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Consider the Lilies

Matt 6:25–34; Luke 12:22–31 · Early ministry in Galilee

Scripture

Matthew 6:25–34

herefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

King James Version · public domain

Mateu 6:25–34

ërandaj po u them juve, Mos mendohi për jetënë t’uaj, ç’të hani a ç’të pini; as për trupinë t’uaj ç’të vishni; a nuk’ është jeta më e-nderçime se ushqimi, edhe trupi se të-veshuritë? 26Vështroni shpest’ e qiellit, se nukë mbledhënë ndë grunarë, edhe Ati juaj qiellori i ushqen; a nukë ndani ju më tepërë se ata? 27Po cili nga ju dyke pasurë kujdes munt të shtonjë një kut ndë shtatt të ti? 28Edhe ç’men-doni për të-veshuritë? Vështroni lulet’ e arësë, si rritenë; as mundonenë, as dredhënë. 29Po u them juve, se as Sollomoni me gjithë lavdin’ e ti nukë qe veshurë posi një nga këto. 30Po ndë qoftë se barin’ e arësë, që sot është, e nesërë hidhetë ndë furrë, Perëndia e vesh kështu, nukë dot’u veshnjë juve shumë më tepërë, o besë-pakë? 31Mos mentohi pra dyke thënë, ç’të hamë a ç’të pimë a ç’të veshimë? 32Sepse gjithë këto i kërkojnë kombetë; sepse Ati juaj qiellori e di, se keni nevojë për gjithë këto. 33Po kërkoni më përpara mbretërin’ e Perëndisë, edhe drejtërin’ e ati; edhe këto të-gjitha dot’u shtonenë juve. 34Mos mendohi pra për të-nesërmenë; sepse e-nesërmja dotë ketë mendim për punët’ e saja; mjaft është mbë çdo ditë e-keqeja e saj.

Kristoforidhi, Dhiata e Re Toskërisht 1879 · zotërim publik

In their own words

Hereby He teaches us not only to take no thought, but not even to be dazzled at the costliness of men's apparel.

St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew, Homily 22 (on Matthew 6:28–30)

Consider the Lilies (Matthew 6:25–34; Luke 12:22–31)

The texts below are quoted verbatim from public-domain English translations; nothing is paraphrased.

St. John Chrysostom (c. 347–407)

Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew, Homilies 21 and 22 (on Matthew 6:24–34), trans. in the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 10. Public domain. Full text: https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf110/npnf110.iii.XXI.html

On "they sow not, neither do they reap" — that anxious care is forbidden, not honest labour:

He said not, "we must not sow," but "we must not take thought ;" neither that one ought not to work, but not to be low-minded, nor to rack one's self with cares. Since He bade us also be nourished, but not in "taking thought."

On "Consider the lilies of the field":

Hereby He teaches us not only to take no thought, but not even to be dazzled at the costliness of men's apparel. Why, such comeliness is of grass, such beauty of the green herb: or rather, the grass is even more precious than such apparelling.

St. Cyril of Alexandria (c. 376–444)

Commentary on the Gospel of Luke, Sermon 90 (on Luke 12:22–31), trans. R. Payne Smith, Library of Fathers, 1859. Public domain. Full text: https://www.tertullian.org/fathers/cyril_on_luke_09_sermons_89_98.htm

On turning away from worldly anxiety to what pleases God:

It is our duty therefore to keep our foot apart from all worldly desires, and rather to take delight in those things which please God.

On the lilies outshining Solomon, and the vanity of anxious care for apparel:

If therefore these representations by means of art, are so inferior to the glory of the lily, and the beautiful colours of other flowers, how is it not true, that even Solomon, though so magnificent a king, in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these? Vain therefore is our toil for beautiful apparel.

On "seek His kingdom":

Let us seek, therefore, not such food as is unnecessary and superfluous, but whatsoever tends unto the salvation of the soul: not raiment of great price, but how to deliver our body from the fire, and from judgment. And this let us do, seeking His kingdom; even all that will aid us in becoming partakers of the kingdom of Christ

Blessed Augustine of Hippo (354–430)

Our Lord's Sermon on the Mount, Book II (on Matthew 6:25–34), trans. in the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 6. Public domain. Full text: https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf106/npnf106.v.iii.xv.html

On why the birds and the lilies are examples, not allegories to be decoded:

But these examples are not to be treated as allegories, so that we should inquire what the fowls of heaven or the lilies of the field mean: for they stand here, in order that from smaller matters we may be persuaded respecting greater ones

On "seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness":

For in the case of those who are seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, i.e. who are preferring this to all other things, so that for its sake they are seeking the other things, there ought not to remain behind the anxiety lest those things should fail which are necessary to this life for the sake of the kingdom of God.

St. Jerome (c. 347–420)

Commentary on Matthew (on Matthew 6:28–34). As preserved in the Catena Aurea on Matthew. Public domain. Full text: https://www.ccel.org/ccel/aquinas/catena1.ii.vi.html

On the flowers that no human art can rival:

For, in sooth, what regal purple, what silk, what web of divers colours from the loom, may vie with flowers? What work of man has the red blush of the rose? the pure white of the lily? How the Tyrian dye yields to the violet, sight alone and not words can express.

On "Take therefore no thought for the morrow":

He yields therefore unto them that they should care for things present, though He forbids them to take thought for things to come. For sufficient for us is the thought of time present; let us leave to God the future which is uncertain.

St. Hilary of Poitiers (c. 310–367)

Commentary on Matthew (on Matthew 6:28–30). As preserved in the Catena Aurea on Matthew. Public domain. Full text: https://www.ccel.org/ccel/aquinas/catena1.ii.vi.html

On the lilies read as a figure of the angels' glory:

By the lilies are to be understood the eminences of the heavenly Angels, to whom a surpassing radiance of whiteness is communicated by God. "They toil not, neither do they spin," because the angelic powers received in the very first allotment of their existence such a nature, that as they were made so they should ever continue to be; and when in the resurrection men shall be like unto Angels, He would have them look for a covering of angelic glory by this example of angelic excellence.

Patristic sources

Read the sources: Chrysostom, Homilies on Matthew (CCEL, NPNF1-10) · Cyril of Alexandria on Luke, Sermon 90 (tertullian.org) · Augustine, Our Lord's Sermon on the Mount, Book II (CCEL, NPNF1-6) · Catena Aurea on Matthew 6 (CCEL)