The Rev. Paul J Cain
Matthew 6:24-34
Enough to Worry About
Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity, 28 September 2014
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, WY
In the Name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
It was a difficult spot to be in to say the least. Tom had
two full-time jobs and had an impossible schedule each day. He had more than
enough to worry about. From early in the morning to early afternoon, he worked
at the lumberyard. Then, he had the late shift at the railroad yard. He barely
had time to eat and sleep. He wasn’t married. If he were, he’d never see his
wife and children. We’d probably all agree that this was no way to live.
Something had to give. And finally, Tom had to make a choice. He was promoted
at the railroad and was offered the day shift. There simply was no good reason
to try to work two jobs. Even the money wasn’t worth what it was doing to him.
Tom learned by experience what Jesus said: “No one can serve two masters, for
either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the
one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
Money is a wonderful servant but a terrible master. For
some, it becomes the god in which they put their trust. Providing for the
family becomes a convenient excuse to work more and more and accumulate more
money in the bank account or more stuff in the house or garage.
Even our young people sometimes fall into the trap. Money from
a part-time job often goes to what are really luxuries: cars, music,
electronics, video game systems, or name-brand clothing. While none of us would
likely give up being a Christian for a billion dollars, many simply do it for
minimum wage. I’m thankful to see you for Church today.
God knows we need our daily bread, everything that supports
our bodies and lives. We pray for daily bread daily. By faith we see that
everything we have is a gift from Him. We receive our daily bread with
thanksgiving. But we still worry. We worry about important things. We worry
about silly things. We worry about what other people will think. We worry about
how we’ll pay the bills. We worry about how much we worry.
And Jesus says: “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious
about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body,
what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than
clothing? 26Look 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? 27And which of you by being anxious can add a
single hour to his span of life? 28And why are you anxious about
clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil
nor spin, 29yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not
arrayed like one of these. 30But if God so clothes the grass of the
field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not
much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31Therefore do not be
anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall
we wear?’ 32For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your
heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33But seek first the
kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to
you.
God provides you with everything you truly need. That’s the
sermon in one sentence. God gives you daily bread and spiritual bread,
forgiveness in Christ. You have enough to worry about in regularly receiving
the Lord’s gifts and offering back to him your sacrifice of thanksgiving,
offerings, praise, and doing good works in service to your neighbors.
Seek the kingdom first. The spiritual gifts endure forever.
They are the only ones you can take with you once you die. God knows you need
physical blessings. He gives food to all, even the evil. Seek first the kingdom
of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Worry means that what you’re concerned about rolls around in
your head, fills your heart, and consumes your time, yet without much positive
result. You may well be powerless.
In prayer, we take any thought captive to Christ, exercise
God-given faith in our heart, and make better use of our time by presenting our
needs before the Lord who can do something about them.
I’m not going to rehash a list of the things that may concern
you. That would be a waste of my time and yours. Instead, think about those
things before the Lord in prayer and pray in faith that the Lord can and will
resolve them! Worry uses up so much valuable prayer time. Many times you cannot
change what is happening. You just have to sit there and watch it happen. You
can change how you react to situations. You can act out of faith instead of
acting out of fear.
We should fear, love, and trust in God above all
things—including money. All too often we have a different kind of fear—the
being afraid kind—and it can be paralyzing.
One dark pitch-black night a man was walking down an
unfamiliar road. On either side was a steep ravine. [Why he’s walking down the
road and why it’s at night we’re never told.] Suddenly he stepped into space
and began to fall. Thinking he was falling to certain death, he began flailing
his arms and clutching for anything he could get his hands on. He was able to
grasp a bush along the side, and he held on for dear life. It was agony. His
body became numb. At last in weakness and despair, he let go and dropped—six
inches to the bottom of the ditch. Think of the endless agony he went through
because he didn’t let go sooner. Think of the needless agony you go through in
the midst of your worries because you don’t let go of our worries and appeal to
Christ in prayer.
You have enough to worry about. And worry is often an excuse
to doubt God’s love and care of us. We lean on Him and our families and
Christian family in time of need. And sometimes we actually pay enough
attention to notice that the Lord has provided enough. We just haven’t been
spiritually awake enough to see all that He has provided. God will provide for
your needs. He may have a difference of opinion with you regarding something
you want versus something you truly need. Worry is not something you need.
Prayer is.
“Therefore do not be
anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for
the day is its own trouble.
Isn’t that the truth! God gives daily bread daily. Trouble
comes daily. And God gives us what we need to make it through each day. We
aren’t told exactly what each day will bring. God has called us to ventures of
which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils
unknown. We pray that the Lord will give us faith to go out with good courage,
not knowing where we go, but only that His hand is leading us and His love
supporting us through Christ, our Lord.
The famous musician was depressed. His right side was
paralyzed. All his money was gone. He was so deeply in debt that he was
threatened with being thrown into jail. Nevertheless, he worked on composing
the musical masterpiece for which he is still remembered. He worked so fast and
hard, he seldom stopped for meals. When his servant brought him food, the
servant often found his master weeping. In twenty-four days, from August 22
through September 14, 1741, George Frederic Handel finished his oratorio Messiah.
We don’t know how much this grandson of a German Lutheran
pastor prayed while he was composing such great music amid such great
anxieties, [yet] He is said to have commented, “I think I did see all heaven
before me, and the great God Himself.” Handel’s music shows us how needless are
our worries, even in the face of what appears desperate, because the Almighty
accomplishes great things!
We celebrate some of those great things today. We remember
our baptism into Christ in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit. We rejoice in the forgiveness of sins. We thank God for the
opportunity to hear His Word. We are blessed to be able to freely assemble in
His name in this country thanks to the sacrifice of others. We will leave this
place with His blessing. And we give thanks for the good we are able to both
receive and give this day and this coming week. This Wednesday and next Sunday,
we will receive the Lord’s Body and Blood for the forgiveness of sins.
God provides you with everything you truly need. Seek first
the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to
you. In Christ, You have nothing to truly worry about! Amen.
In the Name of the Father and of the T
Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
