Saturday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Look At The Birds In The Sky
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
Year II. It is dangerous to be a prophet who dares to speak out, particularly against the mighty. It cost the prophet Zechariah his life.
Gospel. Too often, we worry much more than we should and about things that, after all, don’t matter much. Are not our fears and worries mostly about things and events of the future, and do they not usually prove groundless? We are in God’s hands. He who cares for the birds in the sky cares for us and knows what we need. Let’s be concerned, then, about making his kingdom a reality now; this is all that matters.
Opening Prayer
Lord God, our Father,
You care about the birds in the sky
and let them find food in due time.
You clothe the flowers in the field
with colours and fragrance.
So, why should we worry?
We thank you for the gift of life,
for loving us and caring for us
free of charge.
Keep us firmly in your hand
on account of Jesus Christ our Lord.
First Reading
After the death of Jehoiada, the officials of Judah came to pay court to the king, and the king now turned to them for advice.
The Judaeans abandoned the house of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and worshiped the Asherah poles and idols. Because of this sinful activity, God was angry with Judah and Jerusalem.
He sent prophets to bring them back to the Lord, but they would not listen when they spoke.
The spirit of God took control of Zechariah, son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood up before the people and said: “God says this: Why are you disobeying the commandments of the Lord? You cannot prosper. You have abandoned the Lord, and he will abandon you.”
They then plotted against him and, by order of the king, stoned him in the court of the Lord’s house.
King Joash forgot the kindness of Jehoiada, the father of Zechariah, and killed Jehoiada’s son, who cried out as he died: “Let the Lord see and do justice!”
When a year had gone by, the Aramaean army made war on Joash. They reached Judah and Jerusalem and killed all the officials among the people, sending back to the king of Damascus all that they had plundered from them.
Though the Aramaean army was small, the Lord delivered an army of great size into its power, for they had abandoned him, the God of their ancestors.
The Aramaeans wounded Joash, and when they withdrew, they left him a very sick man, and his officers, plotting against him to avenge the death of the son of Jehoiada, the priest, murdered him in his bed. So he died, and they buried him in the city of David, though not in the king’s tomb.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 89:4-5, 29-30, 31-32, 33-34
R. (29a) For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
"I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant:
Forever will I confirm your posterity
and establish your throne for all generations."
R. For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
"Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him,
and my covenant with him stands firm.
I will make his posterity endure forever
and his throne as the days of heaven."
R. For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
"If his sons forsake my law
and walk not according to my ordinances,
If they violate my statutes
and keep not my commands."
R. For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
"I will punish their crime with a rod
and their guilt with stripes.
Yet my mercy I will not take from him,
nor will I belie my faithfulness."
R. For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich,
so that by his poverty you might become rich.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
God and Money
No one can serve two masters; for he will either hate one and love the other, or he will be loyal to the first and look down on the second. You cannot, at the same time, serve God and money.
Trust in God
Therefore, I tell you not to worry about food and drink for yourself, or about clothes for your body. Isn’t life more important than food? And isn’t the body more important than clothes?
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or harvest or store food in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more important than they?
Can any of you add a day to your life by worrying about it?
Why are you so concerned about your clothes? Just look at how the flowers in the fields grow—they don’t toil or spin.
But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these.
If God so clothes the grass of the field, which blooms today and is to be burned in an oven tomorrow, how much more will he clothe you? What little faith you have!
Don’t worry and ask: What are we going to eat? What are we going to drink? Or: What shall we wear?
The pagans are concerned with such things, but your heavenly Father knows that you need all of them.
Prioritize the kingdom and righteousness of God first, and all these things will be added to you.
Don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will handle itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Prayers of the Faithful
– For journalists and those in the media who denounce the injustices and corruption in our world, that the Lord may strengthen and protect them and that we and all people may listen to them, we pray:
– For the poor and the needy, that they may experience something of God’s concern for them through the generosity of our hearts, we pray:
– For all of us, that we may not burden ourselves with unnecessary worries and artificial needs, but learn to entrust ourselves into the hands of a loving God, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Our God and Father,
you have set for us, your children,
the feast meal of Jesus, your Son.
You provide us with food and drink
that gives everlasting life.
We offer you our life and efforts,
our worries and our cares.
Accept them as a token of our gratitude
and of our deep and lasting trust
in you, our loving God.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord God, our Father,
In this eucharist, you have reassured us
that you know what we need
better than we ourselves do,
and that you are with us
through Jesus Christ your Son.
Let him always stay with us,
that we may forget our self-created little worries
and give first place to you
and to your kingdom of mercy and goodness,
of integrity and committed justice.
Let these be our genuine concerns
on account of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
God really cares for us. If he cares for the birds in the sky and the flowers in the field, why would he not care for us? We are in his hands. May the God who loves you bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
Matthew 6:24-34
You cannot serve two masters
Jesus tells us with great clarity: “No one can serve two masters… You cannot serve God and mammon” (Mt 6:24). These are strong words, not suggestions. They are an invitation to choose: whom do we serve — the Lord of life, or the illusion of security that wealth and worry promise?
To understand this, think of the parable of the sower. The seed that falls among thorns is choked by “riches and worldly concerns” (Mt 13:22). These are not harmless distractions — they suffocate God’s Word in us. They twist our hearts, confuse our lives, and make us live as if we have no past and no future.
But we do. Our life, our faith, stands on three pillars: choice, promise, and covenant. God has chosen us. He called us by name, He loved us first. He has made us a promise — a future filled with hope, eternal life with Him. And now, in the present, He invites us into a covenant: a living relationship of trust and love.
But wealth and worry can cut us off from this story. When we cling to riches or are consumed by anxiety, we forget the past — that God has chosen us — and we lose sight of the future — that He has promised us joy. We live trapped in a false present, running in circles, without roots or hope.
The Lord, however, reminds us: “Do not worry… Your heavenly Father knows what you need” (Mt 6:31–32). We are not orphans. We have a Father. Let us not allow riches and worries to steal that truth from our hearts.
Let us walk forward, remembering our past in God, trusting in His promise, and living today with peace. We cannot serve two masters — but we can joyfully serve the One who never stops loving us.