You cannot, at the same time, serve God and money. Therefore, I tell you, not to be worried
about food anddrink 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.

Reflect

“Do not worry.” Negativity breeds in anxiety. Anxiety characterizes our present time. Worries
stress us out day in and day out. At times, our energy is consumed by getting worried for a
longer period of time rather than finding appropriate solutions to the problems we are facing.
Let us continue to learn from Jesus who always takes away our distress and anxiety. Today’s
Gospel, still from the teachings found in the Sermon on the Mount, gives us a wellspring of
positivity on how to deal with life. Jesus teaches us the lesson which challenges us to depend
on God’s divine providence. Life, at the end of the day, is God’s gift. It is also God who
sustains and nourishes this God-given life. Problems and trials are inevitable but they can
always be faced and dealt with serenity and grace coming from God whose divine providence
never fails. In Jesus’ teaching, we are called to take inspiration from the birds of the air and the
lilies of the field. The birds that neither sow, harvest nor store food in barns are being taken
care of by God. The flowers in the field that neither toil nor spin are clothed by God. Why then
should we worry?

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