Roman Catholic
Psalm 62:2-3, 6-9
Isaiah 49:14-15
1Corinthians 4:1-5
Matthew 6:24-34
Revised Common
Psalm 131
Isaiah 49:8-16a
1Corinthians 4:1-5
Matthew 6:24-34
Episcopal Psalm 62 or Psalm 62:6-14
Isaiah 49:8-18
1Corinthians 4:1-5 (6-7) 8-13
Matthew 6:24-34
Do you see how close to identical all the readings are for today, regardless of which lectionary is being used? Across the entire dimension of mainline Christianity, everyone is hearing these same lessons.
You may say, “Well, what about the Psalm?” Interestingly, while the Roman Catholics and the Episcopalians use Psalm 62 and those who use the Revised Common Lectionary use Psalm 131, we can see that the theme of these two psalm readings is virtually identical.
Psalm 62 says “Rest in God alone, my soul.”
Psalm 131 says “Put your hope in the LORD both now and forevermore.”
So, if we are going to be in the least bit esoteric, we can see that these two psalms have virtually identical messages. And so, let us use this idea – turning everything over to God – as our theme for this celebration.
If leaving everything up to God or turning everything over to God is our theme, how do our readings for today manifest this?
The first reading from Isaiah includes that well-known passage where God speaks to Zion (as Zion was in the grips of despair), “Can a mother forget her child…? Even if she should forget, I will never forget you.”
Think for a moment about how powerful that passage really is. The Israelites were in despair but God picked them up and used a comparison they were all familiar with – the love of a woman for her child. Those people understood that. So do we today. Even women who have miscarried or who have had an abortion never forget that empty place at the table. We all know that. We have all seen it – not only in humans but also in animals. It is real!
And yet our God goes one step further and says that even if a woman would forget a lost child, our God would never forget us. Do we have any doubt about resting in God? Or putting our hope in God? Our God will never forget us – no matter what.
Let us look now at the second reading which is from First Corinthians. Here we are called to be servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Does this relate to the theme as we found in the Psalm? Indeed it does! Recall that the Psalm told us that we were to rest in God and put our hope in God. The Psalm was essentially telling us that nothing else mattered. And now, here in the reading from First Corinthians, we find we are called to be servants and stewards to this very God who has invited us to rest and in Isaiah has given us the most powerful imagery of being a God who would never and could never forget us.
What we see here then is that we are called to be servants and stewards to a God who will never forget us and will never abandon us. Our God asks only that we be faithful servants and stewards.
“Servant” and “steward” are interesting words. We do not immediately know what they mean. Oh, we all have an idea of a servant cleaning the house or cooking the dinner or running errands in or out of the house. The word “steward” is not used too much today but we all have a general idea that a steward is something like a servant. How can we do that?
If we are servants and stewards, especially in the ancient tradition, we were totally dependent on our master or mistress. We weren’t like today’s cleaning lady who comes in for a few hours and then goes home or today’s yard worker who takes care of your garden and shrubs according to a pre-determined schedule and then goes home.
If we are servants and stewards in the Biblical sense, we are dependent on our master or mistress. We wouldn’t be slaves but we wouldn’t have the flexible or rotating schedule that today’s servants and stewards have. Think of a hotel worker or someone on the cleaning crew at the hospital or someone who works for a catering company. Their lives are not totally enmeshed in the owner’s schedule. Not today anyway. But, is that what Jesus was saying? Let’s look at the Gospel and see if we can figure this out.
This Gospel from Matthew is a rather famous passage and it definitely brings everything together for us. Jesus tells us not to worry about what to eat, what to drink, or what to wear. Do you worry about what to eat? Hey, I do! I even worry about what my dogs are going to eat! Do you worry about what you are going to drink? Well, I am not quite as guilty on that one because I live in the city and there is always plenty of good water available – supposedly. But sometimes I do worry about whether or not I will be able to get a good cup of coffee. Have you ever been there?
And, what about worrying about what to wear? Anyone who has never been there in this day and age is clearly living in another world! We all have numerous choices in what we wear and yet we all still worry about what to wear.
But that is what this Gospel is all about! Jesus is telling us not to worry about what to eat, what to drink, or what to wear. We do it anyway! Can you picture Jesus smiling at his friends as he tells them how foolish they are for worrying about these mortal points? I can almost see Jesus smiling and shaking his head in wonderment at his friends’ attachment to the worldly life. Is Jesus smiling at you with that same sense of wonderment or disbelief? I am certain Jesus is smiling at me! I worry about these things all the time!
Jesus says we cannot serve God and our human foibles at the same time. We all know that on the surface. The question is, do we really know that in our hearts? If we read this Gospel carefully, we realize that Jesus is very serious about our not worrying about anything.
Now, let’s go back to our previous readings. Look at the Psalm theme – “Rest in God alone.” If we truly believe that God is supreme, how can we worry about food or drink or clothing if we are resting in God alone? We have no choice! Our God is our God! And, our God IS God! That includes all that being GOD means!
Isaiah reminds us that a mother cannot forget her child but that even if she does forget, our God will be there. How can we worry about food or drink or what we will wear if our God will not forget us – no matter what. We cannot worry about food or drink or clothing if our God will take care of us – even if our friends and relatives (even our mothers) may not be able to.
Think for a moment about the passage from First Corinthians. How can we be servants and stewards (particularly in the Biblical sense) if we are worrying about our food, drink, and clothing? Remember that the servants and stewards were generally under the will of the master. The servants and stewards depended on – or relied on – the master for these things. Today we are servants and stewards. We rely on Jesus. This is the same Jesus who told us not to worry about our food or drink or clothing. We all need to spend a moment with that idea. This is the same Jesus who told us in this same gospel that we cannot serve God and our possessions at the same time.
