Your Father Knows

Your Father Knows

Gospel: Matthew 6:24-34 (BCP, p. 231)

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 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? Behold the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not ye of much more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit unto the measure of his life? And why are ye anxious concerning raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God doth so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek; for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Be not therefore anxious for the morrow: for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Do you worry? Everybody does sometimes. For some it’s chronic. For most of us worry is connected to our sense of control. The more control we think we have the less we worry. The less control we feel we have the more we worry.

We have strategies for maintaining control. We make detailed plans for the future. We try to anticipate things that could go wrong so we can avoid them or respond to them should they occur. We work hard to impose our wills on situations and people. We think the more control we have the less there is to worry about.

But life has its ways of exposing our illusions of control. We make ten year plans, but then find out we may not have ten months. We have a great investment plan, but then the market crashes or bottom falls out of the value of precious metals. We direct our kids toward what we think is best for them, and it turns out their interests and wills are very different.

The less control we feel the more anxiety we experience. This morning we read for the Gospel the part of the Sermon on the Mount in which Jesus addressed the subject of worry.

1. What we worry about.

Jesus gives us a sampling of things we worry about. They all have to do with life - the things we worry about that have to do with our physical lives in this material world.

• Food and drink. Food and drink were serious concerns in the ancient world. Droughts and famines threatened well being and life.  Wars interrupted food supplies. Poverty made it difficult to obtain food when it was available. That remains true today especially in third world countries. We take for granted the abundant food supply we enjoy. But that does not mean that we don’t worry about food. We worry about what we’re going to eat, not whether we will have food, but we worry about things like fat, GMOs, wheat, or whatever our particular health concerns are.

• Clothing. Clothing was also an issue in the ancient world. The OT law ordered that if a creditor took a borrower’s cloak as surety for a loan, he must return that cloak every night, because that cloak was his blanket at night. Today we pictures of naked children in the third world and of people in refugee camps wearing rags. Even the poorest of us have plenty of clothes, but we worry about them anyway. What will we wear to work each day? Are our clothes out of fashion? Will people laugh at the way we dress? Will be able to get that skirt or new pair of shoes we want?

• Length. The average lifespan in VA in the 17th century was about 25 years. Hygiene was poor. Food and water supplies were not predictably safe. The major factor contributing to such a short life expectancy was infant mortality. Then there were many illnesses which are prevented today by vaccinations. And there were many infections which today could be easily cured with antibiotics. But while life expectancy is much higher today, still life is fragile and death is certain. We watch our diets, exercise, take various dietary supplements attempting to a a few days or months to our lifespan.

2. Why we should not worry.

• Don’t be anxious. Jesus tells us to not be anxious about these things - food and drink, clothing, health, all the things associated with physical life in this present world. He is not saying, “Don’t have concern about these things at all,” but, “Don’t worry about them.”`

Someone might say, “I’m not going to look for a job, because Jesus

will take care of my family. If he wants me to have a job, he will

give me one.” Or a woman might say, “I’m not going to be

concerned about washing my kids’ clothes, or getting their

school supplies, or going to the grocery store so we can have good

meals at night.” This is not what Jesus is saying. What Jesus is

saying is, “Don’t think about these things obsessively. Don’t engage

in anxious thoughts about them.” Or, we might put it, “Be

responsible. Plan. Work. But don’t worry.”

Jesus gives reasons both practical and theological for not worrying.

• Practical Reasons. Here are some practical reasons not to become obsessed with worry about the things you need.

• Worry is futile.  Planning and diligence are good, but not when we become obsessed with them under the illusion that we can control life. But worry is not effective. Worrying about problems does not solve them. Worrying about things that might happen does not prevent them. Or, as Jesus said, “Who by worrying about his life can add so much as an hour to his lifespan?”  Worry is ineffective. It often is counterproductive. It accomplishes nothing.

