In today’s gospel Jesus points out that we can serve either God or mammon. The word “mammon,” sometimes translated as “money,” comes from the Greek word “mamona ,” and generally it refers to material goods and possessions, the things money can buy.

What does Jesus mean by this radical statement? Is he saying that money and material things are evil ? No. God created this material world, and so ultimately it is good , full of beauty and God's glory . So what does Jesus mean?

The key is found in the word “ serve. ” In ordinary relationships, serving someone means expecting a reward from them, putting our trust in them. Jesus is saying that as we go through life, we can put our trust either in God or in the things of this world . We can look for happiness to come from our relationship with God , or we can look for it in created things . Since there is only one God, who is the Creator and therefore uncreated, and since everything else is part of this created world, we really only have two options to choose from . “You cannot serve God and mammon,” Jesus says. It is either one or the other.

Jesus then describes what life is like when we put our trust in the things of this world . He uses words like worry and anxiety over things like food, clothing, and the body. We can so often experience stress about our careers, bank accounts, reputations, health, grades, the future... But material things are intrinsically unstable; that is part of their nature. They come and go – just as natural disasters show us, like the flood many of our neighbors have sadly experienced this past week. In a matter of minutes, your material possessions can be wiped out. Certainly they are important, and Jesus knows that, but when we put our trust in them, we become unstable too.

On the other hand, when we puty our trust in God, we are freed from worldly anxiety and worry, and gradually experience deep interior peace, balance, and fruitful and creative work, even amid the trials and difficulties of life. God is both our all-powerful Lord and our all-loving Father . And so it makes sense to trust in him more than in ourselves and our stuff . “Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness,” Jesus assures us, “and all these other things will be given you as well.” God is the real source of happiness because there is no limit to his love and goodness . His love never fails.

This comes across beautifully in the f irst reading from the Book of Isaiah . The prophet is addressing the Israelites who have been conquered , captured , and forced into exile in Babylon, the world superpower of sixth century B.C. The exiled Israelites were little better than slaves . They were a nation on the verge of annihilation . They had no king, no leader, no army. From a natural , human point of view, there was no hope of deliverance or redemption.

Amid that natural hopelessness, the prophet reminds the exiles to look at their plight from a supernatural , divine point of view. Through Isaiah, God says to them, “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb?” God calls to mind the most powerful natural bond in human experience, the love of a mother for her child. But then he acknowledges that in this fallen world even that love can fail . “Even should she forget, I will never forget you .”

Yes, in a broken, fallen world, in a world full of lies, selfishness, and greed, even a mother's love can fail. In other words, nothing merely natural or material, nothing merely of this world , can give us the lasting happiness we long for. Only God's love and goodness will never fail, and so only he can fulfill our deepest longings. Only God can say to our hearts, “I will never forget you. And so, if we seek first his Kingdom, all these other things will be given us as well.

That's Jesus' promise . But what does it mean to "seek his Kingdom first?” At the very least , it means three things . First, it means obeying God's commandments and teachings, which we find in the Bible and the Church, which Christ has entrusted as custodian of them. We apply them to our own lives through the voice of conscience . In the Our Father, we pray, “Thy Kingdom come; thy will be done...” Christ is a King, a ruler. And so those who dwell in and benefit from his Kingdom should obey his laws. That may be difficult concept for us who live in a free, democratic society. But we need to remember that his is a Kingdom of love.

Second, seeking Christ's Kingdom means constantly striving to get know Jesus Christ better and better through prayer and Christian meditation . Jesus is a unique King, because he longs for our friendship and love . He wants to be part of our lives , to walk with us . The most important thing we can do in our lives is trust in his love and correspond to it by developing a deep, personal relationship with God. And that relationship is built up and expressed first through a life of prayer.

Third, we need to constantly be on the lookout for opportunities to help bring others closer to Christ . We can serve God by serving others: “Love one another as I have loved you.” This isn't as hard as we may think. All we have to do is remember that God is the real source of happiness. And then, since we want those around us to find the path to happiness, it will be natural to work positively to look for what can make them happy, what can bring them joy, or relief from suffering. The simplest act of kindness can bring those around us closer to God; even something as simple as serving someone with a smile.

As Lent begins this coming Ash Wednesday, the Church invites to prepare for walking with our Lord in his Passion, Death, and Resurrection. This simple program of obeying God’s loving commandments, of maturing our prayer life, and of serving others could offer us some insights for our Lenten resolutions to prepare spiritually for the celebration of Holy Week and Easter.

As Jesus renews his commitment to us through his love and goodness , let renew our commitment to him , and promise to make a special effort this Lent to seek his Kingdom first .