Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6 : 31 - 33
Bible reading : Matthew 6 : 25 - 33
Thought for the week
Each week the BBC news page offers ‘The Week in Pictures’. The pictures say it all. A speaker holding her tiny baby while giving a speech at a UK political conference. Armed forces’ day in South Korea. Dame Cressida Dick’s sincere grief and pain outside the Old Bailey. Greta Thurnberg chastising world leaders for their empty promises at a World Youth Climate rally. A giant wooden sculpture of George Floyd at an art exhibition in New York. Fleeting moments that say so much about the concerns of our modern world.
Jesus speaks so powerfully to us in our Gospel reading. We live in an anxious age. Yet there are different kinds of anxiety. There are the worries we all have of things that probably will never happen. The Lord calls us to look to Him and trust in Him day by day, Lord of the future and of the present.
There are the anxieties of every day. Whether we have enough food, clothes…petrol. Jesus tells us to lay these aside. They eat away at our lives and lead us into areas that are not fullness of life, harming ourselves and others.
Then there are the concerns of the Kingdom. Equality, justice, truth, poverty, the Planet. These we are to strive for. The concerns that bring Life.
Rev Paul
A Prayer for this week
God of justice, you call us to stand together, to walk side by side, to share ideas, dreams and burdens – to work together for a just harvest of your good gifts.
Together, we have the power to grow hope, to plant seeds that yield a better future.
This season, we pray with our global family.
May we embrace the gift of each other – and walk side by side with our sisters and brothers to bring about change.
Together, we’re stronger.
May we offer our gifts this season. Amen
(Christian Aid)