8th Sun OT, Year A
Fr. Albert
St. Peter Catholic Church, New Iberia
Do you exist? Then God loves you. God is the source of existence and God is Love. If you exist, it is because God loves you. And if God loves you, he wants to provide for what you really need and he wants you to be happy. The next time you hear that gnawing question in your heart: does God love me? Will God provide for me? Answer it with this question, do I exist? The answer to that q is the answer to the others.
And the answer to these questions, of course, is yes. So why do you worry? Food, drink, and clothing – not only do we worry about these things, we like to lengthen that list: Netflix, vacations, video games, and fancy cars – all the joys that money can buy. These things the pagans seek. They make slaves out of us, and we are glad to be such. To the idol that is money, the false god that is security we say “Take my time, my energy, my thoughts, and all the affection of my heart if only you will give me wealth, or beauty, or power.”
But, a man’s gotta eat! The Lord knows that’s true. “People should work if they wanna make a living.” Right again! Even a quick look through scripture and you’ll find that God firmly agrees that we need to be responsible, that we need to work hard, that we need to do our fair share. Still, no one can serve two masters. It is one thing to take care of business, it is quite another to worship it.
While most people don’t literally fall to their knees and bow before their paycheck, many nonetheless worship it. Human beings are designed to worship. All human beings are always worshipping something, even if they don’t realize it. “Wherever your treasure is, there will be your heart also.” Where does your mind go when it is quiet? What rests upon your mind in the evening and what prods it awake in the morning? Sometimes it’s as simple as looking at your calendar and your checkbook to see what matters most, but the clearest sign is what concerns you.
“Do not worry.” Three times Jesus gives this command; probably one of the hardest for human beings to follow. How can we not worry? Won’t telling me not to worry make me worry about worrying? How do I stop? Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. And how to do that? Fortunately for us, we are about to enter the best season for learning just that.
Lent: that time of year for a second New Year’s resolution; the chance to finally start that diet; the annual “who is tougher” competition. It can easily become all of these things, but the point, as always, is our relationship with the eternal triune God. And just as there are three persons in the one God, there are three primary practices we use during Lent to grow closer to that God. Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. And these three practices attack the heart of the problem that Jesus warns us of today.
Prayer is fundamental to the trust that undercuts worry. Like all human trust, trusting in God requires honest communication. When calling us to pray, Christ and his Church are not merely asking us to recite a set of words that we learned as children. No, they are inviting us to a genuine communication with our Creator. These memorized prayers are extremely useful because they often give voice to things we would not know how to express otherwise. These formulas can teach us how to ask for what we want even when we are not yet sure. And they also keep us mindful of just what it is that we believe. But of course, communicating with God means listening to him as well. Listening for his voice in scripture, in silence, and in spiritual reading are all valuable forms of prayer. And then there is that blessed gift of simply spending time with those you love. Genuine friends, a tried and true married couple – these can share each other’s company and find reassurance and trust in recognizing that the other is happy simply to be there with them. How will you deepen your trust and communication with God this Lent?
Fasting. Fasting is an essential practice for Christians. In truth, a Christian ought to practice some form of fasting all year long. In Lent, however, we make a special and conscious effort. Some people turn Lent into diet. I caution you against that. If you try to serve both your appearance and your God, you will fall into that trap of trying to serve two masters. Give Lent some careful thought in light of Christ’s warning to us today. What in my life occupies too much of my interest or concern? Am in fact too eager for a certain food or drink? Do my thoughts constantly go toward what I will wear? Am I always anxious about finding time to spend on television or the internet? Give up those things. Fasting helps us to detach from those things at the level of experience. By forcing ourselves to experience the absence of something we are attached to, we can begin to see that it’s not the end of the world. We can say to our hearts “see, we can survive without this, turn to God and his kingdom instead.”
And then there is almsgiving. Typically, fasting and almsgiving go together. You give up a meal or a luxury and give it, or the money for it, to someone in need. In a modern context, you could cancel an entertainment subscription to put that money toward a better cause. Or perhaps do the same with drinks and desserts. Nonetheless, we are still called to make an extra effort at generosity. This practice cuts directly at the temptation to serve mammon, to serve the idol of money. If we are willing to give away our money without any reward or recognition, it just doesn’t seem worthwhile to give our hearts to making that money. But notice that qualifier there: without reward or recognition. In this same chapter, Jesus says to “not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” So, be creative about not calling attention to yourself. If someone happens to realize that you are making a donation, do not worry about it, just be extra careful not to look for that attention.
Ultimately, what Jesus is after is not absent-mindedness, but whole-heartedness. Two men can have the same job and the same problems, but be on opposite sides of fulfilling God’s commands here. A holy person can still work hard and make decent money, but they do it for the love of God – as if they are working to please God and it just so happens that their work makes them money. Do not fall into the trap that Satan has so successfully sprung on many Americans. Do not fall for the lie that you can serve God after you get your life together, after you are financially secure. You will never be secure in this world, so don’t worry about it. Take life one day at a time. God doesn’t want you to serve him and his kingdom some time in the future, but right now. If you are well off, let your soul rest in gratitude to God. If you are in trial, let your heart rest on the cross with Christ.
Do not worry about tomorrow, for sufficient for a day is its own evil. Will God care for me tomorrow? Does he care for me now? I don’t know, do you exist?