"Therefore..do Not Worry"

by Anne Linington⁽²⁰⁹⁾ Red Star

http://Faithwriters.com

Matthew 6: 25-34- “Do not worry”

“ Granny worries enough for all of us” my niece Sarah said astutely. Sarah is coming to the end of a sixth-month stint in Brazil with the Baptist Missionary Society as part of her gap year before going to University. As a family, and for Granny, this has been a time of potential worry as our eighteen -year old set out on her big adventure. For parents, sister, Uncles and Aunties and Granny, we have each had to learn to trust her to God for his protection and provision.

On Friday I received a link to the Isle of Wight Council's budget plans for the coming financial year, having been at one of their Budget Workshops a few months back. The cuts in Government funding, and local Council budgets have created great worry for many parts of our community-

For those employed by the Council, in our Libraries, Tourist Information Offices, Ventnor Botanic Gardens
For those services which rely on Council funding: Adults with Learning Difficulties; Women's refuge, tourist industry, buses and toilets
Add to this those affected by reorganisation in our schools, including our local Primary Schools in West Wight.

These are worrying times both at home and abroad- the unrest in North Africa, earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand.

or perhaps closer to home - family members awaiting results of medical tests, or adapting to the need for long-term care..

So our Gospel reading of “Do not worry” couldn't be more relevant.

And in a week when I am preaching on “Do not worry”- I have to admit to worrying about this service !!

To put it into context:

Genesis 1- Creation narrative of God making the universe, the earth and mankind- proclaiming it good/ very good. If we had read on into Chapter 3 we see how man's desire to be like a god introduced sin and separation- from God, from one another and from Creation itself.

Psalm 136 reminds us that “God's mercy endures forever”: God providentially sustains the Creation he has set in motion.

Fast Forward to our Romans reading set for today..and we find that Creation “waits in eager longing/ anticipation.. for the sons of God to be revealed”.

There is this huge arc of time from Creation past to recreation future, when all that was lost at the fall, will be restored in Christ.. so that there will be no more pain or death, crying, hunger or thirst because the old order makes way for the new.

Our Gospel passage records part of the Sermon on the Mount 2000 years ago, when Christ having entered time and human history is teaching his disciples that they are not to worry. And the reasons for them not worrying are still valid for us.

Matthew's Gospel is essentially a Gospel of the Kingdom:

In Chapter 1 we have the genealogy of Christ traced back to Abraham, through the royal line of Judah, and King David.

Many of the later parables recorded by Matthew begin “The Kingdom of God is like...”

The Sermon on the Mount is about behaviour in the Kingdom of God- the Beatitudes,

prayer, giving, treating one's enemies etc..

Our passage begins “Therefore..”

What follows is based on what Jesus has already been talking about..

The previous portion concerns the fact that we can lay up treasures in one of two places- on earth or in Heaven: On earth moths, rust and thieves can destroy and steal the cloth, metal and “treasure” that is unguarded.

The treasure that is stored up in Heaven cannot be destroyed or stolen, but as Peter says “in (Christ's) great mercy.. he has given us new birth..into a living hope.. an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade- kept in Heaven for you”

Investments may collapse.. pension funds be lost ( and I don't under-estimate the pain that causes those whose careful financial planning has been thwarted)..

but Heavenly treasure.. that of belonging to the Kingdom is always secure.

Where your treasure is there you heart will be also..

You cannot serve two masters..God and Mammon.

In the Kingdom of God, there can be only one King and master, and the direction of our heart and energies of our lives must be in service of our King and his Kingdom.

Therefore.. Do not Worry

.. do not be excessively anxious/ beyond the normal care and concern...

.. your true life, your Heavenly life is already secured because you belong to God's Kingdom. This would be especially relevant in the opposition and persecution that would shortly follow

However, like the disciples we continue to live in a physical world with physical need..

food.. drink .. and clothing.

Do not worry- because you have a Heavenly Father

He who feeds the birds..

Said the robin to the sparrow,

“ I should really like to know

why these anxious human beings

rush about and worry so.”

Said the sparrow to the robin.

“ Friend I think that it must be,

That they have no Heavenly Father

Such as cares for you and me”

and clothes the grass in such beauty that exceeds the glory of Solomon..

Some years ago I was teaching the under-fives in Sunday School; I was talking about daisies, and I remember counting the petals on a daisy- 48 arranged in three tiers of 16.

Who else but God would put 48 petals on every single daisy?

Do not worry because your Heavenly Father gives what we need, not necessarily what we want. . necessities, not luxuries

Differentiating between need and want is not always easy, and with the current financial situation, it may be that we will all have to think more carefully about whether

what we buy is need or want.

We may rightly ask ourselves about those who go hungry in many parts of the world - how can they trust this and “not worry” when their children die of starvation? There is enough food worldwide and the rich and affluent countries must take responsibility for feeding and clothing their starving brothers and sisters in other parts of the world.

God calls those of us in the West to give up what we want, to give our brothers and sisters what they need.

To worry is to deny trust in our Heavenly Father- to be (literally) “little-faiths”

Worrying about what you are going to eat.. drink..or wear is what the Heathen (the people without faith) do.. to trust, is to show faith in the provision of our Heavenly Father, and should eliminate undue worry and care.

Does our trusting attitude in the difficulties of life and for its necessities, distinguish us from those without faith? Does it mark out our belonging to the kingdom?

Worrying is not only needless , but it is Godless , denying the ability of our Father God to provide.

No need to even worry about tomorrow because we only use up the energies we need for today.

“ I know who holds the future and he'll guide me with his hand,

with God things don't just happen everything by Him is planned.

So as I face tomorrow with its problems large and small

I'll trust the God of miracles, give to Him my all.

In the last few years many Christians have been practicing a more contemplative-style of “being” in the presence of God- fewer, perhaps no words and one of the consequences is that life is lived more fully in the present . The past i s gone, and cannot be changed so there is no point in worrying; the future isn't here- and we don't know what it will bring, but we know one who does:

In the story of Martha and Mary, the choice between worrying about the “many things”

the practical entertaining of guests, putting food on the table,

are contrasted with the “one, better thing” that Mary has chosen. Jesus commends Mary for her right sense of priorities – time spent at his feet, listening to him.

First priority is the Kingdom of God- that is what is to be sought above all else,

then everything about which you may be concerned will be yours as well.

Conclusion

We began by thinking of all the potential things that worry us- personally and locally, nationally and internationally;

Jesus teaches that because we belong to the Kingdom we are eternally secure, and in the here and now, we have a Heavenly father that cares and provides for us-

Therefore “DO NOT WORRY”

Article submitted Sunday, February 27, 2011 & read 591 times.

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