In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen.
Which, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, of the two described in today’s Gospel are you? Which am I? For, on the one hand the Lord presents us with lilies—clothed in glory more resplendent than Solomon—and on the other hand the birds of the air.
The lilies have their beauty and yet are rooted to the Earth, rooted to the ground, rooted to sin. In themselves they express the beauty of the Almighty God; they draw as much nutrition as they can through their roots, they sun themselves, they attract insects, and yet they will wither and die and be burned in the oven. Despite their glory and magnificence, they will face the fire.
The birds, in contrast, soar above this world of sin. They do not rely on attracting favourable conditions but go out and work, seeking out the food and the shelter they need. Birds work daily for their food and repairing their shelter, they do not rest on their laurels, but constantly place their hope and trust in the Lord.
And I consider myself and my life and I start to recognise how I am as a lily. I desire to be left to myself, placed in good conditions without working for them, receiving nutrients without deserving them, insects coming to serve me and my needs without being worthy of them. And I stand today, clothed in magnificence yet rooted in sin, and tomorrow I shall be cast into the oven.
And I must reject my sin, I must repent, I must lay aside all the cares of this life so that I may receive the King of All. The birds return to the Earth for what they need but do not remain attached to it—rather they return to the branches to be close to the Heavens. I, too, must live on this Earth while making my dwelling close to God. And if I repent, if I turn to him, if I remain part of this world but not attached to this world, he has promised to me what I need for Life—not mere living followed by dying, but Life.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, will you remain attached to sin or soar—as the saints—above the cares of this life? The Lord is calling us to repent, to join in his liberation of our human race from bondage to the Enemy. Let us, through the grace and encouragement bestowed on us through his Church, turn once again to the living God.
To our risen Saviour Jesus Christ, by whose death we are freed from the power of Death, be all glory, honour and might, together with his unoriginate Father and the All-holy, Good and Life-giving Spirit. Amen.
Brethren, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have obtained access by faith to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Why, one will hardly die for a righteous man — though perhaps for a good man one will dare even to die. But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we are now justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
— Romans 5:1–10
The Lord said, “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is not sound, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look 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? And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear? For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.”
— Matthew 6:22–33