Don't Worry

SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
May 25, 2008 (Lectionary 8)
Isaiah 49:8-16a
Psalm 131 (2)1 Corinthians 4:1-5
Matthew 6:24-34


Matthew 6:24-34
‘No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ‘So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

No – I did not preach today, but what a wonderful text it would have been for a sermon – especially as a just graduated seminarian in that “in-between” time from graduation to first call. For most of us recently graduated seminarians, we are in that time where we are coming to the end of budgeted school expenses. Most have probably paid rent through the end of May (or in our case, house payment) and paid most of the monthly bills for May out of the last of the student loan money which is what we have been living on. For June, some of us have reserves to get by and some don’t. Some have to move by the end of May and others don’t. Our lives are unsettled because we don’t know what is in store. We know where we are assigned, but we still have to interview and work our way through the call process. But, for some of us, it feels like time is running out. Money is tight, we face the unknown, and we have too much free time on our hands.

The Gospel text to day is perfect for this time of uncertainty. Why worry? What are we to worry about? God has provided for us, just as He provides for the birds of the air. As the lilies of the field are clothed, so are we. Times are still uncertain, but we need only deal with it one day at a time – “Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

This is good news! We may not know how we are going to buy a tank of gas to drive to our interview, or how we will deal with July – should we still be in the call process, without any income, but we need not worry. Jesus tells us not to worry, tells us all that God has done for us, is doing for us, and promises yet to do for us.

Life for the next several weeks may not be easy, we may not know today how we will pay next months bills, but we know that God will provide – in some way. In conversations with classmates over the last week, it is already obvious that God works in ways that we cannot even begin to imagine. Each day brings wonders, surprises, and even miracles that we do not expect. Even a free meal after church today that was not expected becomes more than just an unexpected pleasure, and much more than a coincidence. Thanks be to God!