Church Fathers Commentary Luke 12:22-23

"And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Be not anxious for [your] life, what ye shall eat; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. For the life is more than the food, and the body than the raiment." — Luke 12:22-23 (ASV)

Theophylact of Ohrid: The Lord gradually leads us onward to a more perfect teaching. He previously taught us to beware of covetousness, adding the parable of the rich man to indicate that the fool is the one who desires more than is enough. Then, as His discourse continues, He forbids us to be anxious even about necessary things, plucking out the very root of covetousness. This is why He says, Therefore I say to you, Take no thought.

It is as if He said, “Since the one who presumes he has a longer life is a fool and thereby becomes more covetous, do not be anxious for your soul, what you shall eat.” This is not because the intellectual soul itself eats, but because nourishment seems to be the only way for the soul to remain united with the body. Or, because it is a function of the living body to receive nourishment, He fittingly ascribes nourishment to the soul, which is also understood as a nutritive power. Therefore, do not be anxious for the nourishing part of your soul about what you will eat. But since a dead body can also be clothed, He adds, nor for your body, what you shall put on.

St. John Chrysostom: The words, Take no thought, do not mean “do no work,” but rather, “Do not fix your minds on earthly things.” For it is often the case that a person who is working is not anxious.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: The soul is more valuable than food, and the body is more valuable than clothing. Therefore, He adds, The life is more than meat... It is as if He said, “God, who has given that which is greater, how will He not also give that which is less?” Therefore, let us not fix our attention on trivial things, nor use our minds to seek after food and clothing. Instead, we should think on whatever saves the soul and raises it to the kingdom of heaven.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Nothing is more likely to convince believers that God can provide all things than the following fact. Without any effort on our part, the ethereal spirit sustains the vital union of soul and body in close fellowship, and the life-giving benefit of food does not fail us until our final day. Since the soul is clothed with the body as with a garment and is kept alive by the soul's vitality, it is absurd to think that a supply of food will be lacking for us, who possess the everlasting substance of life.