Our duty as Christians is to follow Christ. We do that by doing the next right thing in front of us, by resting in God, by hoping in God, by remembering that God loves us more than we could ever imagine, and that God will take absolute care of us at all times and always.
Do you see how close to identical all the readings are for today, regardless of which lectionary is being used? Across the entire dimension of mainline Christianity, everyone is hearing these same lessons.
You may say, “Well, what about the Psalm?” Interestingly, while the Roman Catholics and the Episcopalians use Psalm 62 and those who use the Revised Common Lectionary use Psalm 131, we can see that the theme of these two psalm readings is virtually identical.
Psalm 62 says “Rest in God alone, my soul.”
Psalm 131 says “Put your hope in the LORD both now and forevermore.”
So, if we are going to be in the least bit esoteric, we can see that these two psalms have virtually identical messages. And so, let us use this idea – turning everything over to God – as our theme for this celebration.
If leaving everything up to God or turning everything over to God is our theme, how do our readings for today manifest this?
The first reading from Isaiah includes that well-known passage where God speaks to Zion (as Zion was in the grips of despair), “Can a mother forget her child…? Even if she should forget, I will never forget you.”
Think for a moment about how powerful that passage really is. The Israelites were in despair but God picked them up and used a comparison they were all familiar with – the love of a woman for her child. Those people understood that. So do we today. Even women who have miscarried or who have had an abortion never forget that empty place at the table. We all know that. We have all seen it – not only in humans but also in animals. It is real!
And yet our God goes one step further and says that even if a woman would forget a lost child, our God would never forget us. Do we have any doubt about resting in God? Or putting our hope in God? Our God will never forget us – no matter what.
Let us look now at the second reading which is from First Corinthians. Here we are called to be servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Does this relate to the theme as we found in the Psalm? Indeed it does! Recall that the Psalm told us that we were to rest in God and put our hope in God. The Psalm was essentially telling us that nothing else mattered. And now, here in the reading from First Corinthians, we find we are called to be servants and stewards to this very God who has invited us to rest and in Isaiah has given us the most powerful imagery of being a God who would never and could never forget us.
What we see here then is that we are called to be servants and stewards to a God who will never forget us and will never abandon us. Our God asks only that we be faithful servants and stewards.
“Servant” and “steward” are interesting words. We do not immediately know what they mean. Oh, we all have an idea of a servant cleaning the house or cooking the dinner or running errands in or out of the house. The word “steward” is not used too much today but we all have a general idea that a steward is something like a servant. How can we do that?
If we are servants and stewards, especially in the ancient tradition, we were totally dependent on our master or mistress. We weren’t like today’s cleaning lady who comes in for a few hours and then goes home or today’s yard worker who takes care of your garden and shrubs according to a pre-determined schedule and then goes home.
If we are servants and stewards in the Biblical sense, we are dependent on our master or mistress. We wouldn’t be slaves but we wouldn’t have the flexible or rotating schedule that today’s servants and stewards have. Think of a hotel worker or someone on the cleaning crew at the hospital or someone who works for a catering company. Their lives are not totally enmeshed in the owner’s schedule. Not today anyway. But, is that what Jesus was saying? Let’s look at the Gospel and see if we can figure this out.
This Gospel from Matthew is a rather famous passage and it definitely brings everything together for us. Jesus tells us not to worry about what to eat, what to drink, or what to wear. Do you worry about what to eat? Hey, I do! I even worry about what my dogs are going to eat! Do you worry about what you are going to drink? Well, I am not quite as guilty on that one because I live in the city and there is always plenty of good water available – supposedly. But sometimes I do worry about whether or not I will be able to get a good cup of coffee. Have you ever been there?
And, what about worrying about what to wear? Anyone who has never been there in this day and age is clearly living in another world! We all have numerous choices in what we wear and yet we all still worry about what to wear.
But that is what this Gospel is all about! Jesus is telling us not to worry about what to eat, what to drink, or what to wear. We do it anyway! Can you picture Jesus smiling at his friends as he tells them how foolish they are for worrying about these mortal points? I can almost see Jesus smiling and shaking his head in wonderment at his friends’ attachment to the worldly life. Is Jesus smiling at you with that same sense of wonderment or disbelief? I am certain Jesus is smiling at me! I worry about these things all the time!
Jesus says we cannot serve God and our human foibles at the same time. We all know that on the surface. The question is, do we really know that in our hearts? If we read this Gospel carefully, we realize that Jesus is very serious about our not worrying about anything.
Now, let’s go back to our previous readings. Look at the Psalm theme – “Rest in God alone.” If we truly believe that God is supreme, how can we worry about food or drink or clothing if we are resting in God alone? We have no choice! Our God is our God! And, our God IS God! That includes all that being GOD means!
Isaiah reminds us that a mother cannot forget her child but that even if she does forget, our God will be there. How can we worry about food or drink or what we will wear if our God will not forget us – no matter what. We cannot worry about food or drink or clothing if our God will take care of us – even if our friends and relatives (even our mothers) may not be able to.
Think for a moment about the passage from First Corinthians. How can we be servants and stewards (particularly in the Biblical sense) if we are worrying about our food, drink, and clothing? Remember that the servants and stewards were generally under the will of the master. The servants and stewards depended on – or relied on – the master for these things. Today we are servants and stewards. We rely on Jesus. This is the same Jesus who told us not to worry about our food or drink or clothing. We all need to spend a moment with that idea. This is the same Jesus who told us in this same gospel that we cannot serve God and our possessions at the same time.
Our duty as Christians is to follow Christ. We do that by doing the next right thing in front of us, by resting in God, by hoping in God, by remembering that God loves us more than we could ever imagine, and that God will take absolute care of us at all times and always.
Roberta Meehan, RCWP
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