Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A. IS 49:14-15, 1 COR 4:1-5, MT 6:24-34

I would assume that many of us here as adults have at one time or another in our lifetime concerned ourselves with making sure there was food on the table, a roof over our head and clothes on our back. These are natural worries that many in the assembly and in our community worry about on a daily basis. We all know our basic needs of food, shelter and clothing. We also know that this is not easily available to everyone not just in our community but in the world.

We have a clothes closet and a food pantry that do a wonderful job of helping those in our local community who have this concern on a daily basis and they are assisted by other churches of different denominations within our community.

Why does Jesus tell his disciples not to worry about their basic needs of food shelter and clothing? We need to look at the first reading to begin to understand. In the reading from Isaiah we hear the question brought up “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb?” Well we know that some folks can considering abortion still exists and is condoned. But the next line says it all.

“Even should she forget, I will never forget you.” This is God reminding Zion that no matter if they believe they have been forgotten by God he reminds them he will never forget them nor will he ever stop loving them. This means the same thing for us today. We need to be reminded at times that God will always remember us and love us.

With this knowledge and using the contrasts of the birds and the wild flowers we can see that Jesus wants us to put our faith in God so he can alleviate our worries over the basic needs of life. This is a lot easier said than done for many people. Many of us here do not have the concern of whether we will have a roof over our head or clothes on our back or food for our family. These basic necessities we know we can afford to purchase for ourselves and our families. So since we are sufficiently secure in knowing our basic needs are met we can turn to what Jesus asks us to do.

We cannot serve two masters, God and mammon. What does mammon mean. It refers to wealth that is regarded as an evil influence or false object of worship and devotion. When we have sufficient resources to ensure our basic needs we should not be looking to gain more wealth to just to have more wealth. We should begin to use our wealth, whether that wealth is material, time or a talent for the betterment of others.

The love of God for each one of us should take precedence in our lives and we should serve him. This means for those with the responsibility to look out for others, they need to be aware of all around them, not just those that think or act like they do. All people, atheists included are loved by God, there is no requirement to receive his love. Those who forget this and then proceed to worship at the altar of consumerism, without consideration for those less fortunate, act in a way which is not worshiping God.

We see the people in town standing at intersections with the signs asking for help, in bigger cities people can be seen sleeping in abandoned buildings and on the streets. We do not know their circumstances and they do not know ours. As Paul reminds us we are not to judge them, just as we are not to judge those around us whom we disagree with. This goes for family members, friends, those who look different than us, or those who speak differently than we do.

All of this is much easier said than done. We all judge people at times, whether it be someone within our family we think should be doing something differently or someone looking for a better life than the one they are running from. This can be due to persecution, war, famine, or just the availability of more opportunity for success.

When these people come to us we are called to treat them with the same compassion and mercy that God bestows on each of us. While there may be situations where there needs to be verification, we are not supposed to be acting to them as if they are less than human. They are all human and deserving of OUR love and compassion since we receive the same love and compassion from God. When we worship God and not something else it can become clearer that even refugees from countries we are not friendly with and may be trying to get into the country to do harm, we are still called to show the love and compassion that Christ reminds that God has for each one of us.

When we can look past our own biases and judgments we begin to show the love of God and by doing that we are acknowledging that we may at one time or another need someones help, maybe someone we don’t like. There is great saying that I have heard about the science or technology geek in school. Be careful how you treat the geek because one day you may be working for him. We, as Christians, have all been called to work for Christ. This means we cannot agree with some of what he asks and ignore the rest. We must work toward being perfect in Christ’s judgment since this will become the most important judgment when it comes to our eternal life.

I am certainly not perfect and I have some very strong feelings around some of the hot topics of the day. With age and wisdom though I have had the ability to temper my thoughts by thinking about what God, who loves me, though I wonder why sometimes, would think of what I am about to say or do. I still make mistakes and don’t always treat those who need it with compassion, I prejudge them and determine they are not worthy of my love.

I need to remember as we all do, that regardless of one’s circumstance that God has not forgotten them and he continues to love them, even if we do not reciprocate that love. Will this always be easy, no it will not, but Jesus reminded us last week. “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” This is the ultimate goal we should all strive to achieve in our own lives. But we can not achieve this if we are worshiping someone or something else.