God takes Care of His Creation. Sunday Breakfast with the Word. Mass of Care Of Creation
Sunday Breakfast with the Word. Sunday of God’s Creation.
Wisdom 13:1:9, Colossians 1:15-20, Matthew 6:24-34
There was once a man who had a very beautiful garden around his house. Every morning before going to work, he would walk around the garden, water the flowers, remove the weeds, trim the plants, and make sure that everything was growing well. He knew every corner of that garden. He knew which flowers needed more water, which plants needed to be moved away from the sun, and which ones needed extra attention.
One day, somebody who regularly passed by the house asked him, “Why do you spend so much time taking care of these flowers? They cannot even thank you.” The man smiled and answered, “I planted them. They belong to me. Because they are mine, I cannot simply abandon them.”
Brothers and sisters, if an ordinary human being can care so much about the little things he planted with his own hands, how much more will God care for the creation that came from Him?
Jesus gives us something similar in Matthew 7:11 when He says that if we who are evil know how to give good things to our children, how much more will our Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him.
This statement should give us great confidence in God. Think about it. A father may have very little money, but when his child is hungry, he will do his best to look for food. A mother may be tired, but when her child is sick in the middle of the night, she will wake up and attend to the child. Even imperfect parents know how to care for their children. Then how can we believe that the perfect God who created us will simply abandon us?
God does not create and abandon. God does not bring us into existence and suddenly forget that we are here. The God who gave us life is still interested in our lives. The God who created the birds has not forgotten the birds, the God who clothes the flowers has not forgotten the flowers, and the God who created you has certainly not forgotten you.
Look at Creation and Remember God
In the first reading from the Book of Wisdom, the writer speaks about people who looked at the beautiful things of creation but failed to recognize the Creator behind them. They saw the fire, the wind, the stars, the waters, and the beauty and power of nature, but instead of allowing these things to lead them to God, they began to treat the things themselves as gods.
The Book of Wisdom tells us that if creation is beautiful, imagine how beautiful the Creator must be. If creation is powerful, imagine how powerful the Creator must be. If the universe is magnificent, imagine the greatness of the One who brought everything into existence.
2.Sometimes we are too busy to notice God. We wake up in the morning and see the light of a new day, but we forget that somebody gave us another day. We breathe freely, but we forget that breathing itself is a gift.
We see the trees, the rain, the sun, the moon, the stars, the sea, and the beauty of the world, but sometimes we live as if everything came by accident and everything belongs to us. Creation should lead us to God.
3. When you see the beauty of nature, remember God. When you look into the sky, remember God. When you see a newborn child, remember God. When rain falls and the earth produces food, remember God. When you see the sea and its greatness, remember God. The things God created should not take us away from Him; they should bring us closer to Him.
This is why the Psalm says, “The heavens are telling the glory of God.” The heavens may not speak the way human beings speak, but they are preaching every day. The sun does not have a mouth, yet it preaches. The stars do not have voices, but they speak about the greatness of God. The mountains do not preach homilies, but their very existence reminds us that there is a Creator.
Sometimes the problem is not that God is silent. The problem is that we have become too busy to hear Him speaking through the things around us.
Everything Was Created Through Christ
In the Second reading, Saint Paul tells the Colossians that Jesus is the image of the invisible God and that all things were created through Him and for Him. He tells us that Christ is before all things and that in Him all things hold together.
This means that creation is not separated from Christ. The trees belong to Christ, the oceans belong to Christ, the earth belongs to Christ, our bodies belong to Christ, our families belong to Christ, our work belongs to Christ, our talents belong to Christ, and even the life we are living does not completely belong to us. Everything was created through Him and for Him.
2. This should change the way we see ourselves and the things we possess. Sometimes we say, “This is my money, and I can do whatever I want with it. This is my body. This is my property. This is my talent. This is my life.” But the Christian understands that everything we have is first a gift. They were given to you. You do not have the right to treat and use them anyhow.
Understand that You are just a caretaker. You are not the owner. Your life is entrusted to you. Your body is entrusted to you. Your environment is entrusted to you. Your family is entrusted to you. Your talents and resources are entrusted to you. Therefore, we have a responsibility to take care of what God has placed in our hands and to use them in a way that gives glory to Him.
The Creator Has Not Forgotten You
In the gospel, Jesus gives us one of the most comforting teachings in the whole of Scripture. He says, “Do not be anxious about your life.”
Then Jesus tells His disciples to look at the birds. What a simple example. Jesus did not take them into a theological classroom and begin to use difficult words. He simply said, “Look at the birds of the air.” The birds neither sow nor reap nor gather food into barns, yet the heavenly Father feeds them. Then Jesus asks, “Are you not of more value than they?”
2.Brothers and sisters, sometimes we need to ask ourselves this same question. If God has not forgotten the birds, why do you think He has forgotten you?
If God remembers the flowers, why do you think He cannot remember your family? If God provides for creatures in the forest, why do you think He cannot provide for you?
