Faith Daily |18 June 2022

PRAYER of the DAY - APBA p 526

Father, we praise you,

that through your Word and Holy Spirit

you created all things;

you reveal your salvation in all the world

through Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh;

through your Holy Spirit you give us a share

in your life and love:

fill us with the vision of your glory,

that we may always serve and praise you,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

Amen

GOSPEL for the Day: Matthew 6: 24-34

24“No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

25“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26Look 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? 27And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? 28And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34“So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

GOSPEL REFLECTION: Pamela Davey

These passages continue Jesus’ teaching from his Sermon on the Mount. I think verse 24 gives you the gist of what follows.

Richard Rohr tells us that in Western societies, money and power still prevail through production and consumption. And marketing companies endorse this for us. So how do we pursue economic justice?

For me I am reminded in these passages of my appreciation of clothes, buying way more than I need (as my younger sister constantly reminds me – so I tend not to shop with her!). I am also reminded of the terrible waste of excess. I find the ending verse very comforting though, and a lot more manageable – take one day at a time.

FINAL PRAYER Michael Leunig

We simplify our lives.

We live gladly with less.

We let go the illusion that we can possess.

We create instead.

We let go the illusion of mobility.

We travel in stillness. We travel at home.

By candlelight and in stillness,

In the presence of flowers,

We make our pilgrimage.

We simplify our lives.

Amen.