Providence and prudence

The episode of the death of Joash from the Second Book of Chronicles in the Roman Catholic Lectionary for today is crafted, according to Friar Jude Winkler by Deuteronomical editors, to present more of what should have happened in the record of the relationship between God and the people than what actually happened. The choice of Joash  to put Zechariah to death is an exaggerated evil. The culture of the time held families who had helped your family in high regard. The decision to turn away from the observance of the Law of God by the leaders of Judah is marked by this extremely serious cultural offense. The decision to rule Judah outside the guidance of God brings the consequence of defeat and death at the hands of foreign and unclean warriors. The Gospel of Matthew presents the impossibility of our situation when we try to serve two masters. The Will of God for our lives and our daily decisions to take care of ourselves and indulge our passions and addictions are in constant tension. The intimacy of the relationship to which we are invited by the Divine is all encompassing of our needs. The Collect prayer of the daily liturgy today seeks the gifts of hope, faith and charity from the Holy Spirit. These gifts will open our consciousness to the "lilies of the field" and how Father truly knows and addresses our needs.