money and power, we have the control of our
lives. We are secure. So ultimately Jesus is teaching us that our
only real security is total trust in God and His love for us. Money
primarily is a means of exchange by which we can provide for the
needs of our life at any given point of time. The problem begins when
money and the pursuit of money becomes an end in itself. Jesus is
asking his disciples to reflect on what are our most basic values in
our lives. We have to make a choice between the God’s vision of
life and a preoccupation with money and material possessions. They
are not compatible. They involve conflicting goals in life and
different visions of what is most important in life. A truly
materialistic person may be a practicing
Christian, but he cannot be a really committed
Christian.
Again, in
today's Gospel passage, Jesus speaks to his disciples about God’s
loving providence and exhorts them not to worry about food
and clothing - what to eat, what to drink and what to wear! He points
to Nature, which lives always in the present , and it never shows any
anxiety about the future. He tells them how God the Father so
lovingly feeds the birds of the sky and so beautifully clothes the
grass of the field, which are so insignificant, then how much more He
cares for them, who are created in His own image and are far more
important to Him than the birds of the sky and the grass of the
field, the things of lower order.
Actually,
what Jesus is trying to teach his disciples is that they should
never be slaves of the material things and become a worldly and a
worrying people; but rather they should always put their trust in
God’s loving providence and seek the kingdom of God and his
righteousness. It is all a matter of priorities. God has to
come first. We get rid of worry by trusting that God will help us
make everything turn out right. We find time for God in our lives
first. We learn to relax, to meditate. And once we have God as a
priority and trust that He will help us through any difficulties we
may have, then we go and take care of the other factors in our lives,
knowing that God will help us. “Strive
first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these
things will be given to you as well.”
BEING TRUSTWORTHY
STEWARDS:
In
the Second Reading of today from his 1st
Letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul describes himself and other
apostles as the servants
and the stewards of
the mysteries of God revealed in Jesus Christ. The stewards of the
saving Gospel need to be 'trustworthy'
to God, as it is required of a steward. That is to say, what is
expected of stewards is that each one should be found worthy of God's
trust. At the same time St. Paul cautions them not to be judgmental
towards others, for God alone is the supreme judge of all, as all
are in His hands and that His judgment is always true and
praiseworthy. The apostles of the Gospel are to rely on the grace of
God in all their endeavors. Moreover, in their limpid witnessing of
the Gospel, they must mirror the integrity and trustworthiness of
God, fully revealed in Jesus Christ, who will come again on the last
day. The Lord Jesus will then expose the deep motives of our hearts
and grant us the praise and reward we deserve.
CONCLUSION:
In
conclusion, the Gospel Reading of today deals with
Christian discipleship and what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
It reminds
us that we are called to a distinct way of life, not a worldly way
but a spiritual way. We are called to
trust in the loving providence of God
who knows what we need and to believe that He will give it to us.
“Blessed
is he who places his trust
in the loving providence of God.”
God is always faithful to
His people and to His promises. Even when we turn away from Him and
place our trust in ourselves or in other persons or in money or
material goods, He will not abandon us but will remain faithful. He
loves each one of us as if there is only one of us. He always cares
for each one of us. But a relationship of love can only be founded
upon trust, upon fidelity. But the strange thing about man is that he
finds it easier to trust sinful human beings than to trust God, who
cannot betray us. God calls us to rest in Him: “Rest
in God alone, my soul,” the Responsorial Psalm says
today. God created us for Himself. He did not create us for
ourselves; He did not create us for the pleasures of this world. He
created us to be united to Him forever in perfect rest, to
behold Him face to face in the Beatific Vision.
Again Jesus
says, “Do not worry.”
It
is useless for one to work so hard from early morning until late
night, anxiously working for food to eat and clothes to wear, for God
gives rest to His loved ones. When we are worrying we are not
trusting in the providence of God. And what is providence of God? It
is the belief that God is in control of the universe. And
specifically as Christians, it means we believe there are no
accidents in our lives. Nothing touches us that has not passed
through His hands. What then
it requires of us today, is to leave all the matters in God’s
hands. We are a worrying people; we are a weak people; we are people
with fears; we are people with limitations; we all often fall and
falter in our struggle and meet with disappointments. We need God to
overcome all these. Without him we can do nothing and with him we can
do anything. Even if in the worst situation we may be in, he can
bring us out of it.
Let
us then today all come forward, put ourselves in God’s hands and
trust in his loving and care-taking providence. Let us bring all our
worries & concerns, difficulties & problems, pains &
sufferings, weaknesses & failures to God and offer them to him.
It is he, who knows our minds & hearts, our needs &
necessities – he will never disappoint us and will always do what
is the best for each one of us. “Blessed
is he who places his trust in the loving providence of God.” And
this is the Good news of today.
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