If we who are imperfect can take care of our children, why do we suddenly believe that God cannot take care of His own children?
This is why we should never interpret every difficult situation as evidence that God has abandoned us. Your present difficulty may be painful, but it is not proof that God has forgotten you.
3. Sometimes because of what we are passing through, we begin to think that God is no longer interested. When the money is no longer enough, we become afraid.
When sickness persists, we become afraid. When our children are passing through difficulties, we become afraid. When the business begins to go down, we become afraid.
When the family is facing a crisis, we become afraid. When we do not know what tomorrow will bring, we become afraid.
Many people are not even living today because they are already suffering about tomorrow. They wake up thinking about tomorrow, sleep thinking about tomorrow, eat while thinking about tomorrow, and even when they pray, their minds are still controlled by tomorrow.
I want to remind you that Jesus commanded you, “Do not be anxious about tomorrow.” He did not say that tomorrow will never have problems.
In fact, Jesus Himself says that each day has enough trouble of its own. The message is not that Christians will never face challenges. The message is that we should not allow tomorrow’s problems to destroy today’s peace.
Some people have already suffered ten times over something that has not happened once. They have imagined the worst, cried over it, lost sleep over it, and become sick because of something that may never happen. Jesus is inviting us to learn how to live one day at a time.
Worry Does Not Solve Tomorrow
1.In the gospel, Jesus asks, “Which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life?” In simple words, what has worry added to your life? Has worry paid the school fees? Has worry healed the sickness? Has worry increased the money in your bank account? Has worry changed the person you have been worrying about? Has worry solved tomorrow? Many times worry does not solve our problems; it only steals the peace we still have today.
2. There is a difference between planning and worrying. Planning says, “I will do what I can and leave the rest to God.” Worry says, “Everything depends on me.” Planning works, but worry destroys. Planning prepares, but worry paralyses. A Christian should make plans, work hard, save where possible, make good decisions, seek advice, prepare for the future, and take responsibility.
3. Faith does not mean laziness. But after doing what we can do, we must also know where our power ends and where God’s providence begins.
There are things you cannot control, people you cannot change, situations you cannot force, and doors you cannot open by yourself. At some point, faith must be able to say, “Lord, I have done my part. I leave the rest in your hands.”
Your Heavenly Father Knows
1. There is another statement in today’s Gospel that should give somebody peace. Jesus says, “Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.” God knows. Before you explain the problem, God knows. Before you cry, God knows. Before you kneel to pray, God knows. Before you tell another person what you are passing through, God knows.
Sometimes we think that because God has not acted in the way we want, He does not know what we are passing through. But He knows.
2. For example, God knew what Joseph was passing through in prison. God knew what the Israelites were passing through in Egypt.
God knew what Hannah was suffering when she cried for a child. God knew what Elizabeth and Zechariah were going through after many years without a child.
God knew Lazarus was sick before Jesus arrived in Bethany. Yet in all these situations, God did not always act immediately.
The fact that God knows does not mean that He must act according to our timetable. This is where faith becomes important.
Faith is not only believing that God exists. Faith is also believing that God knows what He is doing even when we do not understand Him.
3. Sometimes God delays something because He is preparing something greater. Sometimes God allows a door to remain closed because that door is not good for us.
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Sometimes God permits us to pass through a difficult season because something within us is being strengthened.
Sometimes the answer to our prayer comes in a way different from what we expected. The Jews prayed for a Messiah, but when the Messiah came, many did not recognize Him because He did not come in the way they expected.
In the same way, God may already be answering some of our prayers, but because the answer does not look like what we imagined, we think He is doing nothing.
Seek First the Kingdom
In the gospel, Jesus then gives us the secret. He says, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.” Notice the word first.
The problem sometimes is not that we do not seek God. We seek Him, but He is not first.
The problem is that we seek money first, connections first, success first, human approval first, comfort first, and then when everything has failed, we remember God.
2. So, Jesus is saying that the order should be different. Seek God first. Put God first in your family, in your business, in your decisions, in your relationship, in your work, and in your plans. Put God before money, before ambition, and before human approval.
This does not mean money is bad. It does not mean Christians should not work. It does not mean we should sit down and refuse to plan because God will provide. Jesus is telling us that these things must never become our master.
4. At the beginning of the Gospel, Jesus says, “You cannot serve God and mammon.” This means that money should serve you; you should never become a servant of money.
Today many people have destroyed their souls because of money. Friends have become enemies because of money. Brothers and sisters have stopped speaking because of inheritance.
Some have entered dangerous groups because they wanted quick wealth. Some have destroyed other people because of business.
Some have betrayed friends, abandoned God, stopped praying, and no longer have time for their families. Why? Money has moved from the pocket to the heart. Jesus is not against money. He is against allowing money to take the place of God.
