Soon after Jesus’s Baptism by John the Baptist in the River Jordan, He proclaimed, “The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand, Repent and believe in the Gospel”. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said to all, “Seek ye first God’s Kingdom and His righteousness” (Matt. 6:33).
Brothers and Sisters, God’s Kingdom is the revelation of God’s grace and power. God’s Kingdom is a present and future reality. The mystery of God’s Kingdom as it is revealed in our lives is both a present experience and a future expectation. You see, the Kingdom of God is within you, and among you, for we become citizens of the Kingdom when we believe in the Gospel and are baptized. Yet we must understand that the fulness of the Kingdom is still to come. As Orthodox Christians we look forward to that Day when Christ the King will say to His faithful followers, ” Come, you that are blessed by my Father… possess the Kingdom which has been prepared for you ever since the creation of the world” (Matt. 25:34).
In today’s Gospel, Jesus is speaking of our basic needs, not luxuries, when He speaks about the health of our eyes, for the “lamp of the body is the eye”. For if the eye is good the whole body will be full of light, if not then darkness. For as Jesus says we should not worry about earthly matters and necessities, for Our Heavenly Father knows our needs, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you”. Jesus is telling us not to worry about what to eat, drink etc., but to seek the Kingdom which every Christian must prioritize in our lives.
Let us heed the words of this Gospel lesson and follow His Gospel and seek the Kingdom Of God first and all of our worries and concerns will be taken care of. May Almighty God take away our anxieties, our soul consuming distress, and worries, granting us His peace and abiding love.
