In the middle of the sermon of the mount, Jesus gives a beautiful monologue about Divine Providence.
This passage is not suggesting that we forego ordinary measures -- that is, toiling by the sweat of our brow and the work of our hands, or minds, etc -- for obtaining our daily bread, for this much we merit by original sin. As Augustine puts it, we are to take the sufferings of the day as given to us as "God's soldier." Rather than avoiding our duty and testing God, we are instructed not to worry about these necessities so that we might not become their slave and hence a bad soldier.
Jesus uses two types of arguments to communicate the value of a child of God. He first argues from the greater to the less: "Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?" Then he argues from the less to the greater: "Look at the birds in the sky...are not you more important than they?" In other words, God will take care of man as he values man and man's destiny more than birds and flowers. Indeed, not only is God a provident Father, but he is also a lover to our souls. The Song of Song references to the beloved being found among the lilies, and being "as a lily among the thistles" (Song of Song 2:2). The Church is also the place of lilies. Through the Church, God looks at us with superabundant charity, giving us the tradition, the Son of God, the sacraments, the Christian witnesses who look on us with charity. And through everything (including our toil) God is jumping down at the chance to provide for our every need, because He is our Father and our Lover, and he values us as the pinnacle of his creation. "Strong is his love for us; he is faithful for ever" (Psalm 117: 2). Everything is a gift from Him! Praise Him!
So what should we focus our energies on? "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and these things will be given you besides." What does it mean to seek first the kingdom and his righteousness? It means to seek true life. "Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you" (Jn 6:27). And later he says, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger" (35). Food for Jesus is also to do the work of the one who sent him. So our food too can be to participate in God's saving plan of righteousness, becoming members of the body of Christ, weaving networks of charity out in the world. At the root of much poverty is an isolation from community. Lets take out that root as God's servants.
Lord, help us to bear the sufferings that must necessarily come to us, especially through our daily work, and to use those sufferings to be God's soldier and prepare our soul for true life. Provide for our needs - from the need for truth to the need for food - sometimes through our God given abilities, always through a gift. Help us to realize that we are in God's hands, with nothing to lose but our slaveries.
Mary, comforter of the troubled, give us Your trust in God's faithfulness, that he will respond to the needs he has created. Help us to live our days in peace, that is, in the presence of God. Help us to become more like God in charity, providing for the needs of our neighbor.
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