Today's Gospel reading focuses on Jesus' teachings about certain cares and anxieties of life. This does not mean that Jesus forbid the human being's concern about his/her daily necessities; only not to be preoccupied with such needs. Mt. 6:26, 28 -30 reflect what Pope Francis says in Laudato Si' on God's care for the earth / nature. Climate change is one of the key concerns today.

This also means that we have to set our priority and not to submit easily to materialism and consumerism. Hence, what Jesus wants of us is to "Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness."(v.33). So with faith and trust in God alone, we can be set free from unnecessary worries and preoccupations.

By seeking and embracing the Kingdom of God which includes the values of Jesus e.g. justice, equality, harmony, understanding and acceptance, we set our priorities as disciples of Jesus. So we are challenged by world values and need to set priorities so that we will not be influenced by external forces such as individualism, materialism and consumerism.

As in the first reading where it is iterated that after Joash turned to idolatry and murdered Jehoiada, he was invaded and defeated by Aram because Judah which was under his leadership, had 'forsaken the Lord'. (V.24) It is good to remind ourselves that idolatry can come in different forms and often we are not aware of such practices.