Good Friday by Ermes Dovico
GOSPEL PEARLS

Who is worse off?

No one can be the slave of two masters (Matthew 6,24)

Gospel Pearls 18_06_2022 Italiano Español

Jesus said to his disciples: «No one can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or treat the first with respect and the second with scorn. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money. That is why I am telling you not to worry about your life and what you are to eat, nor about your body and how you are to clothe it. Surely life means more than food, and the body more than clothing! Look at the birds in the sky. They do not sow or reap or gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they are? Can any of you, for all his worrying, add one single cubit to his span of life? And why worry about clothing? Think of the flowers growing in the fields; they never have to work or spin; yet I assure you that not even Solomon in all his regalia was robed like one of these. Now if that is how God clothes the grass in the field which is there today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, will he not much more look after you, you men of little faith? So do not worry; do not say, “What are we to eat? What are we to drink? How are we to be clothed?”. It is the pagans who set their hearts on all these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all. Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on his righteousness, and all these other things will be given you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own». (Matthew 6,24-34)


Jesus compares wealth to a master, to explain that it cannot be served by a person who intends to serve God. It is easy for money to become our main concern. Christ warns us against the overwhelming anxiety of those who think only of accumulating human certainties. How much do you really rely on Providence? If tomorrow causes you anguish, it means that you do not rely on God as much as you should, but on human security. In this case, it is not God who is worse off, but yourself!