Psalm 86; 1 Kings 17:8-16; Galatians 5:25-6:10
St. Matthew 6:24-34
In
the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen.
There is a very clear reason our Lord
admonishes us today not to be anxious over food, drink, and clothing. Food,
drink, and clothing are necessities for this body and life. Our bodies require
food and drink to operate properly. We require clothing to protect us from the
elements and to maintain modesty in a fallen world.
Christ is speaking of anxiety over
necessities, not excesses. It ought to be clear to all Christians that excessive
wealth is a great temptation to sin. “It is easier for a camel to go through
the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”[1] The pursuit of excessive wealth is
itself a sin. Seeking wealth for the sake of wealth is the definition of greed.
Yet today, our Lord is addressing
necessities. “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will
drink; nor about your body, what you will put on.”[2] Everyone in this room, when compared
objectively to the rest of the world and across time, is extremely blessed with
access to these necessities. This does not mean you are evil nor sinful for
owning more than one pair of shoes. Christ is not admonishing the quality or
quantity of the necessary items in your home. He is addressing your heart.
For what purpose do you have more than
one pair of shoes? For what purpose do you have chicken and beef in the
freezer? If the purpose is to amass more possessions, then repent. If the
purpose is to be prepared for any situation, repent. If the purpose is because
you fear lack, then repent.
“Your heavenly Father knows that you
need all these things.”[3] Your heavenly Father knows that you
need food and drink, house and home, land, animals, and all things necessary
for this body and life. If you do not trust in him or fear he will not provide,
then repent of your idolatry, for that is what it is when you fear something
other than God. Do not fear that which can kill the body, but fear Him who can
destroy both body and soul in hell.[4]
Even the Gentiles worry about such
things, that is, even the unbeliever worries about his food, drink, and
clothing. We are called to something greater. We are called to faith. We are
called to fear, love, and trust in God above all things. This calling is beyond
human effort and yet Christ is serious when he commands us not to worry.
This type of worry, this type of
anxiety, this type of unbelief is ultimately idolatry of the self. Very few
people truly worship and serve mammon. To purely worship mammon would be to entirely
devote yourself to physical objects, believing these objects to be good in
themselves. Rather, when a human worships mammon, they are worshipping
themselves. A man surrounds himself with fast cars because it makes him feel
good. A woman buys endless dresses to make herself feel beautiful. We all
accumulate money and spend it to make ourselves feel powerful. Money is power
in this world. Such power is not only meaningless in the world to come, but
dangerous to your salvation.
You cannot serve God and mammon. You
cannot be split between two masters. One must rule your heart and your faith. And
yet Christ’s words today are not a harsh rebuke. They are a loving correction.
Why should you worry about feeling
young when the Father has promised you eternity? You may have 80 or more years
on this side of glory, but the eternity God has in store makes your 80 look
like a brief morning. Why worry about what you will eat when Christ has given
his Holy Body for your food and his Precious Blood for your drink?
Look at the birds of the air, who
neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns. They are fed by the hand of God.
The eyes of all look to the Father and he gives them their meat in due season.[5] If birds, motivated
by instinct alone, know to trust the Almighty God, why not his beloved
children, who daily receive his Word of promise?
Consider the lilies, the loveliest of
flowers and more beautiful than Solomon. They grow and do not toil nor spin.
God provides for them. And yet they are little more than grass which grows
today but is thrown in the oven tomorrow when compared with you, beloved of the
Lord. Solomon, the wisest and richest of men, took a lifetime to learn that
everything he gained by wisdom and money were vanities.
Vanities of vanities, all is vanity[6] because it does not gain salvation.
And yet this same wisdom and wealth build the Temple of the Lord. This was not
vanity because it is the place in which God dwelt with his people, bringing his
Word, his gifts, his presence to them.
“Your heavenly Father knows you need
all these things. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all
these things shall be added to you.”[7] The kingdom of God is not a place, it
is a reign. It is that place, or that sphere of God’s authority. While God
certainly reigns over all creation, he reigns directly in the Church. Christ is
seated, enthroned at the right hand of the Father and the Holy Spirit is
enthroned in the hearts of the Church.
