Dear friends in Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Prepare our hearts, Lord, to receive your Word. Silence in us any voice but your own that in hearing, we may believe, and in believing, we may obey your will revealed to us in Jesus Christ. Amen.
Some passages from the Bible cause us to really exercise our thinkers as we wrestle with a saying or story whose message seems…less than clear. Not so today. In the Gospel lesson from the book of Matthew, Jesus says, Do not worry about your life (6:25). Then he points to the birds and the flowers, the animals and the plants, the fauna and flora of nature, and asks, Do they worry about their next meal? or about the clothes they’ll wear?
The answer to these rhetorical questions, of course, is a crystal clear, cut and dried, slam-dunk NO! But Jesus isn’t finished yet. With his next question, he takes one giant step away from parable toward practical when he says, in effect, Let me put it this way: Can any of you, by worrying about something, make it work out the way you want (6:27)?
Then one more time for good measure, Jesus drives his point home by commanding us: Do not worry about what you will eat, drink, or wear (6:31).
Hmm…I wonder what point Jesus is trying to make? Could it have something to do with that seductive, seditious, subversive sin called…worry? But none of us ever worry…do we?
Well, here’s some good news for anyone who struggles with worry. Jesus gives a simple solution when he tells his disciples: don’t do it…just say no!
The Lion King tells the story of a lion cub who overcomes some adversity, grows up, and saves the pride. But while running away from his struggles, he meets two friends who teach him their “problem-free philosophy.” It’s called hakuna matata—which means “no worries”—a fine approach to life unless you’re avoiding, ignoring, or feeling guilty about something.
Why doesn’t it work for us to just sing hakuna matata or just say no to worry? Part of the problem is that we only worry about things that seem very important at the time. Some are silly—like taking a test, putting together a project, meeting a deadline, or getting caught in a little lie. Others are more deserving of our concern—like a wounded relationship, a financial crisis, or a difficult prognosis from the doctor.
But silly or serious, it doesn’t matter when it’s 3:00 a.m. and our tired spirits can’t let go of worrying about what might go wrong. And here’s the kicker: many times, the harder we try to stop worrying, the deeper we fall into its downward spiral.
I’m convinced that worry is really an issue of feeling powerless. One day when our daughter, Rachel, was about four years old, we went out for a walk. Along the sidewalk came a bug of some kind that captured her attention. After watching it closely for a moment, she stood up…and stepped on it—splat! that was it—no more bug. Then something clicked in that little blond head of hers; her eyes grew wide, brimmed with tears, and she said with a terrible sense of urgency, “Daddy, I have power!”
At first I thought she was feeling guilty for squishing the life out of that little bug. But then it dawned on me that she had just made the connection that little bugs—just like little kids—have no power in this life.
No, we rarely worry about things we have the power to change; instead, we like to worry about things that we can’t do a darn thing about anyway!
So Jesus’ question hits the nail on the head: Can any of you, by worrying, make something good happen? No, we all say…but knowing this truth in our heads, is not the same thing as embracing this truth with our hearts.
No, if we could control worry by simply commanding ourselves (or each other) to stop it, then it would not be a problem. So the question is this: how are we supposed to deal with this demon? What works for you in your battle against worry?
Two things are key here. The first is Jesus’ brilliant sentence at the end of today’s lesson. Says the Lord: But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (6:33).He knows that worry is like a black hole in physics—pulling everything, even light, into itself. Worry only drains us of energy, strength, hope, trust!
So we get rid of it, says Jesus, not by fighting against it…but by filling it up with things that feed our spirits with God’s Spirit. My wife, Carolyn, is a teacher and a wise person as well. Whenever our kids have been stuck in an emotional low, or languishing in a period of worry, eventually Carolyn will ask this question: Have you tried volunteering in a neighborhood school?
Pastor Brian Stoffregen tells about a speaker he once heard who held up an empty glass. He asked the question, “How can I get the air out of this glass?” He turned it over…the air didn’t pour out. He shook it up and down…the air stayed in. Finally, he reached for a pitcher of water and poured it into the glass. As the water filled the glass, the emptiness disappeared (www.crossmarks.com/brian/matt06x24.htm).
The second key is Jesus’ wise move to draw our attention outward to our feathered, furry, and flowery friends in nature. They are always a good reminder that God, who loves and cares for all of creation, loves and cares for us even more.
So, in conclusion, I leave you with the lyrics to a delightful song that Sandy Fazio sent me. It’s entitled “God and Dog” and does a great job of reinforcing Jesus’ lessons for us: look to your pets—they don’t worry because they love and trust. Says the author:
I look up and I see God…I look down and see my dog.
Simple spelling G-O-D, same word backwards D-O-G.
They would stay with me all day…I’m the one who walks away.
But both of them just wait for me…and dance at my return with glee.
Both love me no matter what…Divine God and canine mutt.
I take it hard each time I fail, but God forgives; dog wags his tail.
God thought up and made the dog…dog reflects a part of God.
I’ve seen love from both sides now. It’s everywhere…Amen…bow-wow!
I look up and I see God…I look down and see my dog.
And in my human frailty, I can’t match their love for me.
(“God and Dog” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H17edn_RZoY written, recorded and animated by Wendy Francisco)
Amen…bow-wow!
Pastor Scott Fuller