Today’s Gospel theme is worry and anxiety. The Greek verb in ‘do not be anxious‘ is merimnate, used also in Philippians 4:6, ‘Have no anxiety about anything.’ God gave us life and our body, so he will give us the lesser gifts of food and clothing, and therefore anxiety is unnecessary. We are all prone to worry, to a greater or lesser extent, but it robs us of the peace of Christ. The basis of our anxiety is that we lack faith. Jesus’ teaching here gives us several reasons why we should not worry: with worry we miss the point of life, which is far more important than things such as food, drink and clothing; worry makes little sense for if God feeds the birds, surely he will not let us go hungry; and worry is a waste of time because it will never lengthen our lives. Indeed, worry can make us ill, shortening our lives. There are enough problems today without worrying about tomorrow!
The answer to worry is to ‘seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness.’ We need to change our priorities and seek to uphold God’s standards. Through God’s grace we can grow in our understanding of his love and become more conscious that he cares for us.