(Is.49:14-15; Ps.62:2-3,6-9; 1Cor.4:1-5; Mt.6:24-34) "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides." Today's gospel is the Lord's beautiful exhortation not to be anxious about the things of this world: God takes care. "Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear," Jesus instructs us. And how true it is that "the birds of the sky," who "do not sow or reap," are fed in abundance, and that there is nothing more splendidly clothed than the flowers of the field. And do we indeed think the Father will not care just so for our lives? Yet all we do is worry about these passing things, even as our soul calls us to peace. "Only in God is my soul at rest; from Him comes my salvation," David so poignantly and appropriately sings. And with this trust in his rock of refuge he knows he "shall not be disturbed at all." Similarly, St. Augustine has declared, from his own experience of pursuing worldly cares, that only in God do our souls find rest. Are these witnesses not enough to trust in the salvation that comes from God alone? Then hear of the undying love God holds for His creatures in the prophecy of Isaiah: to those who fret, "The Lord has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me," he asks the simple yet profound question, "Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb?" Yet greater than a mother's love is the Lord God's care for us, for "even should she forget" (as seems to happen all too often in this age of abortion), the Lord states with certainty and full assurance, "I will never forget you." And much like this inclination to anxiety about the cares of life, and coming from the same faithless source, is our proclivity to judge others. How many of us heed St. Paul's warning not to "make any judgment before the appointed time, until the Lord comes"? How many cannot trust that "He will bring to light what is hidden," that all things He sees – that we need not do His job for Him. "The one who judges me is the Lord," Paul states. Really, who else can do so? As by no other hand does our food come, so by no other tongue shall all be judged. "Trust in Him at all times, O my people! Pour out your hearts before Him." Try it, and you will see – He alone provides all things. Set your hearts on Him and He will take care. Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music: "Breathing for a Living" from Breath, the Apple Rises, fifth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, let us take rest in your arms and not in the world's distress. YHWH, you alone provide for all our needs; in you alone our souls find rest. We cannot be at peace unless we give our lives in service of you, for serving the world we find only distress. What is the motive of our hearts? Whom do we truly serve? What is it we seek with our lives? Only you know our hearts, LORD. Only you can see where our desire lies. We cannot deceive you, and any attempt at deception, at pretending love for you above all, will only leave us in the same state of unrest as our openly seeking the things of this world. Let them all die, all our errant desires, all of our fears about the things of tomorrow. What indeed is food and drink and clothing? Where do they lead us in themselves? And what is not in your hands, O LORD? Then why do we not trust ourselves into them? There is no hope for us apart from you. Let the peace of which your Son speaks be with us always, dear God.