In one of my former parishes there was an absolutely wonderful man who was totally dedicated to the church and was there several times a week in order to see what he could fix or take care of.
Often the office phone would ring and his familiar voice would say: “Hey Pastor, this is old worry wart calling.”
Every time I heard that, I thought to myself: That could be me calling, or, let’s be honest: it could be any of us calling, because worry is a major part of our daily existence.
In our mind’s eye we often struggle with what if…..and, dear hearts, we can all fill in that blank.
How often the what if’s in our lives are time warped.
We worry about the past and say “what if” things were different, “what if I had or hadn’t done this or that.”
We also spend a lot of our present moments concerned about the what ifs of tomorrow.
What if I can’t afford it….what if I get sick…what if, what if.
I wonder how many of the present moments of God we miss because of the what ifs in our lives.
In today’s gospel we hear Jesus say
“Don’t be anxious about your life.”
Don’t be anxious?
How can we not be anxious: the price of gas, the economy, the environment, the war….how can we not be anxious.
Yet, Jesus makes it abundantly clear that we were not created in the image of God to be to be worry warts.
Dr. Peter Marshall addressed this issue in a sermon he preached at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C.
He tells us: “People have never fully realized just how destructive a thing worry is.
It truly plays havoc with one’s life.
It ruins digestion, it causes stomach ulcers.
It interferes with sound sleep and forces us to face another day unrested and irritable.
It shortens our tempers and makes us snap at the members of our family.
Anxiety and tension, which are twins, bring on heart disease, high blood pressure, and nervous disorders.
If you are a Christian, if you are a child of God, then your worrying is not only futile, it is sinful.
When Christ turns the searchlight of His penetrating insight and decisive intellect upon worry, He defines it as nothing more or less than lack of trust in God.” (Marshall, Peter. Mr. Jones, Meet the Master, pgs. 162-163)
In the sixth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel Jesus had a lot to say about this very thing: “Which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life.”
It all boils down to trust: do we have enough trust in God to commit to him our lives, knowing that ultimately, no matter what, he will eternally take care of us.
In today’s Gospel Christ makes it plain that we are not to worry about what we shall eat, or what we will wear.
He then points us to the birds of the air and the flowers of the field, telling us that God cares for each and every one of them.
That is all well and good, but if we are so concerned about ourselves, if all we see is our own reflection in our mirrors of worry and anxiety, we don’t notice the birds of the air or the flowers of the field.
What Jesus is telling us is to look beyond ourselves, to look beyond the circumstances around us, and each moment, to seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and then all of these things shall be yours as well.
But, let’s be honest: life can be dark and the shadows can creep ominously upon our souls.
Yet, in the darkness, there is the constant light of God.
The problem is, we don’t often see it.
Isaiah the prophet spoke some incredible words about 750 years before Christ.
In the midst of trials and tribulations of Israel, Isaiah tells us: “The Lord says to the prisoners ‘Come forth’ to those in darkness, ‘appear.
They shall feed along the ways, on all bare heights shall be their pasture, they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall smite them, for he who has pity will lead them and by springs of waters will guide them.
Behold, I have graven you on the palms of my hands.”
That sounds nice, doesn’t it, but what about the time that life becomes unmanageable?
How do we pray? What do we do? What happens when we ask God’s help and it doesn’t come in the time and the way we think it should be?
Then, we easily come to the conclusion that God won’t or can’t do anything about our lives, so we take our lives into our own hands, we worry, and we try to fix things in our own time and in our own way.
When we take that approach, all God can do is to stand helplessly by and watch us stew in our own juice.
Remember what happened to St. Paul?
He tells us that he was afflicted with some thorn in the flesh, we don’t know what, but it must have pushed him to the limits.
So, three times he prays for the Lord to take it away from him., and finally the Lord says: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
When life becomes totally unmanageable, when things happen that puts us on the bottom of the heap, financial hardship, conflict with family or friends, a doctor’s dreaded diagnosis, standing at the grave of a loved one: my brothers and sisters in Christ, do we know, do we fully understand that his grace is absolutely sufficient for us?
Seeking first the kingdom of God places us squarely in the grace of God.
The grace of God means that, in spite of outward circumstances, God’s love, God’s care, and God’s abiding presence will guide us through the darkest moments into the light of Christ.
The grace of God, for Christ, meant that Good Friday was transformed into the resurrection of Easter, and that, dear hearts, is exactly what it is all about.
The grace of God means that, no matter what, we can live without fear, without anxiety, and without worry.
Remember the words of a favorite Psalm?
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
So, my fellow worry warts, the grace of God, the love of God, the presence of God will lead us through any trial, any pain, any darkness if we will only let go, and let God.
Let’s let St. Paul have the last word:
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice.
Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God.
And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
Amen.
Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church | 1710 Moorpark Avenue | San Jose, CA 95128 | (408)297-0993 | immanuellutheransj@yahoo.com
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