The Most Holy Trinity reigns over
creation and yet this kingdom had to be won from Satan. In the fall, Satan made
claim to God’s most precious creation – Adam and Eve. Man departed from the
kingdom of God and sought the kingdom of Satan, where he is allowed to worship
himself through mammon.
The Holy God, who is himself Love,
could not let this stand. More necessary than food, drink, or clothing is the
atonement of Christ. It is necessary that the Son of God took on our flesh to
redeem us from the wrath of the Father and drag us away from our own idolatry
because he is perfect love and perfect love casts out fear, because fear
involves torment.[8] Why then torment yourself with worry
and anxiety when your heavenly Father already knows what is necessary for your
life, O you ones of little faith?
Notice that even that phrase, “O you of
little faith” speaks of your faith. God will not crush a bruised reed nor snuff
a faintly burning wick, nor cast off those of little faith. Rather, he desires
to guide you to repentance and warn your of your sins which will only hurt you.
Do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry for itself. Why do
something which will harm you when you can focus instead on the kingdom of God,
that is, Christ?
“If we live in the Spirit, let us also
walk in the Spirit.”[9] Let us turn toward the blessings of
God, that which he has promised to give and those we currently enjoy. Let those
things which are necessary to this life serve the blessings which we’ve been
given. Do you have multiple pairs of shoes? Perhaps the purpose is to look nice
for your husband, who is himself a blessing of God. Do you have an extra
refrigerator? Perhaps it is to serve the neighbor kids who play in the street
and could use a kind neighbor to serve them a soda.
You see, when Christ admonishes us against
anxiety over necessary things, he is not determining exactly what those
necessary things are. He is not drawing a line in the sand between the amount
of necessary food and one more bite is a sin. Rather, he is admonishing us that
even the necessary things of this life are to serve our faith. We eat to live,
we don’t live to eat.
“Is not life more than food and the
body more than clothing?”[10] The life to which Christ refers is not
the time spent on earth, nor is it eternal life exactly. The word he uses is ψυχή, the Greek word meaning
your entire self – body and soul, mind, spirit, temporal and eternal – the
total self. Are not you a creation of God? Are you, your entire self not
redeemed by Christ? Will you not be provided for in every way imaginable
throughout all eternity? Are not you more than food and clothing?
You are! You are a
child of God! You are a friend, a brother, a sister of Christ! You are more
precious than the birds of the air and more lovely than the lilies of the
field. You are arrayed more beautifully than Solomon. Robed in Christ’s
righteousness, you are a child of paradise.[11] ‘What God ordains is
always good, you shall not be forsaken. Fear no harm, for with His arm, He
shall embrace and shield you.’[12]
There is more than
enough to focus on today because you have Christ to focus on. Seek him and his
righteousness and all things necessary for this life will be provided to you. Then
tomorrow, you will again focus on Christ because he is all in all and the one
thing needful. Use the many necessary things of this world to help you seek
Christ and his righteousness. Make your money work for you, not for selfish
gain, but so that you and your neighbor may seek Christ and his righteousness. Plan
for the future so that you, your children and your children’s children may seek
Christ and his righteousness. Love and serve your neighbor so that you and your
neighbor may seek Christ and his righteousness. Do not worry about tomorrow for
Christ has already guaranteed your eternity.
In + Jesus’ name. Amen.
[1]
Mark 10:25.
[2]
Matthew 6:25.
[3]
Matthew 6:32.
[4]
Matthew 10:28.
[5] Martin
Luther’s Prayer asking a blessing before a meal, “Daily Prayers,” Small
Catechism.
[6]
Ecclesiastes 1:2.
[7]
Matthew 6:32b-33.
[8]
1 John 4:18.
[9]
Galatians 5:25.
[10]
Matthew 6:25.
[11] From the
final stanza of the hymn, God’s Own Child I Gladly Say It.
[12]
Paraphrase of What God Ordains is Always Good, stanza 6. Text is public
domain.
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