Daily Readings - Sat Jun 23 2018

2 Chronicles

17Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah, and made obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened unto them.18And they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and served groves and idols: and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass.19Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the LORD; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear.20And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath also forsaken you.21And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the LORD.22Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, The LORD look upon it, and require it.23And it came to pass at the end of the year, that the host of Syria came up against him: and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people, and sent all the spoil of them unto the king of Damascus.24For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men, and the LORD delivered a very great host into their hand, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. So they executed judgment against Joash.25And when they were departed from him, (for they left him in great diseases,) his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and slew him on his bed, and he died: and they buried him in the city of David, but they buried him not in the sepulchres of the kings.

Matthew

24No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.25Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?26Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?27Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?28And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:29And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.30Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?31Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?32For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.34Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Sermon

The readings today offer us a powerful reflection on faith, trust, and the consequences of our choices. In the first reading from 2 Chronicles, we see the tragic story of King Joash, who, after the death of the priest Jehoiada, abandoned the Lord and led Judah into sin. Despite the warnings of the prophets, including the courageous Zechariah, who was stoned for speaking the truth, Joash and the people turned away from God. This led to their downfall, as they suffered at the hands of the Syrians and Joash himself was eventually assassinated. This story reminds us that when we forsake God, we lose the very foundation of our strength and stability. In the Gospel, Jesus teaches us about the importance of prioritizing God above all else. He warns us that we cannot serve two masters—God and wealth—and urges us not to be consumed by anxiety about material needs. Jesus uses the examples of the birds of the air and the lilies of the field to show how God provides for creation. He calls us to trust in God’s providence and to seek first the kingdom of God and his justice. This teaching is a direct response to the kind of spiritual emptiness and idolatry we see in the first reading. When we place our trust in God, we find true peace and freedom from the burdens of anxiety. These readings challenge us to examine our own lives. Are we like King Joash, allowing worldly influences to pull us away from God? Or are we like the birds of the air, trusting in God’s care? Jesus invites us to live with faith, to let go of our obsession with material security, and to seek a deeper relationship with him. Let us remember that true happiness and fulfillment come not from wealth or power, but from living in harmony with God’s will. May we, like the lilies of the field, grow in beauty and grace, trusting that God will provide for all our needs.