Matthew 6: behold the fowls of the air

Where this chapter sits

Matthew 5 to 7 gathers the teaching Jesus gave on a hillside in Galilee, the Sermon on the Mount. Chapter 6 is its practical center. It deals with giving to the poor, prayer and fasting, and warns three times against doing them to be seen. The Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9 to 13) is here, along with treasure in heaven and the saying that no one can serve two masters.

Then, from verse 25 to the end of the chapter, the subject becomes anxiety: food, drink, clothes, tomorrow.

What does Matthew 6:26 mean?

The full verse reads: “Behold 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?” Sowing, reaping and storing are exactly the work of a farming household. Jesus is not telling his listeners to stop working. He is telling them that their worth to God does not hang on the size of the barn.

The argument runs from the lesser to the greater. If God feeds sparrows, who do nothing to earn it, he will not forget people. Luke gives the same saying with ravens (Luke 12:24), birds that were unclean under the Law, which sharpens the point. A few verses later come the lilies of the field, which “toil not, neither do they spin”.

In 1611, “take no thought” meant “do not be anxious”. The chapter ends with a priority and a limit: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (6:33), and trouble enough for one day (6:34).

Saint Francis and the birds

Francis of Assisi (about 1181 to 1226) took this passage almost literally. His early biographers tell how he preached to a flock of birds and called them his brothers and sisters, and a later collection of stories adds the wolf of Gubbio, tamed by his word. That is why our painting of the verse is a portrait of Francis. Many parishes hold a blessing of animals around his feast day, October 4.

A verse for anxious seasons

Matthew 6:26 is read to people who are between jobs, starting a business, or lying awake over bills. Placed by a window where birds come to a feeder, it keeps doing its work quietly, one morning at a time.