the 1st Sunday of the Holy Lent Matthew 6:19 – 33

As life gets more busy and complicated so does man’s needs and concerns…no doubt, the needs and concerns of the primitive man is far less than those of modern-man living in a metropolitan city in the 21st century! Without any doubt, the initial man had less worries than today’s man who has to consider many factors. These issues of our modern times got so complicated that man needs many devices and modern apparatus to help him comprehend his or her world…the same modern apparatus became a great source of worries, it becomes a problem if one or more of these modern devices; stops working because man’s life became dependant on the continual accuracy and correct function of such devices… todays man lives in a realm of wires, devices and wheels, man eats and drinks his food polluted with the smoke and noise of such devices…to the extent that man lost the tranquil life and reduced his or her ability to resist such way of life! Man needs to reconsider his or her way of life…maybe man cannot escape the hectic modern life but he can free himself from the web of worries and anxiety (of this world) if he heeds well the lessons that our Lord Jesus Christ is teaching us… God wants us to soar like birds of the sky without any worries or troubles and to grow without fear or diversion in a real glow like the blossom )lilies( of the fields. The question is can man live without worries?? How?? This is the answer:

Do not lay up for yourself treasures on earth.. Your eye is good.. Do not serve two masters. This three principles will free you from all anxieties and apprehension. Then all your concerns become the heavenly (life).. For the glory of God and His Righteousness.

+ Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth (Matthew 6:19)

Great is the treasures of man on earth…man (now a days) treasures everything…money, food & drink and even the armour and armaments .. There are a cache of weapons of destruction treasured by man and kept for in readiness for the destruction of man-kind just in case! .. It is rather strange that man has more than his needs and makes treasures and treasuries (for keeping it) whilst the poor man who suffers from poverty you will find he has no treasuries or treasures. if all of what is kept by the rich; distributed among the poor, there will be no poor in this world! The bible in the gospel of Luke (12:20) describes the rich man who planned to build new stores for his goods and treasure and saying to himself “take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry” by a “fool! This night your soul will be required of you” (Luke 20:18-20), so all this you planned for who?? And who will benefit from it?? Loving to pose and store may lead man tseek what he or she wants even, if meant by twisted ways! Like paying a bribe. or stealing. or cheating…or deceit. thus, what man is collecting becomes a time-bomb awaiting the right time to explode and destroy him or her! I hear a painful story happen some 40 years ago on a trolley-bus (in Cairo) and it was at the 1st day of the month when the trolley-bus plunged into the Nile River and all passengers perished! All the relatives came to morgue to collect the bodies of their loved ones and collected all their belongings including the month wages, one young man came to seek his father but when he recognised his father’s body, there was no wallet on him! They found his wallet in the pocket of another man’s pocket who was a pick-pocket and stole the wallet a few seconds later perished! All he gained is a few second of pleasure in stealing other person’s money then died, which represent the short life of evil on earth. Another story, of a seller who used to cheat by adding water to the milk he sold, in order to gain more money to treasure. he owned a monkey who often saw him adding water to the milk and this dishonest seller collected lots of money from his dishonesty which he took and sailed on a ship returning home carrying his money with him… The monkey found the bundle of money while on the ship which the monkey started to play with and throwing dinars & dirhams into the sea happy with sound it makes when it hits the water! After a while the dishonest man discovered what the monkey been doing, after he lost half his fortune to the waters, exactly as he added water to his milk! Thus, he recognised his sin and repented and vowed to continue life in honesty. The habit of storing (treasures) often leads man to dishonesty and evil doing. but it also, makes man lose many of his virtues, becoming a self-centred person and selfish weary for his wealth. even to the extent of lying to hide his or her wealth and becoming aloof and haughty thinking that he or she is better than others! .. Also, it makes man, forget himself in collecting wealth and work and forgetting his spiritual life and his family and loved ones… How many parents occupied themselves with work for long hours day and night and after years (of busy labour) find themselves have accumulated wealth but have lost their offspring! The most important thing in their lives which they often said they work and labour hard for them, to realise that they have gone astray, and no money or positions will return them (the offspring) to the righteous way!

Be careful my beloved lest you become ill with the love of laying up treasures on earth… layup treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal (Matthew 6:20)

+ The lamp of the body is the eye (Luke 11:34) The good and simple eye is the pure and innocent eye which makes the whole body full of light… and evil eye makes the whole body evil and dark… generally from the eye (sight) man’s concerns start…for the good eye sees everything pure and untainted and does not see evil nor lust because it is an eye which does not covet others, because it is an eye does not yearn for what others have.. nor it seeks lusts of the body. man’s sin in paradise started with desires of the eye.. Eve saw that the tree was good for food and was pleasant to the eye (Genesis 3:6) … There are eyes which are set on heavens. eyes which do not see earthly matters. but only see beauty of heavens. and for such eyes everything on earth is void and as if it was nothing.

St Paul the apostle was take to heaven and saw what no word can describe, nor an eye has seen (2 Corinthian 12) and from this vision everything on earth diminished in his view. Moses the prophet saw the shadow of God behind him (Exodus 3) …and since his face lit up with brilliance, and from this quick glance the beauty of heavenly life, all of earths lights became darkness for him.

There are eyes which only sees the earth, the soil and the dust of the earth, eyes looks behind… like Potiphar’s wife (Genesis 39).. who became blind to Joseph’s purity and honesty and only saw her own physical lusts… like the eyes of the Israelites when they revolted against God in the wilderness (Exodus 16:3) and longed for land of Egypt and its produce… the meat and dill and other pleasures (foods) of Egypt and their eye became blind to seeing the glory God has prepared for them in the land of Canaan the land milk and honey which God is leading them to!.

Now, you, my beloved which eyes do you have? What do you see? Are your eyes seeking the beauty of the world and it’s colours?? Do your eys only taste the physical beauty and worldly attractiveness? If so, then their eye which only sees the dust, since behind these bright shrouds of the physical beauty of the body is bones and rotten flesh and behind such beauty is only dust and ashes. but alas our physical eyes only see the outer image, but the spiritual eyes penetrate beyond and sees the reality of lusts. Be careful of the deception of the body vision and be careful of the world’s mirage which is luring you with all its lusts and follies... It is all vain and follies.

Learn to close your bodily eyes and to open your spiritual eyes. Learn to raise your eyes above to be able to see the heavenly glory.

+ No one can serve two masters: Imagine a policeman who works as policeman in the morning and a thief at night, or a soldier who fights in the camp of his people and the enemies camp in one time, or a lawyer who defends his client and his client’s foe as well. Of course, this is not possible and illogical. This is exactly what happens when serve God and mammon. Note the word “serve”. Mammon became a master whom you serve and in the same time you want to serve God. How many people are living in this contradiction in their life. The mammon is a hard-cruel master who wants you to submit fully to him and would give you no chance to serve God or to think about your own salvation.

+ And all these things shall be added to you

When you serve God and God alone, the God does not ever forget your needs. God knows very well what you need. God has prepared the eternity for you and for sure will deal with all your worldly needs which cannot be measured compared to your eternal life. Be assured, all these things will be added to you.