Care for Creation Because It Belongs to God
Today is also a call to care for creation. If God created the world and called it His own, we cannot deliberately destroy what belongs to Him.
We cannot say that we love God and at the same time deliberately destroy the work of His hands. When we litter the streets carelessly, pollute water, destroy things without reason, waste food while others are hungry, treat animals cruelly, or allow greed to destroy the environment simply for profit, something is wrong.
Christianity is not only about how many prayers we say. It is also about how responsibly we live. The same God who gave us the Eucharist gave us the earth on which we live.
The same God who created human beings created the world in which human beings must survive. Therefore, caring for creation is also an act of gratitude. We are saying to God, “Thank you for what you have given us, and we will not deliberately destroy it.”
You Are Also Part of God’s Creation
There is another side of this message. Sometimes we talk about caring for creation and forget that you yourself are part of God’s creation. Therefore, take care of yourself too.
Do not destroy yourself. Do not constantly speak badly about yourself. Do not look at your life as useless.
Do not believe that because somebody rejected you, God has rejected you. Do not think that because you failed once, your life has failed. Do not conclude that because somebody left you, everybody will leave you. Do not conclude that because one door closed, every door is closed.
You are also the work of God’s hands. If you believe that the flowers are beautiful because God created them, remember that God also created you.
You may have weaknesses, you may have made mistakes, you may still be struggling, but your life still has value.
Jesus asks today, “Are you not much more valuable than they?” Yes, you are valuable before God. You are important before God. You are not forgotten. You are not abandoned.
What Is Worrying You Today?
What exactly is worrying you now? Is it your family, your health, money, your children, your job, your studies, your marriage, your future, or something that nobody knows about?
Is it the fear that something may happen tomorrow? Is it a problem you have been carrying in your heart for many months? Jesus is speaking to you today: do not allow anxiety to become your master.
Do what you can. Pray, work, plan, make the necessary effort, seek advice where necessary, correct your mistakes where necessary, and take responsibility where necessary. But after doing everything within your power, learn to leave something for God.
There is a point where human strength must bow before divine providence. You cannot control everything. You cannot know everything. You cannot solve everything. But you can trust the One who sees what you cannot see.
Conclusion
1.The first reading reminds us that creation should always lead us back to God. When you wake up in the morning, remember that life is a gift.
When you eat, remember the One who provided the food. When your business is doing well, remember the One who gave you the opportunity.
When people celebrate your talent, remember the One who gave you that talent. Do not allow the blessings of God to make you forget God.
Sometimes when we are praying for something, we are very close to God, but when the blessing finally comes, the blessing takes us away from Him. May the gift never become more important than the Giver. Never enjoy the gifts and forget the Giver.
2. God has not abandoned you. If we who are imperfect know how to take care of our children, how much more will God take care of His own?
If He feeds the birds and clothes the flowers, He knows what you need. Your present suffering is not proof that God has left you. A delay is not abandonment. A closed door is not abandonment. A difficult season is not abandonment.
Sometimes God is silent, but He is still present. Sometimes we cannot see His hand, but we can still trust His heart. The same God who brought you this far will not suddenly forget you halfway. Believe strongly that God has not abandoned you.
3. Some people are carrying Monday on Sunday. Some are carrying next month today. Some are carrying problems that have not even happened.
Jesus says that tomorrow will take care of itself. This does not mean that we should not prepare for tomorrow. It means that we should refuse to suffer tomorrow’s pain before tomorrow arrives.
Take life one day at a time. Take the journey one step at a time. Pray one day at a time. Work one day at a time. Trust God one day at a time. Sometimes the strength God gives you today is only for today, and tomorrow He will give you fresh strength for tomorrow. Do not allow tomorrow to steal today’s peace.
4. Faith does not mean doing nothing. If you are looking for work, apply. If you are sick, seek proper treatment. If your marriage has problems, communicate and seek help.
If your business is failing, study what is going wrong and make corrections. If you have offended somebody, apologize.
If you have been wasting your money, change your habits. Do everything you reasonably can. But after doing your part, do not torture yourself because you cannot control everything. There are battles that hard work alone cannot solve. There are doors that only God can open. Learn to say, “Lord, I have done what I can. Now I put this into your hands.” Do your part, but know when to leave the rest to God.
5. Seek God first, and let everything else take its proper place. This is the secret Jesus gives us today: “Seek first the kingdom of God.” When God is first, money will remain money and will not become your god.
When God is first, success will not destroy your character. When God is first, failure will not destroy your faith.
When God is first, people’s opinions will not control your life. When God is first, even when things do not happen the way you want, you can still say, “Lord, I trust you.”
Therefore, whatever you are passing through today, put God first. Pray before you panic. Seek God before you seek desperate solutions. Listen to God before listening to fear. When God is first, everything else gradually finds its proper position.
May God give us the grace to recognize Him through His creation. May the God who cares for the birds of the air continue to care for us, our families, our children, our work, our health, and everything that concerns us. Amen.
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