• There is more to life than most of the things we worry about. We worry about food, drink, clothes, the material things we need and want for physical life in this world. We worry about our diets. We worry about the clothes we want to wear. We worry about how long we are going to live. But, there is much more to life. There’s the life of the mind -  reading, the arts, critical thought. There’s treating people with respect and love. There is  character - what kind of people we are and are becoming. When we worry about physical things, we are shallow people who focus on what is least important.

• Every day has enough troubles of its own. Deal with today’s issues. Don’t try to project yourself into the future. Focus on what needs your attention today. Do today’s homework. Prepare today’s meals. Go work. Wash the dishes. If you have a term paper due in two weeks, do some work on it today. But don’t try to predict the future. We are not very good at it. “Don’t borrow trouble” by worrying about things that may never happen. Deal with what is in front of you, not what you guess will be down the road.  Focus on the present, not the future. Today has enough troubles and responsibilities for today.

• Theological Reason. More important than the practical reasons is an overriding theological reason.

• You have a heavenly Father.
• Look at the birds. Birds are very active through the day, and much of their activity has to do with getting food. But birds don’t plant fields in the spring. They don’t harvest food in the fall. They don’t put food into barns to make sure they will have enough through winter. But they eat. Why? God takes care of them. He has farmers plant fields. He has people like me put out bird feeders. Now what is more valuable to God? Birds or you? God made the birds; God made you. But you and birds are not the same. You are far more important to God than birds. He made you, not they, in his image. You are most like God of anything that God made. Not only did God make you in his image; he redeemed  you by sending his Son to become one of us and to die for our sins. Now, if you are more valuable than the birds, don’t you think God can and will take care of you? And, if for any reason there is a shortage, don’t you know that it is not because he doesn’t love you but because he has a wise and good plan.  So why do you worry about food?
• Look at the fields where beautiful lilies grow. The fields do weave cloth to make clothes. No, the lilies come up and the fields are “dressed” with beautiful and glorious “clothes.” King Solomon was very rich. He could purchase whatever materials he wanted. He could hire the very best seamstresses. They produced for him clothes fitting for a king. But, when Solomon was dressed in his finest clothes, was he dressed as beautifully as the fields are when the lilies are in bloom? The grass of the fields which is adorned with lilies is here today. Tomorrow it may be dug up and used as fuel in the ovens. Still it is dressed beautifully with the lilies. Aren’t you more important to God than the grass of the fields? Doesn’t God care more about you infinitely more than he does about the fields? Of course, so why do you worry about clothes?

• Pagans worry about all these things having to do with life. Why? Because they do not have a heavenly Father. They have gods. But their gods are not good and loving. Their gods can be mean. Their gods can get angry. Their gods have to be placated and manipulated. They can fear their gods, but they cannot trust them. So they have to worry all the time about food, drink, clothes, how long they will live. The difference between Christianity and paganism is the Fatherhood of God. We know God as a Father who cares about us he children. I was and a very imperfect and flawed Father. But I care about my children, and I always did the best I could to make sure they had the things they needed. Don’t you think a perfect Father will love you perfectly and provide for all your needs in accordance with his perfect and loving will?

3. What we should do.

Jesus tells us to give up our obsession with food, drink, clothes, the length of life, and all the things we try to get to assure our security and happiness. He tells us to change our focus. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

God’s kingdom is his saving and righteousness rule which he has established in this world in Jesus Christ. His purpose is to overturn the rule of Satan, sin, and death. Jesus brought this kingdom into existence by his birth, his life, his death, and resurrection. He will rule till Satan is totally conquered, till sin is banished, till death is defeated. His kingdom now is his church which he has given the ministry of the Word and sacraments so the we can be saved and brought into this kingdom and live under his gracious rule. Focus on Christ.  Devote yourself to the spread of his kingdom. Mean it when you say, “Thy kingdom come; they will be done.”  Love his church as he loved the church and died for her.       

Here is what you need to think about, to focus on, to devote your energy to. Seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness. God will take care of the rest.