Sermon: May 25, 2008

Texts: Isaiah 49:8-16a, Psalm 131, Matthew 6:24-34

A few weeks ago, I nearly rear-ended another car on Elida Road in Lima. I was traveling along, when a car stopped very suddenly right in front of me. Want to guess where I was on Elida Road? Close to the Swifty gas station, of course. As is typical for Swifty, nearby stations had just raised their prices to $3.90 or so, but Swifty was holding out at $3.65 for as long as they could. The traffic was backed up for several blocks going in both directions as drivers attempted to fill their tanks at this “low” price. Crazy.

We are living in tough times these days. The word “recession” is on many lips. The prices of milk, eggs, and gasoline are skyrocketing. Last month, Costco and Sam’s Club began rationing rice. Thank goodness the government is saving the day with those rebate checks, right? (Sarcasm) With all the bad news, it’s easy to be worried and stressed. Will we see this tough time through? Will the value of our homes go down the drain? Will we keep our jobs? The questions loom large, and worry many of us.

And yet we have this word from Jesus. “Do not worry.” “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear.” It’s sometimes hard to take these words of Jesus to heart, perhaps his words seem out of step with what we face in the modern world. As one scholar put it, it seems like this teaching – “Do Not Worry” –“could only have been written by a single guy living a carefree life on the beach in sunny Galilee.” [1] Is Jesus telling us to just chill, kick back, and relax instead of doing all we can to stay ahead and stay secure?

Jesus is not calling us to abandon our responsibilities and leave the well-being of our families up to chance. Jesus is not telling us to throw good financial sense out the window, he is not inviting us to squander our paychecks and empty out our retirement savings. But he is teaching us to not let excessive worry and anxiety about the future rule our lives to the point where we can no longer trust God and joyously serve others. Therefore, he is teaching us a different way of living. Jesus is calling us to trust God more than we trust ourselves. He is calling us to trust the simple fact the Lord gives and the Lord provides. In the Lord, we have everything we need and more. We have enough.

Jesus doesn’t say “Don’t strive for food and clothing.” He is saying “strive first” for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added. Do not worry about the future, but enjoy the blessings that God gives in the present, trusting that God holds the future together just as surely as God holds today together.

Jesus says, “Strive first for the kingdom of God and God’s righteousness.” What would happen to our lives if we truly strove for the purposes of God first and foremost – before we attended to the stuff of our everyday lives? What if we woke up each morning saying, “Ok – what does God want me to do today – and then what do I need to get done to keep my material life in order?” We definitely do it the other way around, don’t we. Especially that is true of our time and finances. I’m gonna take care of my needs first, then my wants, then I’ll see if I have some extra time or money leftover for a neighbor in need.

Part of this we do out of our sinful and selfish nature. But part of this we do just because we are worried and anxious about the responsibilities we have to our families and our self. It’s difficult to trust in God, and trust that if we strive after his righteousness first, we will have enough provision and enough blessing to see it through the day. How would our lives be different if we did indeed “strive first” for the kingdom of God?

I’ll tell you one thing. We would be happier and more content. We would know peace. We would be more generous people. We would know what it means to feel full, alive, and secure. Ok, you’re thinking. Sounds great. So how do we start to re-prioritize, shift gears, and strive first for God’s purposes?

Well, starting anew is the easy part and the difficult part. It’s easy because God is the one who does this work for us! God gives us forgiveness in those times when we fail, grace to start again, and peace to meet each day. God’s Holy Spirit meets us and fills us when we come to God in worship and prayer – and with the Holy Spirit within us, anything is possible for us. But starting anew is also hard because we will forget what God has done for us over and over again, and will always need to be reminded. That’s why we never “graduate” from going to church, or from reading the Bible. We have to keep coming back to the simple truth of God’s love and grace over and over again – we need to be re-converted to living the life of a Christian every day.

So in order to re-convert you, and to help you re-direct your life, let me do my job as a preacher and paint you a picture of this God who loves you and longs to be first in your life. Because in contrast to this anxiety we experience everyday, we have these beautiful images from the Old Testament Scriptures describing the love and the peace we have with God. The passage from Isaiah brings to mind a mother’s love. The Lord says to Israel, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands.”

It is possible for a mother to forget her child, even her nursing child. Likely, no – but possible. But God has said that it is NOT POSSIBLE for God to forget his people – and that includes you. Not possible for God – can you believe that? That God has made something impossible for God’s self? God is faithful to us and God will not forget us in our time of need. God has us tattooed on his hands. God is mother to us in a way that no earthly mother can be – and a lot of us know some really good mothers. When we know that God’s love for us is that rich, how can we not trust God with our lives, and selves?

In today’s reading from Psalm 131, the poet describes resting in the arms of God – and again this mothering image is brought forth. The poet writes: “I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.”

Think of yourself as that weaned child. Now, when you hear that term, weaned child, you think of a child that has moved on from his mother’s milk, or formula, and is now on to drinking cow’s milk, and you may bring to mind a child that is about 1 or 2 years old. Now most of the 2 year olds you know are not quiet and serene but rather boisterous and all over the place! But I did a little digging and discovered that the Hebrew word may not mean “completely weaned” in the sense that the child no longer nurses, but the word might better describe a child that has just finished nursing. So the baby described is weaned only for the moment. [2]

Those of you that have had the pleasure to witness a baby’s face just after nursing will know that there is no better picture of calm and tranquility in this world. Think of a small baby, just a month or two old, after he has finished nursing at his mother’s breast or has finished the last bit of his bottle, and is now lying in his caregiver’s arms. Usually a baby is fast asleep about this time, finally satisfied. The kicking and squirming is no more – he has everything he needs and is completely calm and secure. His cheeks look almost a little swollen, flushed with milk. The baby has no thought of where his next meal will come from, or what tomorrow brings. In that moment he only knows complete peace and satisfaction.

Can a nursing mother not love her baby? It’s possible. Not likely, but possible. Can our God not love us, his children? NOT POSSIBLE. If he cannot forget us, he must love us. When we believe what God says about us and how much he loves us, then we will know peace and satisfaction. So if a baby can rest so securely in a human mother’s arms, how much more securely can we rest in the arms of God? Do you what Jesus called God? What he taught us to call God? Abba. Abba, an intensely familiar and trusting word which means “Daddy.” Think of yourself as a trusting little child calling for your Daddy. Or as a fully-satisfied baby sleeping in her mother’s arms. Be the child. Be the baby.

If we can trust God enough to trust God like this, then striving first for God’s kingdom becomes a whole heck of a lot easier. Then those of us who have resources must ask themselves – “What am I doing hoarding all this blessing from God when there are people around me in need and God has proven to me over and over again that he will provide?” Or, “What am I doing, running around chasing a million tasks, trying to please everyone, when God has already declared that I am loved, and will not be forgotten?” “What am I doing up late at night, preemptively worrying over all the troubles tomorrow might bring?” In order to seek first God’s kingdom, we must first and foremost rest securely in his love. When we rest securely in his love, we do not worry excessively about how to obtain security for ourselves. We do not worry about tomorrow. So strive first for the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well by the God who lovingly holds you safe and secure and satisfies your every need. Amen.

[1] Commentary on Gospel, May 25^th, 2008 by Richard Beaton, referencing Ulrich Luz: http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx#

[2] Observation from Laurel A. Dykstra, “Living the Word: The Creator of Life,” Sojourners’ Magazine, May 2008: http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&issue=soj0805&article=080549&cookies_enabled=false