Homily Feb. 27/2011
Consider the birds of the air, the lillies of the field. The poetry and simplicity of this teaching of Jesus can obscure its powerful message.
It is tempting for us to go on about our lives in this increasingly complex world and say that Jesus set out an impossible ideal—don’t worry, serve God not money. Live for today. Strive for the Kingdom of God, and God will provide for you.
It all sounds to good to be true. Too idealistic. Too remote from our complex and fast moving reality two thousand years later.
But if we look at our current situation—especially the economic crisis which grips much of the world in different ways and to a different extent, the principles Jesus set out are a way we can better understand what is right and wrong, and how we should live.
The first principle Jesus sets out is that all things belong to God. Surely that means that having been entrusted with God’s creation, and the gifts to provide for us, we need to use the resources of our created world wisely, for our benefit and for future generations.
That means rather than just assess the short term profit, we need to look at long term costs and benefits of how we live out lives. Viewed from this perspective environmental issues—pollution of our air, our water, our land--are vital.
Second, Jesus says people are always more important than things. Wherever we live in the world, rich nation or poor nation, this is vital. Some of the greatest evil in the world is when people are exploited, injured or even killed simply for the sake of greater profit.
In terms of our daily lives this comes into play when we devote so much effort to gaining material well being that we lose out in what is far more important—our relationships with family and friends.
The third and last principle that Christ has teaches us here us about material possessions, is that wealth is always a subordinate good. The
Bible does not say: ‘Money is the root of all evil,’ it says that the "love of money" is the root of all evils. In other words, just having wealth is not a sin, but it does come with responsibility. If someone owns many things, it is not so much a matter for congratulation as it is a matter for prayer, that they may use them wisely, for the good of not only themselves, but others.
Now the other challenging part of this passage is Jesus and his teaching that we must not worry. We must live for the present. Let tomorrow take care of itself.
Now you might say that is fine for an itinerant preacher in Palestine in the first century, in a much more uncomplicated time and place.
After all there was no internet, no television, no modern communications of any kind.
It must have been easier to live for the present.
But Jesus grounds this teaching in our faith in God. God gave us life, created us, made us in his own image, so surely we can trust in him to provide for us.
Jesus uses the example of birds, who don’t worry. Indeed they don’t have the capacity to worry. So they don’t attempt to build up goods for the future. Their planning is limited to building nests for them to raise their young until they can fly.
Jesus says worry is useless, because ultimately our life is a gift from God, and worrying won’t alter it.
When Jesus speaks about the flowers and he speaks about the wonder of God’s creation. The lilies of the field were the scarlet poppies and anemones. They bloomed on the hillsides of first century Palestine; and yet in their brief life they were clothed with a beauty which surpassed the grandeur of Solomon, the greatest of the Hebrew kings.
When they died they were burned. The point is this. If God gives such beauty to a short-lived flower, how much more does he care for us.
Connecting faith and worry, Jesus sees worry as characteristic of those who do not know God, or distrust God. In other words, they rely on human strength. This means worry in the face of an unreliable world.
So at its root, worry is distrust in God.
Realizing they we are all susceptible to worry, Jesus offers a way to lift our worries.
First is to seek the Kingdom of God. When we live out our lives, loving God and loving our neighbour, worry no longer can dominate our lives.
We can be calm in the face of adversity.
Second, we can live for the present. Taking one game at a time is a sports cliché. Living one day at a time may seem like a trite saying—but what good does it do us to become preoccupied with past failures or successes, or live with our minds in the future. Living for today means being present to those around you. Caring for others. Caring for yourself.
Why worry about a past you can’t change, or a future which may not happen in the way you expect.
Now having said all that, this is probably some of the hardest teaching of Jesus. I struggle with worry. Sometimes a lot.
But I know through personal experience that the worry is not productive or helpful to a resolution of problems I’ve faced. And in the end, I wonder why I worried in the first place.
But in the end, it wasn’t worrying which helped me find new direction in life, it was dedicating myself to serving God, and trusting that whatever the obstacle I would find a new life.
Trust in God--rather than worry. It sounds simple. But it is our greatest challenge as Christians, especially in a world where so much is about “me” rather than “us.” About self-fulfillment and entertainment, rather than serving God.
