3rd Sunday After Pentecost

(Matthew 6:22–33)

In today’s Holy Gospel we hear the words of our Lord Jesus Christ in which He exhorts us toward a complete and perfect trust in God, our loving Father. He implores us to not worry about things… what we shall eat or what we shall wear – all of those material concerns that can so completely eclipse our life and preoccupy us with stress and anxiety over things. And what does our worrying about things solve? Absolutely nothing… worrying is entirely wrapped up in our thoughts; it has no positive bearing on the outcome of things.  

Worries stem from fear and from our false perception of control over all aspects of our lives. They demonstrate our lack of trust in God. Instead of worrying and tying ourselves in knots, we need to pray and we need to trust.

Indeed, the final words of today’s Gospel reading are a distillation and perfect summary of the spiritual life – we must ‘seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all things will be added unto us’.

If our eyes are focused toward God, toward the perspective of eternity and of the disposition and health of our soul; then we will not get so thrown off balance when things unexpected or troubling or even tragic occur in our life. We read in today’s Gospel: ‘The Lord said: “The lamp of the body is the eye.  If therefore your eye is pure, your whole body will be full of light.   But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.”’

What does this mean?... It is addressing this issue of the focus and the disposition of our soul. If we keep our eye on God, if we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, then our whole experience of things may be full of light. We can see things in a positive way; assuming the best of others and wishing goodness toward all. When troubles come upon us, (which they inevitably will), we are not so easily defeated, but we can take these sorrows in stride and trust that the Lord is watching over us and that our difficulties can be endured in a spirit of humility and hope. The words from today’s Epistle speak to this with great wisdom: ‘We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ… And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance character; and character, hope.  Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.’

What beautiful consolation and hope these words of wisdom provide! If we keep our eyes set upon Christ, we keep perspective… the eye of our soul remains pure and even in tribulations we can gain perseverance, build character, and gain hope.

On the contrary, if our eye is not pure, if our vision is not set upon God and His heavenly kingdom, but is instead limited only to the triumphs and tragedies of this brief earthly life; then the inevitable ups and downs of this life are going to take us on that rollercoaster ride of anxieties and worry. In such a state, our vision and our life is not full of light, but of darkness; and we tend to see things negatively, we suspect others and we’re tossed to and fro by our passions – reacting to everything that comes our way.

It is a miserable way of life – but we all do it to one degree or another. Our unwillingness to trust in God stems from our pride and from not really understanding the love of God.  

Listen further to the words of the Epistle from this morning: ‘God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.  For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.’

Do we understand what the Apostle Paul is saying here?... We must never fall into the trap of thinking that our sinfulness is more powerful than the love and mercy of God.  God’s love and care for us is so great that, even when we were estranged from Him, He was willing to die for us. How much more then, when we are reconciled to Him through our baptism, through our repentance, through our partaking of His Body and Blood… how much more then may we be assured of His love for us?

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I am well aware of how discouraging life can be these days. That hope, which can be the by-product of tribulations, often eludes us. We witness fratricidal wars between Orthodox brethren, suspicion and discord among Orthodox leaders, a renewed persecution against the Orthodox faithful. We live in a society that has lost its Christian foundation and is flailing and failing to find a foothold. We fear economic uncertainties, we are weary from health scares, and exhausted from the general instability of so much of what used to be stable. In the midst of all this, I hear over and over again the cries of people who are discouraged, whose faith is shaken.

Take courage from today’s Gospel and Epistle readings! If Christ is for us, who can be against us? God is watching over us and if we place our hope and foundation on Him, we can be assured of His stability and love. I am reminded of an old quote: ‘Let nothing disturb thee, let nothing frighten thee. God alone is changeless. God alone suffices.’

May God grant us the wisdom and the strength to keep our eyes pure, to determinedly and vigorously seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. If we do so, all things will be added unto us, and we shall retain that heavenly perspective which allows us to remain constant and true no matter what tribulations may come upon us… that we may persevere and build character and unfailing hope. And if we can do that, not only will the lamp of our soul burn brightly, but it will be beacon of light and hope for those around us.

May God grant it!