Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 6:25

"Therefore I say unto you, be not anxious 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 the food, and the body than the raiment?" — Matthew 6:25 (ASV)

St. Augustine of Hippo: The Lord had taught above that whoever desires to love God, and to be careful not to offend, should not think that he can serve two masters. This is so that even if he does not seek luxuries, his heart might not become divided for the sake of basic necessities, with his thoughts focused on obtaining them.¹

Therefore I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, what you shall eat, or for your body, what you shall put on.

St. John Chrysostom: He does not mean by this that the spirit needs food, for it is incorporeal. Rather, He speaks according to common usage, because the soul cannot remain in the body unless the body is fed.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or, we may understand "soul" in this place to be used for the principle of animal life.

St. Jerome: Some manuscripts add here, "nor what you shall drink."ⁱ We are not freed from all thought of that which belongs naturally to all living creatures—to animals and beasts of burden as well as to man. But we are told not to be anxious about what we should eat, for we earn our bread "in the sweat of our face." The toil must be undergone; the anxiety must be put away. This command, "Do not be anxious," refers to bodily food and clothing; for the food and clothing of the spirit, it is right for us to always be careful.

St. Augustine of Hippo: There are certain heretics called Euchitesⁱ who hold that a monk may not do any work, even for his own support. They embrace this profession so that they may be freed from the necessity of daily labor.²

They claim the Apostle was not speaking of personal labor, such as that of farmers or craftsmen, when he said, "If anyone will not work, neither should he eat" (2 Thessalonians 3:10). For, they argue, he could not be so contrary to the Gospel, where it says, "Therefore I say to you, do not be anxious." Therefore, in that saying of the Apostle, we are to understand spiritual works, of which it is said elsewhere, "I planted, Apollos watered" (1 Corinthians 3:6).³

And so they think themselves obedient to the apostolic precept, interpreting the Gospel to speak of not taking care for the needs of the body, and the Apostle to speak of spiritual labor and food. First, let us prove that the Apostle meant that the servants of God should labor with their bodies. He had said, "You yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, in that we were not disorderly among you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread for nothing; but we worked with labor and weariness day and night, that we might not be a burden to any of you. It is not that we do not have the right, but we did this to offer ourselves as a pattern for you to imitate. For when we were among you, we taught you this: that if a man would not work, neither should he eat."

What shall we say to this, since he taught by his own example what he delivered as a precept, in that he himself worked with his own hands? This is proved from the book of Acts, where it is said that he stayed with Aquila and his wife Priscilla, "working with them, for they were tent-makers" (Acts 18:3).

And yet, for the Apostle—as a preacher of the Gospel, a soldier of Christ, a planter of the vineyard, and a shepherd of his flock—the Lord had appointed that he should live from the Gospel. But he refused the payment that was justly his due so that he might present himself as an example to those who demanded what was not due to them. Let those hear this who do not have the right that he had—namely, of eating bread for nothing and only laboring with spiritual labor. If indeed they are evangelists, if they are ministers of the Altar, if they are dispensers of the Sacraments, they have this right.

Or, if they had possessions in this world by which they could have supported themselves without labor, and upon turning to God had distributed these to the needy, then their weakness should be acknowledged and borne with. And it would not matter in what place the distribution was made, since there is but one commonwealth of all Christians.

But those who enter the profession of God's service from a life in the country, from a craftsman's trade, or from common labor are not to be excused if they do not work. For it is by no means fitting that in a life where senators become laborers, laboring men should become idle; or that where lords of estates come, having given up their luxuries, rural servants should come to find luxury.

But when the Lord says, "Do not be anxious," He does not mean that they should not procure the things they need, as long as they do so honestly. Rather, He means that they should not fixate on these things, and should not preach the Gospel for the sake of acquiring them, for He had, a little before, called this kind of intention "the eye."

St. John Chrysostom: Or, we can connect the context differently. When the Lord had urged contempt for money, so that no one might say, "How then shall we be able to live when we have given up everything?" He adds, "Therefore I say to you, do not be anxious for your life."

Glossa Ordinaria: That is, do not be drawn away from eternal things by temporal cares.⁴

St. Jerome: The command, therefore, is not to be anxious about what we shall eat. For it is also commanded that "in the sweat of your face you shall eat bread." Toil, therefore, is required, but anxious care is forbidden.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Bread is not gained by anxiety of spirit, but by toil of the body. For those who are willing to labor, it abounds, with God bestowing it as a reward for their industry; and it is lacking for the idle, with God withdrawing it as a punishment for their sloth. The Lord also confirms our hope, and arguing from the greater to the lesser, says, "Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?"

St. Jerome: He who has given the greater, will He not also give the lesser?

Pseudo-Chrysostom: For if He had not willed for that which exists to be preserved, He would not have created it. But for that which He created to be preserved by food, it is necessary that He give it food, as long as He wills for it to be preserved.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: Alternatively, because the thoughts of unbelievers were wrongly occupied with anxiety about future things—quibbling about what the appearance of our bodies will be in the resurrection and what the food will be in eternal life—He therefore continues, "Is not life more than food?" He will not tolerate our hope depending on anxiety for the food, drink, and clothing of the resurrection, lest we should offend Him who has given us the more precious things by being anxious that He should also give us the lesser.

1. Serm. in Mont., ii, 15
2. De Haeres., 57
3. De Op. Monach. 1 et seq.
4. interlin.