“Do not worry about your life.”

Readings for Sunday February 27, 2011

Eighth Week in Ordinary Time




Have you ever noticed how anxiety can be a trap? Anticipating some vague danger, we feel apprehensive, tense, uneasy. We may worry about sinning, about doing something wrong, or even about doing something imperfectly. Whenever we feel this way, Jesus says two things to us: “Be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect” and “Do not worry” (Matthew 5:48; 6:25).
Actually, these two commands belong together. Because we can’t become perfect ourselves, we have no choice but to surrender to Jesus and let him perfect us according to his wisdom and his timing. And that act of surrender frees us from worry. God has us in the palm of his hands, and he will work all things for our good so long as we try our best to love and honor him (Romans 8:28). All we have to do is live in the present, trying to stay close to our Father.
Many of us feel a great burden to care for our loved ones. We come up against the sad truth that we don’t have all it takes to do the job. We can’t shield them from every sin. We can’t prevent every sickness or injury. And we certainly can’t stop death. And so we start to worry.
How liberating, then, to know that people’s well-being doesn’t depend only on us! What a relief to know that God is at work in their lives—oftentimes invisibly—to provide for them and make up for what we lack. Anxiety doesn’t have to gnaw at us, draining us of our hope and depriving us of our joy. We are all children of the Father, and he will let no one slip through his hands.
Jesus faced many challenges, but he never let anxiety get the better of him. He simply put everything into his Father’s hands. We can do the same. Take a minute right now to identify the situations that trouble you the most. Then hand them over to the One who can handle them perfectly.

In the meditation, we hear these words: “Jesus faced many challenges, but he never let anxiety get the better of him. He simply put everything into his Father’s hands. We can do the same. Take a minute right now to identify the situations that trouble you the most. Then hand them over to the One who can handle them perfectly.” (Matthew 5:44-45). What situations in your life trouble you the most? What are the obstacles that keep you from truly handing them over “to the One who can handle them perfectly”?

The Word Among Us 2-27-11

Reading 1 Isaiah 49:14-15

14 Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me; my LORD has forgotten me.” 15 Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you. 1.In the first reading the Lord tells us, with very tender words, that he will never forsake us or forget us.” These words also remind us of the Lord’s words quoted in Hebrews 13:5, “I will never forsake you or abandon you.” How easy is it for you to lose sight of these words when you are experiencing a difficult situation?

Reading 2 1 Corinthians 4:1-5

1 Brothers and sisters: Thus should one regard us: as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Now it is of course required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. 3 It does not concern me in the least that I be judged by you or any human tribunal; I do not even pass judgment on myself; 4 I am not conscious of anything against me, but I do not thereby stand acquitted; the one who judges me is the Lord. 5 Therefore do not make any judgment before the appointed time, until the Lord comes, for he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will manifest the motives of our hearts, and then everyone will receive praise from God.
1.In the second reading, St. Paul tells us that we should be regarded as “servants of Christ and stewards of his mysteries” and that we should be “found trustworthy.” What do you think these words mean? How “trustworthy” are you as a steward of the “mysteries” of God?

Gospel Matthew 6:24-34

24 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. 25 “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? 26 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? 27 Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? 28 Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. 29 But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. 30 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? 31 So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink? ‘Or ‘What are we to wear?’ 32 All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. 34 Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.”

Discussion Questions:

1.What is ‘mammon’? Why would Jesus say it is impossible to serve both God and mammon?

2.Jesus tells His listeners to avoid the things the pagans seek. How do people seek these things today? Give examples.

3.If today your life was free from worry, what would it look like? Describe. How can Jesus help us to overcome worry in our lives?

4.In the Gospel reading, Jesus tells us not to worry about what we have and don’t have or what will happen in the future. Rather he says to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.” What steps can you take to do this each day?

5. Take some time to pray that you would surrender your deepest anxieties and worries to the Lord, trusting in his great love for you. Use the prayer at the end of the meditation as the starting point.