Matthew 6:29 — Community Reflections

MATTHEW 6:29 — KING JAMES VERSION 0

“And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”

Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. The comparison to Solomon is the superlative: the wealthiest and most glorious king in Israel's history was not dressed as magnificently as a common field flower. 1 Kings 10:1–25 describes Solomon's wealth and splendor at their peak. The flower that will wither tomorrow is more gloriously clothed than Solomon in his prime — the glory of the created order, cared for by the Father, exceeds the best human achievement. The implication is both a comfort (the Father's provision is magnificent) and a perspective-adjustment (human notions of magnificent provision are less than what the Father ordinarily provides for flowers).

Church Fathers on Matthew 6:29

Hom., xxii: Having shewn that it is not right to be anxious about food, He passes to that which is less; (for raiment is not so necessary as food;) and asks, 'And why are ye careful wherewith ye shall be clothed?' He uses not here the instance of the birds, when He might have drawn some to the point, as the peacock, or the swan, but brings forward the lilies, saying, 'Consider the lilies of the field.' He would prove in two things the abundant goodness of God; to wit, the…
Chrysostom · 4th century

The things instanced are not to be allegorized so that we enquire what is denoted by the birds of the air, or the lilies of the field; they are only examples to prove God’s care for the greater from His care for the less.
Augustine · 4th century · Serm. in Mont., ii, 15

For lilies within a fixed time are formed into branches, clothed in whiteness, and endowed with sweet odour, God conveying by an unseen operation, what the earth had not given to the root. But in all the same perfectness is observed, that they may not be thought to have been formed by chance, but may be known to be ordered by God’s providence. When He says, 'They toil not,' He speaks for the comfort of men; 'Neither do they spin,' for the women.
Pseudo-Chrysostom · 5th century

Read all 16 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain

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