First Reading: 2 Chr 24:17-25
Psalm: Ps 89:4-5, 29-30, 31-32, 33-34
Forever I will maintain my love for my servant.
Gospel: Mt 6:24-34
Sat: Ordinary Weekday/ BVM
2 Chr 24: 17-25/ Ps 89: 4-5. 29-30. 31-32. 33-34/ Mt 6: 24-34
1st Reading: 2 Chr 24:17-25
After the death of Jehoiada, the officials of Judah came to pay court to the king, and the king now turned to them for advice. The Judaeans abandoned the house of Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, and worshiped the Asherah poles and idols. Because of this sinful activity, God was angry with Judah and Jerusalem. He sent them prophets to bring them back to Yahweh, but when the prophets spoke, they would not listen. The spirit of God took control of Zechariah, son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood up before the people and said, “God says this: Why are you disobeying the commandments of Yahweh? You cannot prosper. You have abandoned Yahweh and he will abandon you.” They then plotted against him and, by order of the king, stoned him in the court of Yahweh’s house. King Joash forgot the kindness of Jehoiada, the father of Zechariah, and killed Jehoiada’s son who cried out as he died, “Let Yahweh see and do justice!”
When a year had gone by, the Aramaean army made war on Joash. They reached Judah and Jerusalem, and killed all the officials among the people, sending back to the king of Damascus all that they had plundered from them. Though the Aramaean army was small, Yahweh delivered into its power an army of great size for they had abandoned him, the God of their ancestors.
The Aramaeans wounded Joash and when they withdrew they left him a very sick man; and his officers, plotting against him to avenge the death of the son of Jehoiada the priest, murdered him in his bed. So he died, and they buried him in the city of David, though not in the tombs of the king.
Responsorial Psalm; Ps 89:4-5, 29-30, 31-32, 33-34
Forever I will maintain my love for my servant.
Gospel: Mt 6:24-34
No one can serve two masters; for he will either hate one and love the other; or he will be loyal to the first and look down on the second. You cannot, at the same time, serve God and money.
Therefore, I tell you, not to be worried about food and drink for yourself, or about clothes for your body. Is not life more important than food; and is not the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow, they do not harvest, and do not store food in barns; and yet, your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not less worthy than they are?
Can any of you add a day to your life by worrying about it? Why are you so worried about your clothes? Look at how the
flowers in the fields grow. They do not toil or spin. But I tell you, that not even Solomon, in all his glory, was clothed like one of these. If God so clothes the grass in the field, which blooms today and is to be burned in an oven tomorrow, how much more will he clothe you? What little faith you have!
Do not worry, and say: What are we going to eat? What are we going to drink? or: What shall we wear? The pagans busy themselves with such things; but your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. Set your heart, first, on the kingdom and righteousness of God; and all these things will also be given to you. Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Reflection:
Worry vs Trust
Worrying does help—for 95% of the things that we worry about do not happen! It is as if our worrying about them has such magical effect on them that those events disappear! But the problem is: worry, our magical solution to making them disappear, leaves us with ulcer in the stomach and a high blood pressure! The only effective way to get rid of our worries is to learn to trust. In fact, psychologist Eric Erikson marked “basic trust” which develops (or fails to develop) in the initial years of our life on earth as fundamental to our well-being through our entire life span. We can also add on to this initial trust capital by modelling our life after that of Christ: He hardly worried about anything, for he totally trusted the will of the Father. Did it make his problems disappear? No, each day brought enough troubles for him as well. But he faced them with faith and trust in the Father’s love and providence.