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February 27, 2017The Gospel asks the great question of “why worry?” The wildflowers don’t worry. The birds don’t worry. Why should we? If God cares for them, why would God not equally care for us who are made in the image and likeness of God? The Isaiah text from the first Scripture reading speaks of God’s tenderness as like that of a mother towards an infant.
Why worry? The answer to this is easier said than done? Parents worry about their children making good choices in life. We worry about our own health and the health of the people we love. We worry and wonder about our country and the politics of our country. Young people worry about career choices and who they are going to live their life with.
I worry when so many people tell me: “Father. I am not spiritual but not religious.” What does that mean? I believe in God but this Church doesn’t touch my soul. Can you really be spiritual without belonging to a community of faith with all its messiness but with many people who love you and seek to be loved by you and so discover God’s presence in our midst?
Another worry is what many of us have what is called “tragedy fatigue.” We can’t even remember the latest horrific event given how frequently these tragedies occur. The sad outcome is this: we forget the awesome tenderness of God towards us.
The commandment that Jesus gives us today is: Thou shalt not worry. If we take this commandment of Jesus to heart, what happens to your anxiety about your children, your anxiety that you will not get what you need for yourself and for your family, your worry about a sick relative, your worry about what the future holds for you?
The Scriptures invite us to ask the question: what worries do you need Jesus to take from you? Can you identify a particular worry that is close to your heart that, with God’s grace, you can turn it over to the merciful love of Jesus?
Again, from the first Scripture reading: “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.”
As we reflect on that basic Gospel question: “Why worry?” We also ask: What kind of God is God? What do we expect God to do for us?
I am puzzled and dismayed by preachers who project God as vengeful, full of anger, and ever ready to punish at every opportunity. Now I was born at night but not last night. I have come to recognize that we can find whatever version of God we want to find in the Bible. The devil can quote Scriptures for his own purposes. But this I know: Jesus did not come down from heaven to reveal a vengeful God. God did not make us for his wrath. He made us for His love. God cares for what God creates – the birds of the air, the lilies of the field, and, most of all, you and I. This is the God who is the true North Star of our lives.
An eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth is an expression that was found in the cultures surrounding the Jews in the time of Jesus. This kind of retribution is not in God’s thinking. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth is clearly not found in the heart of Jesus. He is interested, very interested, in finding that we treasure His love in our hearts and that we are willing to forego the attractions of this world in order to secure “the pearl of great price.”
Yes, repentance and reconciliation are many times necessary for us to return to union with God in our hearts and souls. This is the profound meaning of the Lenten journey of encountering Christ. But when it comes to repenting, we need not fear. His heart calls to our heart, “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even if she should forget, I, God declares, will never forget you.”
Yes, we need to make good choices and seek first the kingdom of God. Jesus tells us that spiritually multi-tasking is not a good idea. The Lord wants our undivided hearts free of the daily preoccupations of life that cause to lose our centeredness in God.
How easy it is to become a slave of what we own -- even if is only a cell phone. We are all caught up in the devious attraction of spiritual multi-tasking. Our hearts desire to be faithful to seeking first the kingdom of God but the lure of the good life of success, of pleasure, of power, and prestige entice us. You will notice that after proclaiming the Gospel telling us not to worry about what we are to wear and what are to eat, that God will provide us, I did not then suggest we skip the collection this week.
Yes, we live in a material world but we are not to become slaves we what we own. What we have been given, we have given to share. But we all are tempted to make idols out of the mammon of this world. We like to be comfortable, don’t you know, and we all are capable of becoming a slave to what we own.
The season of Lent provides us with the opportunity to do a spiritual inventory of what are the important values of our life. We need to honestly ask the question: What is God’s plan for my life? What does God expect of us?
To draw a focus on how to answer the big questions of life. I invite you to meditate on the faith journey of St John of the Cross. After he struggled with the Dark Night of the Soul in his writings and in his life, he profoundly said: “In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone.
Have a blessed day.
