8th Sunday Cycle A

Cycle A 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Is. 49:14-15; 1 Cor. 4:1-5; Mt. 6:24-34

John Hay’s poem the enchanted shirt humorously describes the nature of human beings to always indulge in worries. There was a king, who thought that he was sick, though he was very healthy and he ate and drank heartily; and enjoyed a peaceful sleep. Since the king said that he was sick , many doctors came to examine him. As they were not able to drive his worry away he executed them. Finally two doctors came, one genuine and dedicated to his work, but the other was a crook. Both of them examined the king. The first said that the king was as sound as a nut. The king was displeased and ordered him to be executed. The other doctor grew pale at the judgment, thought for a while , and said that the king would be well if he slept in the shirt of a happy man. Soldiers rode far and wide in search of a happy man. Every day they sent report to the king. They found poor men who would fain be rich, and rich who thought they were poor. They saw two men by the roadside, and both bemoaned their lot. One was sad because his wife died, and the other was sad because his wife did not die. At last the soldiers saw a beggar who was very happy. They requested him to lend his shirt to the king for a day. He laughed at this request, because he had no shirt at all. Everyday the news of the sad panorama of human woes passed under his eyes. And he was ashamed of his useless life. He went out and toiled. Then the Kingdom prospered, people became happy, and the King drew satisfaction from his life.

In a recent survey reported in Reuters, via MSNBC, 90% of the respondents said that they were worried how well prepared they were for retirement. Between 20 and 30 percent of all Americans will live today under significant stress. Thirteen million will worry intensely for at least 90 minutes. It may be about our marriages, children, jobs, mortgages, health, grades, friends or a host of other issues. Whatever the source, worry is an emotion with which all of us are familiar and which 27 percent of us experience virtually on a daily basis. (Statistics taken from American Demographics and MD Magazine, p 28). But 60% of our worries are unwarranted; 20% have already become past activities and are completely out of our control; 10% are so petty that they don't make any difference at all. Of the remaining 10% only 4 to 5% are real and justifiable, and we can't do anything about half of those. So our worries are baseless.

My dear friends, today’s first reading tells us that we need not worry about tomorrow, because God assures us that “even if a woman forgets her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb, God will not forget His children." [Is. 49:14-15] "I will not forget you" says the Lord God. Here, perhaps, is the most touching expression of Divine love in the entire Bible.

The message of the Gospel, too, is the same "Do not worry."

The late Bishop Ernest Fitzgerald used to tell about a man he knew years ago who lived in one of the isolated corners of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Life was hard, and every day his little hillside farm was at the mercy of drought, wind, or cold. Yet he was about the most serene and deeply contented man Bishop Fitzgerald had ever known. So he asked the old mountaineer one day if he had ever had any troubles and if he had ever spent sleepless nights. "Sure, I've had my troubles," he said, "but no sleepless nights. When I go to bed I say, 'Lord, you have to sit up all night anyway. There's no point in both of us losing sleep. You look after things tonight and when tomorrow comes, I'll do the best I can to help you.'" [David J. Schlafer, What Makes This Day Different? (Boston, MA: Cowley Publications, 1998), p. 123.]Jesus taught His disciples,"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” We should not be concerned too much about anything, not to be uneasy about what might happen, and we should avoid anxious care. “Do not worry if you have built your castles in the air. They are where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” Wrote Thoreau.

If one places his trust in Divine Providence, he has no worries. But if he does not trust in God to provide for his future, then he begins to stockpile anything and everything which he believes will benefit him in the future. Such is a false sense of security. Jesus taught them giving examples from nature. He said, “Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?”

The example of the birds tells that one’s anxiety should not exceed the labor that is required to secure subsistence. It is not the use of the necessities of life that is discouraged, but the accumulation of goods. Accumulation of goods does not prolong the life of the owner as much as a cubit. Leo F Bauscaglia wrote “Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.”

Hence, Jesus taught, “Do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?’ or “What will we drink?’ or “What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

One day the German mystic Johann Tauler met a beggar “God give you a good day, my friend,” he said. The beggar answered, “I thank God I never had a bad one.” Then Tauler said, “God give you a happy life, my friend.” “I thank God,” said the beggar, “I am never unhappy.” Tauler then said in amazement, “What do you mean?” “Well,” said the beggar, “when it is fine, I thank God. When it rains, I thank God. When I have plenty I thank God. When I am hungry I thank God. And since God’s will is my will, and whatever pleases him pleases me, why should I say I am unhappy when I am not?” Tauler looked at the man in astonishment, “Who are you?” he asked. “I am a king,” said the beggar. “Where, then, is your kingdom?” asked Tauler. The beggar replied quietly, “In my heart.” [Quoted in Michael Green, Matthew (Waco, TX: Word, 1988), p. 86]

Today, Jesus reminds us that we are more important than flowers, than the grass, than swallows. His promise to us is that He will take care of us even more than He does of the plants and birds.

Satish

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