Eleventh Week of Ordinary Time
22nd June 2024 (Saturday)
Psalter: Week 3
Reading of the Day
First Reading: 2 Chronicles 24:17-25
After the death of Jehoiada the princes of Judah came and paid homage to the king. Then the king listened to them. And they abandoned the house of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols. And wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs. Yet he sent prophets among them to bring them back to the Lord. These testified against them, but they would not pay attention.Then the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God, ‘Why do you break the commandments of the Lord, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken you.’” But they conspired against him, and by command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the Lord. Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness that Jehoiada, Zechariah’s father, had shown him, but killed his son. And when he was dying, he said, “May the Lord see and avenge!” At the end of the year the army of the Syrians came up against Joash. They came to Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus. Though the army of the Syrians had come with few men, the Lord delivered into their hand a very great army, because Judah had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers. Thus they executed judgment on Joash. When they had departed from him, leaving him severely wounded, his servants conspired against him because of the blood of the son of Jehoiada the priest, and killed him on his bed. So he died, and they buried him in the city of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings.
Psalm 89:4-5, 29-30, 31-32, 33-34 (R. 29a)
R/. I will keep my faithful love for him always.
Gospel Acclamation
V/. Alleluia
R/. Alleluia
V/. Though Jesus Christ was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich
R/. Alleluia.
Gospel : Matthew 6:24-34
At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 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 which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Daily Gospel Reflection
Saturday – Eleventh Week of Ordinary Time
Guidelines: Whenever man abandons God and His ways and breaks His commandments and runs after other things of the world, the modern ‘deities’, tension, and destruction await him
1. Double-mindedness is a dominant feature of modern society. In the light of Jesus’ teaching in the gospel, to be double-minded is to “serve two masters”, namely, God and money. Many try to do this; they try to stuff the same plate with both the spiritual and unspiritual and swallow both.
2. They say that they are prudent, discerning, adjusting, and judicious. But actually, they are only compromising. This is how Joash, the king of Israel acted. In the course of time, he totally forgets how God brought him to the throne, and how He assisted him in his reign. He easily turns to the idols; abandons the house of the Lord; breaks the commandments of the Lord and forsakes Him. He puts to death Zechariah who rebukes him. Finally, he reaps the fruit of his evil by getting killed by his own servants in a conspiracy.
3. Therefore, what is clear is that God and the world cannot be put on the same level. Priority to God and spiritual concerns can never be compromised by any other interest or pursuit. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and then all the rest.
4. We know that living on this earth, certainly there are different needs and difficulties. So, it is natural that every now and then, we become afraid, worried, and anxious. We understand this fact and we accept that no one can be totally free from all worry and anxiety. God also does not expect it. But what He wants us is not to be easily and too worried over even silly or worthless things.
5. Concerns like food, clothes, and shelter are needs but there is no need to be over-anxious. How do we check this excessive worry? First, deepen our trust in the unfailing providential care of the Lord. He who takes care of even the birds or the flowers will certainly take care of us, who are far more precious. Life is more valuable and important than all the needs and problems.
6. Secondly, it is no use to worry because it solves nothing and resolves nothing. In Jesus’ own words, “Which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to the span of life?” Thirdly, discern and clarify the scale of priorities. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and then all the rest.
Practice: Anxiety has become a great syndrome and disease of modern society. Along with the many blessings, this also comes as complementary in the same package. Am I also infected by the same virus? Is it because of my confusion about priorities? Is it because of the lack of primacy to God and the spiritual?
