Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A
February 26, 2017
Gospel: Mt 6:24-34
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 (1).
"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? Look at the birds in
the sky; they do not sow (2) or reap (3), they gather nothing into barns, yet your
heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of
you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? Why are you anxious
about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin (4).
But I tell you that not even Solomon (5) in all his splendor was clothed like one
of them. 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? So do not worry and say, 'What are we to eat?' or 'What are we to
drink?'or 'What are we to wear?' All these things the pagans (6) seek. Your heavenly Father knows
that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness
(7), and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about
tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient (8) for a day is its own evil."
http://www.usccb.org
The difficult words
(1)Mammon is wealth and greediness.
(2)To sow means to plant seeds.
(3)To reap means to harvest crops.
(4)To spin means to make yarn for knitting clothing.
(5)Solomon was the wisest and wealthiest king of Israel.
(6)Pagans are those who worship false gods, or no god at all.
(7)Righteousness means living in a way that is pleasing to God.
(8)Sufficient means enough.
This week’s spotlight
First things first
A wise person knows how to keep priorities straight,
to keep first things first. That's why Jesus says, “Seek first the kingdom of
God and his righteousness.” Friends, vacations, sports, and even video games
can seem more important than Mass and prayer. Don't be fooled. If God is first
in our hearts, everything else will go better.
Jesus said: "You cannot serve God and mammon.’That
does not mean that money is evil. We need money to survive. It means that we
must not let money control our lives. Our lives belong to God, and we trust that
he will take care of us. The world tells us that having more money will make us
happy; that riches will get us what we want. The truth is, as Saint John Chrysostom
tells us, “the one who loves money never has enough money.” Greed can destroy friendships.
Generosity, however; can take away sins.
Reflection
I will never forget you
Have you ever been lost? Being lost is
scary and sad. it can feel like you’ve been forgotten and no one really cares.
You can worry that you will never get home, or that you will starve in a
strange place. You may have been surprised to discover that you were not
forgotten, and that your parents were so happy and relieved to find you. In a
certain sense, the whole human family got lost in sin. We couldn’t find our way
home to heaven. God did not forget us. He sent Jesus to look for us and to show
us the way home. Jesus tells us today that the Father knows that we worry about
things, but he wants to take care of us. All we have to do is let ourselves be
found. So, don’t hide in worry and fear. Live today trusting that God knows
your needs, and will never forget you.
Discussion questions
1.What does Jesus tell us about God’s creation?
2.Why does Jesus say that we should not worry?
3.What will happen if we depend on God’s love for us?
After
receiving Holy Communion,
you can say this prayer silently to yourself. If you
have not yet
received your First Communion, you can still say this prayer because of your desire to
receive Jesus.
Father, through Jesus, in
communion with the whole Church, I thank you for coming into my heart. I trust
that you will always take care of my family. You are the treasure of my heart.
This week…
I
will never forget you
Isaiah tells us that God will
never forget us. This week, try to remember God. Stop to think about God once
today, twice on Monday, three times on Tuesday, and so on throughout the week.
Be trustworthy
Saint Paul tells us to think of him as a trustworthy
steward of God. Are you a trustworthy person? This week, try to prove that you
are trustworthy by keeping your promises, doing your chores and assignments,
and showing up on time for things.
Puzzle
Source: usccb.org
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