Today the Church in England celebrates St Alban, our first martyr.
And the readings could hardly be more appropriate.
Because both St Alban and today’s Gospel force us to answer one question:
Who is your master?
Who has first place in your life?
Who ultimately receives your loyalty?
Jesus says very plainly:
“No one can be the slave of two masters.”
Not usually difficult.
Not occasionally difficult.
Impossible.
Because eventually, when loyalties collide, a choice must be made.
That is exactly what happened in the first reading.
After the death of the good priest Jehoiada, the people drift away from God.
The king listens to bad advice.
The worship of idols returns.
The covenant is forgotten.
And when the prophet Zechariah courageously calls the people back to God, they kill him.
It is a shocking story.
A prophet sent by God.
A man speaking the truth.
Murdered because people preferred their idols.
The tragedy is that they probably never imagined they were rejecting God.
They simply made room for other things.
Other loyalties.
Other priorities.
Other gods.
And eventually those things took God’s place.
That is how idolatry always works.
Very few people wake up one morning and consciously decide to reject God.
Instead something else slowly becomes more important.
Money.
Success.
Comfort.
Pleasure.
Popularity.
Power.
The self.
And little by little God is pushed further towards the edge.
That is why Jesus warns us:
“You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.”
Notice He does not say money is evil.
Money is a tool.
Money can do great good.
But it is a terrible master.
Because money always promises more.
A little more security.
A little more comfort.
A little more happiness.
And the heart can become trapped chasing something it never quite catches.
St Alban made a very different choice.
He lived in Roman Britain at a time when Christians were persecuted.
According to tradition, he sheltered a Christian priest fleeing arrest.
As Alban listened to the priest speak about Christ, something changed within him.
He came to believe.
He came to love Christ.
He came to understand that there is a treasure worth more than life itself.
Then came the moment of decision.
The soldiers arrived.
Alban could have protected himself.
He could have handed over the priest.
He could have saved his own life.
Instead he exchanged clothes with the priest and presented himself to the authorities.
That decision cost him everything.
His freedom.
His future.
His life.
But he understood something that today’s Gospel teaches.
If Christ is truly Lord, then He cannot merely be one priority among many.
He must be first.
That is why Christian martyrs are so important.
They reveal what we really believe.
A martyr is someone who has discovered that Christ is worth more than comfort.
More than reputation.
More than possessions.
Even more than life itself.
Most of us will never face the choice St Alban faced.
We will never be asked to die for Christ.
But we are asked every day to live for Him.
And sometimes that can be harder.
Every day we must choose our master.
Will I serve Christ or my own convenience?
Will I serve Christ or my ambition?
Will I serve Christ or the opinions of others?
Will I serve Christ or my comfort?
And then Jesus gives us one of the most beautiful commands in the Gospel:
“Do not worry.”
Not because life is easy.
Not because difficulties are unreal.
But because God is our Father.
Look at the birds.
Look at the flowers.
Look at creation.
God cares for them.
And you are worth infinitely more.
That does not mean Christians never suffer.
St Alban certainly suffered.
It does not mean Christians never struggle.
The saints certainly struggled.
It means that whatever happens, our lives remain in the hands of God.
And so Jesus concludes:
“Set your hearts on his kingdom first.”
That is the challenge.
Not second.
Not after everything else.
First.
St Alban understood that.
The prophet Zechariah understood that.
The saints understood that.
And because they put God first, they discovered a freedom the world can never give and never take away.
May we have the courage to do the same.
St. Mary's, St. John Bosco and St. Edward's 